Brilliant!

Alright... so I have arrived... and all in one piece!!! To get here was not the most ideal trip though. Saying goodbye in the airport to my sister, parents and boyfriend is not something I enjoy doing. With one last hug to all of them, I bid them farewell and went through security. This is when it really set in. I am on my own. I have to suck it up and be an adult... Put on my big girl jeans and take on the world. This scared me... a lot. So I sat in the terminal and made a couple phone calls. This did not help the situation. Just kept reminding me how scared I truly was and how much I will miss home and everyone there...

After all the phone calls the gentleman next to me, a man from New Delhi, India, Kamal decided to befriend a red eyed, scared little girl. He was nice and just someone nice to talk too. But than we boarded the plane... here goes nothing. Goodbye america, Hello London!

The first flight went well, got an upgraded seat where eventually I got three seats to myself to spread out upon! So nice, and as soon as I boarded I was out. Slept for a couple hours and was soon woken up to Kamal... He came and spoke with me randomly throughout the flight. Very nice, but kind of became awkward at times. He ended up giving me a bracelet of his from India since we became new friends!

Than I arrived in Amsterdam where I parted ways with Kamal and ran across the largest airport I have ever come across. It was also very frightening because a snow storm fell upon us and no one really spoke english there. Reality hit. But again, everything went smoothly, Kamal managed to find my terminal and say goodbye and I than boarded the plane... Of course with my turn of luck, I was seated between a man who was roughly 6'5" and another man pushing 250-300lbs. Awesome. I also slept through breakfast, even though the stewardesses were only two seats down from me... oh well life goes on.

So I finally make it to the airport. Get stopped at customs and interegated from top to bottom as to why I was in London, but than I thought it was smooth sailing from there. I got my bags, no problem, and found my ride to the school... but I ended up having to wait at the airport for 3 hours for a couple other flights with students before I was taken to school. That was fine though because our "guide," Phil spoke with me about how much he hates winters and how "Brilliant!" being a white water raft instructor in Colorado was... He was a good start to being in London.

So finally we arrive at my housing accomodations, NIDO. We walk in to a really nice lobby setting where they then proceed to tell me they don't have the paperwork for my school that everyone else received and that I don't have an ID card.... They soon found the ID card, but still no school information... oh stress.

But luckily I than find TK and we go up to our room. Man what a room. Or closet... however you measure these kinds of things. But really it's not so bad. It seemed a lot smaller before we unpacked. But now it seems just fine. You walk in and to the right there is a mini kitchen. It as a mini fridge, microwave, cupboards, counters and a little stove top. On our left is our own personal restroom. It's a very tight squeeze and barely fits a person between the toilet on the left, sink in the middle, shower on the right, with a giant mirror across the wall. Past the kitchen and bathroom we have our storage space. Two tiny closets with a couple shelves and cupboards that no one can reach without a ladder. Interesting... Beyond that, you get into the main room, where we find our beds and desks. The beds are just two twin beds that come all inclusive with straw like sheets and a pillow suitable for an airplane in a really dark and ominous blue tone. Our desks are against the walls and we have a small window looking out onto Pentonville Road... and finally we have one light fixture in the main room that gives the ever present appearance of a prison cell glow. It's nice....

But really its not so bad. Making it sound worse than it is, but definately takes me back to the golden days of living in the dorms...

So after we settle in, so does my homesickness. Thank goodness I have such an amazing roommate to help me see the brighter side. Everything at first was just so stressful. No towels = no shower. No ethernet cord = no internet. No phone = no contact, No food = very grumpy Caitlin. So we went on a hunt. Walked all around this side of London trying to find things like I just listed, but just found ourselves being surrounded by a million little cafe's and noticed that we were becoming very poor very fast. I knew things were more expensive over here, but wow.

So after sleeping for twelve hours, TK and I decide to explore the city more... this isn't so bad. We find a couple more necessities and things are becoming better. So far the weather is better as well.... yesterday was 46 and partly cloudy... not too bad. But after walking around all day we had a couple orientations and figured out the "tube" system here. Easier than expected once you get an oyster card for traveling.

And through all this, we have met a few people here and there. Found some other students from La Crosse and went out to a couple pubs last night. Fantastic night scene. Just really relaxed and fun settings. Met a man named Warren at a pub who introduced himself through asking where I get my hair done. I don't think he was expecting me to say Wisconsin, but than again... what kind of question is that? He seemed very friendly and we had a pleasant conversation until he started complaining about our healthcare... I just tried to smile politely and not egg the conversation on. Quite funny actually :)

Today was just another long day. Getting ready for a nap before hopefully another epic night on the town. Finally figuring out where things are and how to use things, so everyday is a better day and the city is beginning to grow on me. I'm still missing everything about home, but am going to enjoy this while I can!

Well that is all for now.... as they say here, "Cheers!"