I'm here!! Not without a wild trek though...my flight left at about 9pm Sunday night & I got in around 11:20am Monday morning (London time). Being that I still had to go through customs, get my luggage, and go to another terminal to meet up with people by 12pm, I was under a nice time crunch. Needless to say, I was sweating after hauling two big suitcases, a carry-on, and my purse...but I made it on time & didn't have to find my way to my house (which would have been an absolute wreck).
My house consists of around 30 people, which is nice because it's like having a huge family :). I live on a floor with about 6 girls and 1 guy haha. We have a kitchen on our floor so I can start mass-cooking ramen and frozen veggies soon enough! Most people have single rooms, complete with a nice mini-fridge and sink/mirror (seriously makes things so much better). I'll post pics later :D.
Hmm let's see...we did some exploring yesterday & then went to a place called Bavarian Beerhouse to get a few drinks to put everyone to sleep since we were so jet-lagged. The place was fun, huge wooden tables so we could cram everyone in :). Of course we were literally in bed by 10pm, haha. I woke up around 1am and couldn't get back to sleep - I think that's when it hit me that I'm actually here. A little bit weird of a feeling, being gone for four months is a long time. I ended up Skyping Ben (with appearances by Devon, Ravi & Sissy!) to whine about my bout of homesickness, which was really refreshing & ended up making me feel a lot better about it all. It was just weird to wake up in a bed in the corner of a strange room, alone. I bought a bright, flowered duvet cover+towels today soo hopefully the next time I wake up it'll be more cheery & less lonely haha.
Today, we had a few lectures, listened to people from Parliament speak, I went to a cafe for lunch to get a smoked salmon/cream cheese sandwich, briefly checked out St. Paul's Cathedral & the Tate Modern, and went around Bond St. I learned that a Milky Way here tastes like a 3 Musketeers & that a Mars Bar tastes like a Milky Way. Obviously, the main thing going through my head was, "if I buy Raisinets here & they aren't the same, I will be so livid"...!!! I wish I had some Raisinets, I haven't had time to go to the grocery store so I've literally gone through about 6 bags of trail mix. I don't know how much more trail mix I can eat! There's a McDonald's literally across the street, but I'm trying sooo hard to hold out. I'll probably start running again soon, but for now, the burning soreness in my shoulder-blades/calves/arms from hauling suitcases is enough to make me feel like I've worked out haha.
Oh, I also learned something else very important. America, as morbidly obese and ignorant as you are, you sure do know how to provide a fast, consistent internet connection. England, not so advanced. I feel like I'm about a year past the days of AOL dial-up...the connection is horrible!! So, for all of you back home, appreciate it. I'm not kidding.
Tomorrow, we're having a few more lectures, going to a play at night, and finding out more about our homestay this weekend. Everyone will be split across England & staying with a family, which should be fun! We found out that we don't start classes until the 25th, so next week will be really free :). Maybe we'll go on weekend trip #1??
Overall, things have been pretty fun. I had to get over the initial adjustment of things, but I'm sure that'll go away once I get into a grind. Then I can just spend the week in class/interning and looking forward to fun weekend vacations! My house is filled with a pretty eclectic mix of people, which is nice. I also have Logan & Mark a block away...so I can go bug them, too ;). There are so many people from IU here - I swear every third person I meet goes to Indiana, but that's actually pretty cool.
Eeeeps okay, I need to go take a shower, pop some Nyquil (woke up with a stuffy nose last night) :( and then get some sleep!
Sweet dreams...:D
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