So I left Finland early in the morning and jetted off to the UK. I got lucky in that there was an open seat in my row, so we could spread out, but I sadly did not get the window seat. So as we arrived over London, I wasn't able to see much. We landed and I was able to get through customs fairly quickly, while other people I talked to coming straight from the US stood in line for an hour! (note to self) I went through to get my luggage and had to search for a luggage cart. I somehow managed to arrive at baggage claim about the same time as my fellow study abroader from Ambrose and was able to hang out with her and another girl in the terminal until our shuttle arrived. So we got coffee and chatted until we found the St. Mary's group. When the shuttle arrived, we hauled our luggage out to the "coach" (charter bus) and they took us to the school.
It was so cool seeing yet another new culture and new city surroundings, as we pointed out the weird driving, funny cars, and signs along the way. When we arrived at the school, we had a short orientation meeting to get out keys and ID cards before we trekked over to the dorms. I am located on the third floor (even though my room number is in the 200's), and there is no elevator. Soo I had to make two trips dragging my two humungo suitcases, carry-on, and back pack up the stairs. But I made it (and decided that I might be sending one of them home before my next flight) and started unpacking. The room is nice and spacious, though the storage is a bit bizarre. I have a wardrobe with two drawers and hanging space (but only a few hangers!), but no other real storage for clothes. I have built in wall shelves, desk drawers, and a bedside table. I spent the afternoon organizing my things and settling in. I decorated my bulletin board (aka notice board) and made my bed.
At 6pm we had an international student dinner in the refectory (caf) and had our first experience of school food, which wasn't awful, but was not the most flavorful. Our student liaisons then took us out to the nearby town of Twickenham to show us around the downtown area, where to get money, phones, groceries, toiletries, etc, and then to our first English pub! We all bought drinks and socialized with the other international students. I swear I will learn to like beer by the end of this trip! There are a wide variety of people here from the US, Brazil, Germany, Czech Republic, Spain, Italy, France, Ireland, and Australia! Even the ones from the US are pretty diverse, with a lot from the East coast, a few from the West coast, and a couple from the South. There aren't many kids from the Midwest, and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one from Illinois. We headed back early, since most of the others were tired and jet lagged (another note to self: going early was a GREAT idea). I came back and Skyped my mom and did some research on traveling to Oktoberfest before hitting the sack.
Today we had a day full of lectures and orientations about registration, student services, student union, traveling, and life in general. There is so much information swimming through my head right now. All I want to do is curl up with a hot cup of tea and watch a movie and not think about anything. But I can't. I have to figure this whole London thing out! We were able to get into town and explore bit more, but not much, but we were able to catch the train to Kingston, which is a larger town nearby with a lot more shopping and things to do. We discovered Primart, which is a gold mine of cheap clothes, accessories, shoes, bedding, towels, etc. that the locals swear by. I bought some hangers, a towel, and a union jack wash mit :). Sam (the other Ambrose student) and I then went to figure out our phones. Let me tell you, the whole phone thing here is SO confusing. The first few stores we went to were not much help in explaining to us, but we got lucky the last store we went to. The guy was EXTREMELY helpful, included visual demonstration, repeated explanations, and help in setting us all up. We were so thankful for his patience with us tired, hungry, confused, jet lagged American girls! But we got it figured out, and we now have working phones! AND I have data on my phone, so I am able to receive email, if you are so inclined.
By that point we had missed dinner at uni (what they call University, or college), so we hit up a Pizza Hut for dinner before catching a train back home. Needless to say it has been an exhausting couple of days. But the next few days should hopefully help with some more exploring and adjusting. I am excited for Saturday, when we get to do a free walking tour of London and learn to use the Tube!
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