I'm here! I'm here! oh...wait...I meant to say...'ello lovey's! I have arrived! Tis Friday, and what a week it has been. There is plenty to tell you...so ON WITH IT -
Saturday morning, my flight arrived a wee bit early...so the two girls also attending AIU who happened to be sitting next to me (who overheard me tell the little old lady next to me where I was going) went to hail a cab. Thank goodness I found them - I only had to spend 20pounds on the cab instead of 60 - so we smush into the cab with 6 LARGE suitcases and 6 carry-on bags. Cab ride uneventful - housing checkin goes fine - I am first to arrive in my flat. ECSTATIC to find that there are only 4 people in my flat - 2 in each room. Since I am first - I get to choose my bed! I chose the bed closest to the window, which seems to have a bit more space then the other.
Abby, one of the girls from the plane, and I - go walking around our neighborhood to check things out. We got completely lost - as I hear everyone does the first time they come to London.
I was dissappointed to find out that the internet access did not work immediately, instead, I would have to fill out a form and return it to the school, and wait 2 days for access to become available to me. UGH. Similar story with the cell phone. So i do apologise (in England, you find an "s" where you expect to find a "z")
SO....back to my roomies....2 of them are AWESOME! the other...well...she is a bit off. Cari (fun and adorable girl from Vegas) and Chantay (sweet and spicy girl from Maryland) live in the other room. Monique (quite odd girl from Atlanta who rambles on and on about nothing) lives in my room.
From Saturday evening at 5pm, to Sunday, we went through quite a few "orientations" & "walking tours". Schedule went something like this:
5:00pm - walking tour around flat neighborhood
6:30pm - went to my first pub - to get an official "pub orientation"
later that evening, came home and got to know my roomies more - then off to bed - we were all exhausted!
Saturday morning:
9:15am - met downstairs outside our flat.
Walked 20 minutes to the University of London
Had a housing orientation that gave us safety info from a cop and had a run down of the rules of housing. There are some cool amenities available to us via the University. Gym, pool, student travel office, etc.
12:30pm - we walked another 20 minutes to the school campus. There are three buildings, and we were shown the library, computer labs, and had another orientation in the theatre.
Cari (one of my roomies) and I were left to our own devices to get back to the flat...and we got lost once again. It was quite fun to get on the tube and find our way back home. We felt quite accomplished. :)
Monday I got ready and went off to school to get our cell phones and we did another walk around the city for a few hours. We also went grocery shopping and got some food after realizing that we had each almost spent $150 in three days between eating out, taking the tube, and paying for the transport to housing from the airport. So we ran errands, picked up things we needed for our flat and got food. We made dinner that night when we got home - exhausting!
Tuesday had first day of school - and I was quite happy with my 60 year old GAY german designer who has lived in London so he has quite an interesting accent (Flaming British Hitler). Class seems to be fairly well planned - and I am excited to start designing the residential project.
After class, I ventured off on my own for the first time and found myself to the Winchester Tube station. Walked up the stairs and saw the Parliament Building for the first time...now you can view picture after picture of that building...but to see it looming above you in all of its detailed, ornate glory...it really does make your jaw drop and your eyes water a bit. I walked around Westminster Abbey..along the Thames river..in front of the London Eye and the Dali Museum...watched street performers and an old Irish bagpiper on the bridge. I crossed two bridges and found my way to another tube station and had to get back to school to get in line for the terms' activities.
i am the proud owner of tickets for The Producers, Madame Butterfly, Richard II at the Old Vic Theatre (with Kevin Spacey!!!!!!!!!), a Halloween Boat Cruise (i brought my costume), a ghost and ghouls walking tour, and some other walking nighttime tours. My flatmates and I have planned many trips and other outings with my flatmates.
Wednesday was the first day we did not have errands or school responsibilities - so we decided we were going OUT! We went to Westminster again, the Abbey, accross the bridge again to South London, past all the same stuff but went one bridge further along the Thames before we crossed. We took the tube to SOHO and walked around the theatre district and China Town. We met a group from school at 7:45 and took a guided walking tour of the Thames River and surrounding area. It was awesome! The guide was extremely knowledgeable and I LOVED every minute of it...we had a few pints at three pubs which had historical significance (really - i swear). Cari got pretty toasted and had be rolling all the way home on the tube. The three muskateers (us) came up with nicknames while we were in the tube station - quick side note: Cari was toasted and giddy and went walking around talking to randon people - Chantay called to her, "Hey white bread! Where are you?" another side note: Chantay and monique are black - Cari is white. Ok so she called her white bread - and then i called her multi-grain...and she called me Challah (for those of you who don't know that I come from a Jewish maternal family and Challah is jewish bread). AND what it made it even funnier was earlier in the night Cari had called us her "home slices" as in "Homies" and coming from a 5 foot tall skinny white girl that sounds HYSTERICAL. So then we were bullshitting back and forth and Chantay said, "Giiiirrrrrrrrrrlllll....I'm the WHOLE loaf..." and Cari laughed and said, "and Monique is half a loaf" (a few slices short of a whole). We were DYING.
So we are now known as white bread, multi-grain, Challah and half-loaf.
Alas...I woke up thursday morning sick. :(
So I went right to bed when i got back from school. Today was similar...I was sick and had to get up early, and go to school. Today's class didn't go as well as my tue/thur class. The teacher was not there and it became a bit chaotic. Hopefully next week will be better.
i have relaxed and tried to catch up on emails and this entry today - going to work on some homework this weekend and take it easy. No exciting outings for me - must rest and reload...
until next time....
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