God Save the Queen!

Alright so we are on day 4? Day 5? Eh... close enough either way... But what a couple of days. As the time flies by, I find myself becoming happier over here. It took a little adjusting... ok A LOT of adjusting, but we're good now. I mean now we have all the things to get us by, something I like to call FITT: Food, Internet, Towels, and Toilet Paper.... We are set!

Beyond that, things are calming down. I have had meetings and orientations and activities and tours... Constantly doing something. Needless to say it is exhausing. On Wednesday TK and I took a night off after sleeping through our original plans, and decided watching a movie and going to bed was a much better idea than actually leaving the comfort of our jailcell... bedroom.

But it's nice because we have explored much more of the city now! We went on a bus tour taking us all over where we would pass by the main sights like the London Eye, Big Ben, the Globe Theatre, the millenium bridge from Harry Potter... You know all the important sights. Went on some more famous roads like Oxford St. and Regent St. and even stopped by to see Sweeney Todd at Fleet Street. And then we had a boat cruise along the Thames River. It was nice to see everything, a little cold and grey, but a nice day all in all.

We grabbed dinner in a pub after taking a picture with a soldier who can't move or smile or any of that good stuff. Poor guy probably hates that... but the good news is his cologne smelled amazing! I guess he plans ahead for all the ignorant tourists who I'm sure constantly take pictures with him. But once we hit the pub this is where our American Stupidity kicks in. We weren't, and are still, unsure of their customs here. Do we seat ourselves? Do we pay at the table? Do we always have to ask for our check? Did we go to a place that isn't our kind of crowd? I mean there are just so many things that are different. Let's be real here, who is to say we will even eat there! A lot of the food, personally, sounds like the leftovers of the animals. Liver and Kidney and Brains oh my. Not my cup o' tea personally

We have the tube figured out now, too. So easy. Buses not so much... not yet atleast. But last night we had to use both. We decided to go to a club called Zoo Bar. It was just a short tube ride away and as soon as we got off the tube the night began. We were ambushed by a group of men trying to get us to go to their promotions and their clubs. Very overwhelming at first, but entertaining to watch them yell at one another... "They're club are all gay men. Not for you." "Well his club sucks. No one goes there. All stupid People." Very mature to say the least.

We finally settled on the guy for Zoo Bar with the promise of getting to skip the line, get free cover, and a free shot. We'll take it! A very neat bar/club to say the least. A very fun, chic upbeat vibe to the bar. Playing songs from home, it seemed like a good time. It was neat too because it was two floors, the top just a real chill lounge and the bottom being a dance party. It was crazy packed but a lot of fun. Met a ton of people but eventually we were told that we should probably headout and we were taken out a secret door that magically appeared, I swear it could not have been there before. Thankfully my new friend, Kelley, found us the right bus to take us home.

The best part of this whole adventure though was waking up this morning realizing that the whole time the night before I attempted a British Accent. I don't know if you know this or not, but I am not British, nor have a British Accent. I guess You win some, you Lose some. Potato, Potato... (that doesn't really work unless someone actually says it. Eh, you get the point.)

As for today, after a little more grocery shopping, we wanted to head over to Oxford Street again to do some shopping. Well we didn't plan this out and were just going to hope for the best. Turns out we accidentally found Buckingham Palace instead. Yeah basically became best friends with the Queen. But on this adventure through St. Jame's Park, after basically being mauled by the rabid squirrels and pigeons that make you walk around them, we found Pelicans. Yes, Pelicans. And not just any kind of Pelicans....5 FOOT TALL PELICANS that like the taste of Human Blood. Very Frightening, I know. We managed to get by and just walked around London a little more... and here we are. Sitting, relaxing, trying to decide if we should go explore the city again tonight.... hmm decisions decisions....

Well so long for now. Back to coloring.... This whole "no TV" thing may become the death of me!

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!"