A Foggy Day

I made it safe and sound. I have yet to experience the rain and fog that London is so famous for (and let me tell you, so far the rain has nothing on the Northwest). However, London itself is beautiful.

The plane ride went very smoothly and despite previous warnings, I managed to keep myself calm. I flew Northwest and it was the largest plane I had ever been on. Each seat had its own touch screen and I got to pick from movies, music, tv shows, and games to keep myself entertained. Eight hours later I landed and I found the process very easy. Customs didn't care about me, though I heard some people were questioned for quite some time and the Tube is by far the easiest and best public transportation I've ever taken.

The first few days were basically orientation stuff. My room mate is this really nice guy from Philly named Tom. We get along really well, so I am pleased with that. Everyone is excited for the pub and clubbing scene and I will admit that it appeals to me in some ways too. I let this weekend be a tourist weekend so I went out with everyone. Though drinking and public transportation at night scares me. I'm glad to say that everyone could recognize this and took it easy. I had a great time dancing and meeting people but I don't think clubs are on my radar for the immediate future.

London itself is divided into Boroughs and I live in Chelsea. Chelsea is generally considered to be the "posh" part of the city and I have been told that Hugh Grant lives a few streets away. I will start classes tomorrow in a Borough called Bloomsbury. Both areas are filled with places to explore. The British History Museum is literally three blocks from where I take classes and is one of the largest museums in the world (free too!). I'm very excited for all of it.

We also took a trip to Windsor to see the Castle. I learned that it is the largest inhabitable and occupied Castle in all of Europe (the Queen likes to take her weekends there and the Royal Family often stays). The Queen also owns every swan on the Thames. They herd them annually and they all get tagged. I had a hard time taking in the castle though. To imagine that it was built almost 1000 years ago and had seen so much history was nearly unfathomable. It was much easier to pretend Disney came in and built it all as an attraction. All in all, it was gorgeous though and pictures are on Facebook.

I'm hoping that everything will start to feel like home soon. I really do like it here, but I am in vacation mode. I think classes will provide needed structure and I can focus on everything else. I realized the other day that everything had been so rushed to this point that I've missed a lot. It took me three days to appreciate the beauty of the buildings just around my residence hall. It will all soak in eventually and be grand.