I must say it's been a good couple of days (MOTHER). Yesterday I had no class again so I went to Tesco's and did some shopping and then in the afternoon I went up to Strand area and went to Waterstone's to buy the books I need for the first real discussion week. I randomly ran into Flynn there, which was nice. That Waterstone's only had one of the three books I needed but the service guy called over to the closest store and they had them. Conveniently, they had a map of the area that I could take so he showed me the way and I walked through the rain (with an umbrella thank god) to the other Waterstone's, which happened to be located right by Trafalgar Square. I only glimpsed it and I wanted to make the quickest shuttle back so no gawking this time around. I got the books I needed and learned of the location of Topshop, where I must go! Then I booked it back to Waterloo but had JUST missed the shuttle so I went into the cafeteria area of one of the buildings and read for Brit Lit and Cinema. Then I caught the bus home, stopping at a tiny store for some stuff before making it back to my room. Dehydrated, I drank a bunch of water and I only had ten minutes to eat two pieces of bread with jam before booking it back to Guy's Campus, where I stood in the growing dusk and rainishness at the wrong spot. Luckily, there was a girl also going to Sexpression who happened to ask a passerby where the Spit was, so together we found the correct group! And then I took the tube for the first time! It was scary. Celia had to buy me a ticket cus she pulled out her card faster than I did, so I owe her money but I got a day card and was whisked along to the Jubilee line with a change to Circle in order to plant us in South Kensington. It was rush hour so we were a bit crammed and the thought of us travelling beneath London kind of blew my mind lol.
This Sexpression event was actually a "Lates" put on by the Science Museum, where they keep the museum open late for special exhibitions. Last night's feature was all about STIs and such. We sat in on a talk about approaches to VD in the 18th century and then a brief talk about living with HIV. Then we briefly watched some old sex ed videos but because I couldn't really hear it, I ended up chatting with this girl who was there with us. She's technically a first year, but because she took two years off after sixth form she's my age, and she's gotten all the partying stuff out of her system, so she and I seemed to click. We stuck together for the rest of the night and have made tentative plans for shopping and museums. And she's going to Kate Nash with me in just a few weeks! (Her name is Winnie, she's a nursing student. Lol that's relevant!)
So we stayed til the end of the night, with the museum closing at 10pm. Then, because the tube gates were closed nearest to us, we had to walk a ways to get to the other entrance and things were much less crowded. We got back to London Bridge station, which, after Borough, is closest to me. Now from there I know how to get home, but actually because there are like three exits, the one we came out of really confused me. Winnie knew how to get home from there (she lives in Wolfson house, which is roughly in the same area as gdsa) so I headed off with her, thinking I was going in the right direction. I ended up going the wrong way down St. Thomas Street (I think) and somehow I think I ended up on Tooley Street and it was nearly abandoned and I began to worry. So I doubled back as nothing looked familiar at all (and keep in mind it's like 11pm and raining and I'm walking alone). I remembered Weston Street as the street where the nightclubs were off of St Thomas but when I came out the other side I didn't recognize the street name, but at least there were more people around. I continued up the street and was still panicking so I walked alongside a couple (the man had just paused to light a cigarette. He was tall and was wearing a coat that went back his knees. Dark hair. A little older and with an attractive blonde. He was dashing and handsome and mmm but nice.) I asked what way to Borough High Street and apparently, as I discovered walking a bit further along the road, it was the next road coming up. In the dark it was hard to tell but I passed one of the entrances to London Bridge station I'm familiar with so I was happy. Then it was the issue of actually getting home safely. I walked briskly, trying not to freak out in my head so it wouldn't show. I thought angry things and balled my free fist up and looked pissed. Staring straight ahead, I stepped in a deep puddle and I was wearing tevas so my feet got all wet and my pants did too. But I finally made it home dead ass tired but hungry so I ate a little and watched one episode of peep show and then I feel like I didn't even sleep well cus I was so tired.
Today I signed up for a library card and got the creepy, super conversational guy that Shubha had. He kept asking me about American slang and it was awkward for the most part. Then I went to class. I had Irish Lit discussion first and the classroom was hard to find (see entry on confusing building layout). I feel like the reading for that class is going to be good, but I'm not sure if I'm going to like it overall cus the teacher is so serious (although granted the subject matter) and the people are really intelligent. I had written down two things that actually would have contributed to discussion but especially the first few meetings I get terrified of speaking so I was afraid to jump and afraid that I would say something stupid and irrelevant. But then both things ended up being brought up and of course I mentally kicked myself. I guess I'll just have to try harder for next week.
I then had a two-hour break but I went to the cafeteria and got a bad piece of pizza and continued reading Rebecca (for lit and cinema). Because it was so packed, two people asked to sit at my table and eat there while I read. I was absorbed in the book. It's very good so far. It makes me think that for Brit lit and cinema it's going to suck if I really like the books because then I have to watch the movie adaptation and it's not going to be as good. But then again, that's the point of the class--to work through the similarities and differences.
Then I went to sit outside the next classroom and at 3 had my class on Jacobean theatre. I like that teacher the best thus far. He's very Britishly witty. And outgoing. The structure of the class is pretty open and we have to do "presentations" which are more like facilitating discussion on two plays throughout the semester, much like leading discussion in Intro to Lit Studies with LaMont (:-D <3). So I feel like it'll be a relatively easy class, minus the amount of reading. OMG the reading! That's one thing I don't quite get here. There's the required reading list (which is already pretty intense) and then like three pages of suggested additional stuff and it's like, what are you supposed to do! It's intimidating as hell. That goes for all classes. My only complaint about my Jacobean theatre prof is that I feel he calls a little too much attention to the fact that I'm American--not really in negative ways, I just don't like being pointed out so frequently. It makes me feel like a brown-noser.
That brings me to another interesting observation I've made. University here is 3 years, but apparently even English majors don't really write essays in their first year, they take exams. I've just been noticing like the differences between them as second years and myself as a third year student. They have strengths that I don't have, like immediately jumping into a brief passage and dissecting it whereas I barely skim the surface. But on the other hand, I have two years of writing papers under my belt (and Jacobean prof pointed out that due to the American system, we are a bit better at essay structure than the British students would be because they didn't even write for a year!). Interesting.
I'm definitely happier than I've been. I'm extremely tired at the moment, but I had more long talks in the kitchen with my flatmates (I was in there for three hours!) and my oyster card came. :) :) I have met some people who seem like they will make my time here worthwhile and I am happy that I'm making seemingly important observations about my surroundings. Things are looking up. Although tomorrow it's supposed to rain. ;)
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
The day started off well, ended well, the middle was kind of not so great.
So today was my first day of classes! FINALLY. I barely slept last night. I went to bed late and I was talking to people from home so that made it harder and then I had class on my mind so I didn't get to sleep until after midnight and woke up before my alarm went off at 8:20 this morning. Then I had an adware cookie making checking the weather difficult. I headed out at 9AM, and Arif was already at the stop. We chatted and then the bus came and after we sat down Michelle came along and then Flynn came on it! It was like the party bus--a super great way to start the day. I was pumped walking across Waterloo Bridge.
Now for all those who attend Michigan, you are familiar with Angel/Mason/whatever other buildings are there. Strand Campus is like that, only worse. The Strand Building is the front building through which you enter from the Strand. It has 8 upper floors (the floor you enter at is 0) and three basement floors. The elevator only goes to the 7th floor. There is only access to the King's Building (the building behind and connected to the Strand B) on certain levels (I think). Kind of like how Angel and Mason are slightly different heights, King's and Strand and Macadam Buildings require you to zigzag through many corridors, up and down stairs in order to arrive in the correct building. It sounds simple--one building connects directly to the other. But no. Certain groups of rooms are in parts of the hallway that have their own door sectioning them off from the main hallway. So I got lost in the basement of the Strand Building trying to find my first class. But I was not alone. Three other people approached a janitor to ask for directions (and this was after I asked a facilities office guy). Finally we found the room. The girl I was with sat next to me and we chatted a bit before class started. Our teacher was really nice and talked us through the syllabus, which is different from those in America. Ish. Lectures only meet once a week and seminars (discussion) once as well. And that's it. So basically for that class, on Jacobean theatre, I will be reading a play a week probably in addition to supplementary stuff. And the syllabus contains the list of what we have to read each week for class and then like three other lists of extra reading for context, etc. Probably over 30 books.
Well, anyway, that class went smoothly and then I went off to run my errands. I went to NatWest, where I now have a UK bank account, in order to transfer funds to it. Nope. No checks, just have to wire the money. Ok, not getting too upset, I went to O2, a cell phone provider, to find out they've run out of their ten pound phones but they have a 15 pound one, oh but wait, you have no money in your UK bank account, you can't buy a phone cus you'd need to set up direct debit for your phone plan and they need to check that you actually have money before they can do it. Ok. No phone until money. (I have no idea how to wire money from my TCF account because apparently they only wire to other "qualifying" TCF accounts. We'll sort this out later.)
So I'm walking back from the phone store and I double back to a fruit smoothie sign in the window of a tiny restaurant because I'm already hungry and a fruit smoothie (no powders, no syrup) sounds healthy and somewhat filling. So I sat in this Japanese-ish restaurant staring at my planner, making notes of things that need to be done this week and sipping my Tropical Storm. By the end of sitting there, I was getting panicky. As I've gotten older, panic has come to me more easily, especially when I'm waiting with nothing to do and have all the apprehension. I left the restaurant and went to the King's Shop to look at their portfolios for storing papers (I haven't found any folders here!). They were not something I would want to carry around and of course everything in that store was overpriced because it had the school logo on it. So I went back to campus and went up to find my next class, which didn't start for over an hour. I sat on a bench watching MTSS on my iPod as it was dying (and my only way to tell time) and not feeling well.
The class in the anatomy theatre got out so we shuffled in. I don't like this place. The writing surface is so far away from the seat I literally have to sit on the edge of it and it's still very uncomfortable. And that professor talks SO softly I could barely hear her. I don't know if I'm going to like that class but we'll see. I had another two hour break after that, and I found the cafeteria Michelle had told me about. Nothing looked especially appetizing but I bought some chili pasta for 2.70. It wasn't great. I wasn't in the mood for it. I was sitting there depressed again (and tired, etc.) so I ate as much as I could and just went to find my next class. It was in the same confusing hallway as my first one, but this time it was in the King's Building and I had to go through a door and through a dinky little hallway to get to it. But because I still had over an hour, I just in the main hallway (something no one here really does) and just wrote what I was feeling and then I daydreamed. Hardcore. Not nasty, but happy things that made me feel better. Finally, close to the start of class, I stopped in the bathroom and it was seriously one of the bathrooms out of my nightmares (you know the ones where there are literally 50 toilets and you dream that you have no privacy when you pee, yeah I dream that). The bathroom was HUGE. It had shower stalls and like a whole area in between the toilets and sinks where there was a big mirror and places to sit at it! Crazy.
After that I went to class: Irish Lit and Culture. Cozy little lecture space. That class looks to be ok. Pretty good. Ahhh, I have so much reading to do for next week. Oh! Another difference here is that they make coursepacks for you and just hand them out in class and then expect you to pay them. My Irish one was 4 pounds and Brit Lit and Film is 8. I went to seminar for Brit lit and film straight after that. Even in this enclosed space, tiny room, I could barely hear her! We went through the coursepack and then went around and said what nationality we considered ourselves and cinema related to that. I was really surprised at how diverse our group is! Oh, and apparently we don't have a weekly screening because she said we could just watch the movies ourselves so I get to go home at 6 on Tuesdays!
God my oyster card needs to come through! I got on the bus and thank god it was home time! I got off and starting walking down Borough High Street. Normally, I cut through Guy's campus, but that area can be kind of dead and I wanted to avoid cutting through the park cus it was dusk and people get mugged there at night). Plus I was alone. So I set off down the high street and then I see Joel at an ATM. Having not seen him since last week, I went over and said hi and he was heading in the direction of gdsa so we walked together. We just chatted about classes and then, after I explained that I was avoiding walking through the park alone, he walked me through it and then set off on his own errands.
I came home and made a grilled cheese and I've ordered most of my books off amazon. I have to go to Waterstone's tomorrow (they're the big booksellers here) to get the books I need read by next week. I also need to do some grocery shopping cus I've run out of meals except for cereal. Then there's a free Sexpression social at the Science Museum, so I'll go to that most likely. Now I plan on a cup of tea and some Peep Show (a comedy, not a porn!) before bed! Cheers!
Now for all those who attend Michigan, you are familiar with Angel/Mason/whatever other buildings are there. Strand Campus is like that, only worse. The Strand Building is the front building through which you enter from the Strand. It has 8 upper floors (the floor you enter at is 0) and three basement floors. The elevator only goes to the 7th floor. There is only access to the King's Building (the building behind and connected to the Strand B) on certain levels (I think). Kind of like how Angel and Mason are slightly different heights, King's and Strand and Macadam Buildings require you to zigzag through many corridors, up and down stairs in order to arrive in the correct building. It sounds simple--one building connects directly to the other. But no. Certain groups of rooms are in parts of the hallway that have their own door sectioning them off from the main hallway. So I got lost in the basement of the Strand Building trying to find my first class. But I was not alone. Three other people approached a janitor to ask for directions (and this was after I asked a facilities office guy). Finally we found the room. The girl I was with sat next to me and we chatted a bit before class started. Our teacher was really nice and talked us through the syllabus, which is different from those in America. Ish. Lectures only meet once a week and seminars (discussion) once as well. And that's it. So basically for that class, on Jacobean theatre, I will be reading a play a week probably in addition to supplementary stuff. And the syllabus contains the list of what we have to read each week for class and then like three other lists of extra reading for context, etc. Probably over 30 books.
Well, anyway, that class went smoothly and then I went off to run my errands. I went to NatWest, where I now have a UK bank account, in order to transfer funds to it. Nope. No checks, just have to wire the money. Ok, not getting too upset, I went to O2, a cell phone provider, to find out they've run out of their ten pound phones but they have a 15 pound one, oh but wait, you have no money in your UK bank account, you can't buy a phone cus you'd need to set up direct debit for your phone plan and they need to check that you actually have money before they can do it. Ok. No phone until money. (I have no idea how to wire money from my TCF account because apparently they only wire to other "qualifying" TCF accounts. We'll sort this out later.)
So I'm walking back from the phone store and I double back to a fruit smoothie sign in the window of a tiny restaurant because I'm already hungry and a fruit smoothie (no powders, no syrup) sounds healthy and somewhat filling. So I sat in this Japanese-ish restaurant staring at my planner, making notes of things that need to be done this week and sipping my Tropical Storm. By the end of sitting there, I was getting panicky. As I've gotten older, panic has come to me more easily, especially when I'm waiting with nothing to do and have all the apprehension. I left the restaurant and went to the King's Shop to look at their portfolios for storing papers (I haven't found any folders here!). They were not something I would want to carry around and of course everything in that store was overpriced because it had the school logo on it. So I went back to campus and went up to find my next class, which didn't start for over an hour. I sat on a bench watching MTSS on my iPod as it was dying (and my only way to tell time) and not feeling well.
The class in the anatomy theatre got out so we shuffled in. I don't like this place. The writing surface is so far away from the seat I literally have to sit on the edge of it and it's still very uncomfortable. And that professor talks SO softly I could barely hear her. I don't know if I'm going to like that class but we'll see. I had another two hour break after that, and I found the cafeteria Michelle had told me about. Nothing looked especially appetizing but I bought some chili pasta for 2.70. It wasn't great. I wasn't in the mood for it. I was sitting there depressed again (and tired, etc.) so I ate as much as I could and just went to find my next class. It was in the same confusing hallway as my first one, but this time it was in the King's Building and I had to go through a door and through a dinky little hallway to get to it. But because I still had over an hour, I just in the main hallway (something no one here really does) and just wrote what I was feeling and then I daydreamed. Hardcore. Not nasty, but happy things that made me feel better. Finally, close to the start of class, I stopped in the bathroom and it was seriously one of the bathrooms out of my nightmares (you know the ones where there are literally 50 toilets and you dream that you have no privacy when you pee, yeah I dream that). The bathroom was HUGE. It had shower stalls and like a whole area in between the toilets and sinks where there was a big mirror and places to sit at it! Crazy.
After that I went to class: Irish Lit and Culture. Cozy little lecture space. That class looks to be ok. Pretty good. Ahhh, I have so much reading to do for next week. Oh! Another difference here is that they make coursepacks for you and just hand them out in class and then expect you to pay them. My Irish one was 4 pounds and Brit Lit and Film is 8. I went to seminar for Brit lit and film straight after that. Even in this enclosed space, tiny room, I could barely hear her! We went through the coursepack and then went around and said what nationality we considered ourselves and cinema related to that. I was really surprised at how diverse our group is! Oh, and apparently we don't have a weekly screening because she said we could just watch the movies ourselves so I get to go home at 6 on Tuesdays!
God my oyster card needs to come through! I got on the bus and thank god it was home time! I got off and starting walking down Borough High Street. Normally, I cut through Guy's campus, but that area can be kind of dead and I wanted to avoid cutting through the park cus it was dusk and people get mugged there at night). Plus I was alone. So I set off down the high street and then I see Joel at an ATM. Having not seen him since last week, I went over and said hi and he was heading in the direction of gdsa so we walked together. We just chatted about classes and then, after I explained that I was avoiding walking through the park alone, he walked me through it and then set off on his own errands.
I came home and made a grilled cheese and I've ordered most of my books off amazon. I have to go to Waterstone's tomorrow (they're the big booksellers here) to get the books I need read by next week. I also need to do some grocery shopping cus I've run out of meals except for cereal. Then there's a free Sexpression social at the Science Museum, so I'll go to that most likely. Now I plan on a cup of tea and some Peep Show (a comedy, not a porn!) before bed! Cheers!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Emosity
Hiya! Welcome to my world.
Today I woke up too early due to all the slamming doors on my hall. I laid in bed until my alarm, comfortable in my cocoon of warmth and thought. Sat around for two hours as I don't have class. I had made a plan last night that I was going to walk around on my own today, even though in the daylight that kind of terrified me. Before I left my room I was panicking a little bit, but at least I knew that I didn't have to wait on other people and that if I wanted to stop, I could just go home. I did one of the walks in the book my mum bought for me that took me around Southwark, where I live. It gave me new appreciation for the sights I walk by each day. I saw a graveyard, a beautiful park/garden, the original site of the Globe, and I paid to view an old operating theatre that is located in the roof of a church a few streets away. The theatre was from before the time of anesthesia and the idea of a sterile environment. There was also an herb garret, with all different samples telling what they were used for. There were surgical instruments, too--lots of forceps for midwifery and a rather frightening cervical dilator. Augh. The whole thing was accessed by a frighteningly narrow spiral staircase and I held onto the rope going up the middle like my life depended on it (which it sort of did).
After that mini adventure, I came home and did not for two hours again. Today was just a depressing day for sitting around cus I suppose I am getting a bit sick of it finally. Staring at the computer for so long. I caught the shuttle to Waterloo after having another brief panic, but it was the cool busdriver. I ran into Michelle, who had been at Strand since 9am, who didn't want to turn around again to go to the History welcome party. I trudged on and signed up for a library tour on Friday. I also learned that indeed, history classes do not meet this week. Then I sat while the party was being set up and because there were two people who were talking near me, I finally worked up the nerve to talk to them for a bit. I had also met two "buddies" for first years who are both on the board for the history society in the elevator and so I said hi to the girl who I saw again. Then, seeing as the one girl I had talked to had dispersed and I had met a "buddy" who I will see again this Friday for the haunted tour of London, I left. I grabbed the RV1 home and made soup and sat in the kitchen staring off into space even though three of my flatmates were there. I'm really struggling with a thing right now and it kind of hit me a little bit when I was waiting for the party to start. I remembered a really happy memory and it's weird how something like that, even though you're on this great adventure in London of all places, can make you feel so incredibly isolated. I guess time is the only way to heal this thing, although the thought of it healing completely scares me. Augh, my life.
In other good news though, Sexpression e-mailed out and there is a lot of good stuff happening in the next two days that I hope to make it to. Also, training weekend is coming up in October so I am going to do that. They are going to teach me how to teach sexual education and then I get to go out and do that in South London schools. My flatmates tell me that teenage pregnancy is a huge problem here so I will be doing good! Also, I am watching the new eppy of the Inbetweeners tonight with Katherine and Arun!
Today I woke up too early due to all the slamming doors on my hall. I laid in bed until my alarm, comfortable in my cocoon of warmth and thought. Sat around for two hours as I don't have class. I had made a plan last night that I was going to walk around on my own today, even though in the daylight that kind of terrified me. Before I left my room I was panicking a little bit, but at least I knew that I didn't have to wait on other people and that if I wanted to stop, I could just go home. I did one of the walks in the book my mum bought for me that took me around Southwark, where I live. It gave me new appreciation for the sights I walk by each day. I saw a graveyard, a beautiful park/garden, the original site of the Globe, and I paid to view an old operating theatre that is located in the roof of a church a few streets away. The theatre was from before the time of anesthesia and the idea of a sterile environment. There was also an herb garret, with all different samples telling what they were used for. There were surgical instruments, too--lots of forceps for midwifery and a rather frightening cervical dilator. Augh. The whole thing was accessed by a frighteningly narrow spiral staircase and I held onto the rope going up the middle like my life depended on it (which it sort of did).
After that mini adventure, I came home and did not for two hours again. Today was just a depressing day for sitting around cus I suppose I am getting a bit sick of it finally. Staring at the computer for so long. I caught the shuttle to Waterloo after having another brief panic, but it was the cool busdriver. I ran into Michelle, who had been at Strand since 9am, who didn't want to turn around again to go to the History welcome party. I trudged on and signed up for a library tour on Friday. I also learned that indeed, history classes do not meet this week. Then I sat while the party was being set up and because there were two people who were talking near me, I finally worked up the nerve to talk to them for a bit. I had also met two "buddies" for first years who are both on the board for the history society in the elevator and so I said hi to the girl who I saw again. Then, seeing as the one girl I had talked to had dispersed and I had met a "buddy" who I will see again this Friday for the haunted tour of London, I left. I grabbed the RV1 home and made soup and sat in the kitchen staring off into space even though three of my flatmates were there. I'm really struggling with a thing right now and it kind of hit me a little bit when I was waiting for the party to start. I remembered a really happy memory and it's weird how something like that, even though you're on this great adventure in London of all places, can make you feel so incredibly isolated. I guess time is the only way to heal this thing, although the thought of it healing completely scares me. Augh, my life.
In other good news though, Sexpression e-mailed out and there is a lot of good stuff happening in the next two days that I hope to make it to. Also, training weekend is coming up in October so I am going to do that. They are going to teach me how to teach sexual education and then I get to go out and do that in South London schools. My flatmates tell me that teenage pregnancy is a huge problem here so I will be doing good! Also, I am watching the new eppy of the Inbetweeners tonight with Katherine and Arun!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
My life is kind of a mess...
So. Yesterday we went to Strand area in order to open bank accounts, which was successful, although we don't get our debit cards for ten working days. The guy who set my account up was really nice. He told me I had a nice name (but he was wearing a wedding ring, so don't get any silly ideas!). Then the phone place was CLOSED!!! All weekend. So I guess that'll happen when I come to Strand for classes. We got chai lattes at Apostrophe (insert all sorts of umlauts and other symbols to make it look more hip), which were pretty bad and def. a waste of money. Because it was sunny (albeit a little chilly cus of the wind), we decided to "amble" back to home and to stop at Tate Modern on the way.
I have to say that Tate Modern was a bit of a letdown, though we only went on one free floor (we were tired!). And I guess it was a bad idea to go on a Saturday, but it was busy and we pretty much only looked at modern art, which is kind of stupid but ok. It def. straddles a line. So hunger brought us home after five hours of walking around. Are we in Europe enough that it's ok for people to snog full-on in public? When we were walking the Thames diversion path, a couple stopped by a tree and just kissed for a minute, then just started walking again. There were so many people around! Also a couple was being kissy in the Tate. Am I just jealous? Probably. But I still think PDA like that is weird.
Anyway, so I came home and made a better grilled cheese, ham, and pesto than the other night. So good! And I kind of sat around watching shows and doing su doku. Made plans to get a drink with Flynn. I looked up places that carried Brothers cider, so Flynn, Michelle, Arif, Flynn's friend Tom, and I ended up going to Southwark Tavern, this really cool place near Borough Market. They have "cells" in the basement which are really more like little rooms that they've remade into booth areas. So we snagged one of those just as some people were leaving. The conversation was ok. A little awkward where everyone paused and sipped at their drinks, but overall I didn't see it as a failure. Because I still need to build up my alcohol tolerance, and because that damn thing of cider was so big, I was already feeling it in my head and had just over half a pint. Sad, I know. But it was good! They didn't have strawberry pear cider, just pear, but it was still good. So we stayed there for two hours and then I was ready to head back. I was goofy and such until Michelle worried that Tom couldn't wait to get away from us so from that point all I did was worry. And the night for me kind of turned into a mess.
It was weird because Tom asked what our favorite thing was about Britain so far and I drew a total blank. It's not even that I'm not having a good time, it's just completely not what I expected. I've barely met any English people, aside from those in my flat. I've met mostly other American study abroad kids and maybe two or three European study abroad kids. That's why I'm so anxious for classes to start. It's not really fun to do all this stuff without certain/different people. I'm mixed up right now.
I have to say that Tate Modern was a bit of a letdown, though we only went on one free floor (we were tired!). And I guess it was a bad idea to go on a Saturday, but it was busy and we pretty much only looked at modern art, which is kind of stupid but ok. It def. straddles a line. So hunger brought us home after five hours of walking around. Are we in Europe enough that it's ok for people to snog full-on in public? When we were walking the Thames diversion path, a couple stopped by a tree and just kissed for a minute, then just started walking again. There were so many people around! Also a couple was being kissy in the Tate. Am I just jealous? Probably. But I still think PDA like that is weird.
Anyway, so I came home and made a better grilled cheese, ham, and pesto than the other night. So good! And I kind of sat around watching shows and doing su doku. Made plans to get a drink with Flynn. I looked up places that carried Brothers cider, so Flynn, Michelle, Arif, Flynn's friend Tom, and I ended up going to Southwark Tavern, this really cool place near Borough Market. They have "cells" in the basement which are really more like little rooms that they've remade into booth areas. So we snagged one of those just as some people were leaving. The conversation was ok. A little awkward where everyone paused and sipped at their drinks, but overall I didn't see it as a failure. Because I still need to build up my alcohol tolerance, and because that damn thing of cider was so big, I was already feeling it in my head and had just over half a pint. Sad, I know. But it was good! They didn't have strawberry pear cider, just pear, but it was still good. So we stayed there for two hours and then I was ready to head back. I was goofy and such until Michelle worried that Tom couldn't wait to get away from us so from that point all I did was worry. And the night for me kind of turned into a mess.
It was weird because Tom asked what our favorite thing was about Britain so far and I drew a total blank. It's not even that I'm not having a good time, it's just completely not what I expected. I've barely met any English people, aside from those in my flat. I've met mostly other American study abroad kids and maybe two or three European study abroad kids. That's why I'm so anxious for classes to start. It's not really fun to do all this stuff without certain/different people. I'm mixed up right now.
Friday, September 24, 2010
chill Friday night
Hiya. Not much to report. I didn't blog yesterday cus even less happened. Aside from more flat bonding. I thought it was going to be really awkward once some people left the kitchen, but Arif, Arun, Alison and I sat around talking (about British TV--FINALLY!!!) for a looong time, to the point where Charlie came back in the kitchen and Michelle came and knocked on the door and started chatting as well. It was super chill. We talked about tv shows and music and cultural differences I guess. Arun's been ALL OVER cus his mum is a flight attendant so apparently they get tickets for cheeeeeap. Anyway, so we talks for over two hours, until someone asked the time and I scrambled to get a shower and went online hoping to talk, but there weren't many people online and I was so dead tired I went to bed.
Today's purpose was to get oyster cards--to order them on paper at Student Funding. The guy at the desk seemed tired, but he explained to us, the most clearly so far, that all we had to do was just order the card, wait to get it, AND THEN go and put whatever plan we wanted on it. How simple is that? So I ordered my card with a rather unfortunate picture from facebook (see below)
Today's purpose was to get oyster cards--to order them on paper at Student Funding. The guy at the desk seemed tired, but he explained to us, the most clearly so far, that all we had to do was just order the card, wait to get it, AND THEN go and put whatever plan we wanted on it. How simple is that? So I ordered my card with a rather unfortunate picture from facebook (see below)
They said that they wanted head and shoulders, which makes it more funny that I'm squishing my neck up all tight. Anyway, it's the clearest picture of my face, so I went with it. Then I skyped with home, but I'm sad that just as I was about to get into a nice convo with Obi, I couldn't! So we've made plans to chat later on.
Michelle has been pressing me to do touristy things, so we paid 5.50 to go to the Clink. That's a prison museum. I had been feeling super crampy all day and it was freaking cold and windy out so I wasn't thrilled, even though I wanted to go, but when I paid and went into the building, I panicked slightly and silently. Mostly because they had audio of people screaming in absolute torment and a child crying. They had a lot of information on the walls, but it was honestly too dark to read a lot of it. This was the kind of place that had fake people in it, too, which made it a little more creepy. It was hands-on as well.
So we moved through, learning that prostitutes were imprisoned a lot, and that women with children were imprisoned. They considered children like miniature adults so they were responsible for themselves. People had to pay for their shackles and food and whatnot and if they couldn't afford it and there were no donations, they starved. They say that the prison is haunted. It's been around since like 1177 (?) or so. Towards the end, there was a display of a child in a bed raised a bit off the floor and that was kind of a luxury because the prison would flood. People also ate rats for lack of anything else and sometimes fattened up the rats beforehand. I'm sure you wanted to know that. Then we got our pictures taken in the death chair (death by choking?), which we can retrieve online but I have yet to do that.
After that dark and dingy place, we came back up to street level and wandered over to Borough Market. SO MUCH GOOD STUFF DEAR GOD. Cheeses and meats and fresh fruit and veg and beer and wine and bakeries and places to eat. Some other time maybe. This time was just to get our taste buds going (and because we had just been to Tesco Superstore). After that we stopped at Sainsburys and I just got another milk and more cereal. I'm glad Anna basically pointed out that fruit can go in one's cereal cus I've been doing that with my bananas.
Since that point I've just been chilling in my flat. Standing in the open air for a play did not seem appealing to me today so I spent my time indoors, watching the Inbetweeners (the new series just started here--so exciting!!!), which made me laugh out loud. It's so ridiculous! I've also been watching the Mighty Boosh, which Arun loooooves. He even pulled out his phone and started playing the song from the Tundra eppy and he knows all the words. So funny.
Oh, and I just got e-mailed my timetable finally for English. My Tuesdays are not great, as I mentioned already. I go 10-11, 1-2, and then 4-9. I have two seminars on Thursday though so that's a bit better. Then I have my history class Friday 10-11 and a seminar for it at some point in the afternoon, but hopefully not the 4-5 one. I don't think I'll know until class. Speaking of class, I'M SO READY FOR IT TO START. I want to meet people. I'm bored and I know that sounds crazy but I'm in between on all the important stuff right now so I just want to be completely settled. Once class starts, I won't feel like I'm ambling anymore and I can make it my backbone to making any other important plans or simple plans to go to museums, etc.
Oh! And we ran into Flynn today, and only hours before I was joking that we'd never see him again. But he is alive and well.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Good Things
Today was unstructured things, but still things that needed to be done. The day started off well, by finding the correct shuttle and discovering that the driver was actually a nice man who listened to "Smooth radio" which is the like motown disco-y radio. The first song that came on was that one that's like, "Heaven, must be missin' an angel, child, cus I'm here next to you right now." Lol. It was a brilliant way to begin the day. We went to Strand to get bank things sorted and then to NatWest, where we wanted to open bank accounts, only to find out that they're so backed up that we had to schedule appointments until Saturday. So still no phones until then. Then home to break and I finally got a chance to speak to Arif (sp?), the boy who lives next to me. I found out that he went to boarding school in Shrewsbury, so he's no stranger to England. He was actually quite nice and we chatted for a bit. Then Michelle and I figured out busing to Walworth Road, where we went to Argo's (pronounced Ar-goss) and Superdrug. Argo's is a giant catalogue store. You find what you want, write down the number and quantity, then pay for it, then go pick it up at a counter. I got an alarm clock and battery for less than ten pounds. Next we went next door to Superdrug, which is a cross between like a Sally's Beauty Supply and a Walgreen's. It was kind of like coming home--there were finally familiar brands, and many, to choose from. I finally found Q-tips, which are called "cotton wool buds" here. And ibuprofen, which only comes in packs of 16 tablets. Band-aids, mouthwash, etc. Then of course because there was a Salvation Army on the street, we had to stop there. Michelle, ever the avid fashion-finder, found an H&M coat in size 10 for 3.99 (maybe not even $7). So I had to buy it. It's really cute. And navy. And form-fitting.
Then we dropped all THAT off, and went to the Tesco express we spotted on the shuttle earlier in the day. I got more non-perishables, a bit of fresh fruit, more carrots and Tesco hummus (we'll have to see if it can win out over Sainsburys...tough competition). Michelle bought most of the stuff for dinner. We had burritos with refried kidney beans, chicken, orange pepper, mushroom, garlic, onion, hot pepper, cumin. Pretty damn good. Michelle's flat is kind of close as themselves, but they're all into the party scene. I stayed quiet, and usually after a day of running around, I really look forward to time alone doing my own thing. So I helped with some dishes then went back to my flat.
Now, when I hear voices in the kitchen (immediately on the left, across from my room immediately on the right), I always feel as though I should go in and be a bit social. It is good for me. So I grabbed my alarm clock in order to set it up in there, which ended up paying off. S (I'm not even going to attempt spelling her name) helped me actually to fit in the battery (I'm retarded). We were sitting around and having one of the usually quite weird conversations I end up having. We were talking a bit about cultural customs and bestiality and other things but it was funny and nice to finally bond. Everyone was there except for Arif. I had forgotten until Catherine came back in that we were going to be eating moon cake, a Chinese tradition that Allison then explained to us. So we had tea and sweets and had good conversation and it was really nice. Finally there was talk of group cooking one night a week. Then I got tired and needed to go actually organize the growing pile of things on my bed so I left and listened to jazz and was really happy and sad a little and showered. And just as I thought that I'll finally get to sleep in and have a free day, I remember that the "fresher's fayre" is tomorrow, basically the equivalent of Festifall. So I want to go to that to look at the clubs but also to get free shit. And then it's trying to apply for an oyster card and after that, Tesco superstore for non-food type things. Will it ever end? I dunno, but I am both excited and nervous for classes to start. Did I tell you that my classes fall on only two days a week? But that I have three classes on Tuesdays and only one on Friday? Which means that Tuesdays I will have class from 10AM-9PM on Strand campus with maybe four hours tops of break and that on Friday I could be stuck out there from 10-5 for only two hours of class? I've yet to receive my timetable, but it is obvious that Tuesdays are going to be shit. Lol.
Then we dropped all THAT off, and went to the Tesco express we spotted on the shuttle earlier in the day. I got more non-perishables, a bit of fresh fruit, more carrots and Tesco hummus (we'll have to see if it can win out over Sainsburys...tough competition). Michelle bought most of the stuff for dinner. We had burritos with refried kidney beans, chicken, orange pepper, mushroom, garlic, onion, hot pepper, cumin. Pretty damn good. Michelle's flat is kind of close as themselves, but they're all into the party scene. I stayed quiet, and usually after a day of running around, I really look forward to time alone doing my own thing. So I helped with some dishes then went back to my flat.
Now, when I hear voices in the kitchen (immediately on the left, across from my room immediately on the right), I always feel as though I should go in and be a bit social. It is good for me. So I grabbed my alarm clock in order to set it up in there, which ended up paying off. S (I'm not even going to attempt spelling her name) helped me actually to fit in the battery (I'm retarded). We were sitting around and having one of the usually quite weird conversations I end up having. We were talking a bit about cultural customs and bestiality and other things but it was funny and nice to finally bond. Everyone was there except for Arif. I had forgotten until Catherine came back in that we were going to be eating moon cake, a Chinese tradition that Allison then explained to us. So we had tea and sweets and had good conversation and it was really nice. Finally there was talk of group cooking one night a week. Then I got tired and needed to go actually organize the growing pile of things on my bed so I left and listened to jazz and was really happy and sad a little and showered. And just as I thought that I'll finally get to sleep in and have a free day, I remember that the "fresher's fayre" is tomorrow, basically the equivalent of Festifall. So I want to go to that to look at the clubs but also to get free shit. And then it's trying to apply for an oyster card and after that, Tesco superstore for non-food type things. Will it ever end? I dunno, but I am both excited and nervous for classes to start. Did I tell you that my classes fall on only two days a week? But that I have three classes on Tuesdays and only one on Friday? Which means that Tuesdays I will have class from 10AM-9PM on Strand campus with maybe four hours tops of break and that on Friday I could be stuck out there from 10-5 for only two hours of class? I've yet to receive my timetable, but it is obvious that Tuesdays are going to be shit. Lol.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
What I learned today
- Shuttle buses don't always go the routes that they're labeled to go.
- Where the shuttle bus leaves from Guy's Campus.
- London drivers are angry people.
- The RV1 is MY route! Stops RIGHT OUTSIDE Strand Campus.
- Not really how to navigate my own way through a strange (and huge) city. (There was a brief moment of panic when on a bus caught in a horrendous jam, but then I got off.)
- Not having a phone here yet really puts me in the shit.
- I still don't understand how oyster cards work.
- Some English people speak really, really quickly.
- That even when I'm back at home (gdsa), and seemingly safe and content, loneliness will creep in, and when I'm standing in that tiny ass corner of a shower, adjusting the water temperature a small amount for a gigantic change, I will think about my life in Michigan and feel completely...in between. Missing someone but not knowing what it means right now or what it means for the rest of my life, or even the next few years.
Monday, September 20, 2010
The first few days...
So last I left you all I was depressed and alone in my room, trying to talk myself into this. Eventually a girl from my hall knocked on my door to introduce herself, which was really nice. Catherine, who I'd met while moving in, also poked her head out her door. Allison, the first girl, informed that there was to be a meet and greet soonish down in the Red Room or Blue Room. There were awkward pauses and stuff. Catherine seemed to not exaclty have a plan so I asked if she wanted someone to walk around with. She was really grateful so I said I would just change my pants (I was wearing sweats) and it was only later that night that I realized that pants are indeed underwear in Britain and it was kind of awkward. But we ended up going just into the kitchen (located across the hall from me) while Allison made dinner for herself and talking. We went down to the courtyard, apparently having missed the meet and greet, so we just sat around talking a bit. I met Flynn, a guy from Hong Kong, who had met Allison earlier that day. Some people were heading out to Guy's Bar for another welcome event, but my jet lag and bit of homesickness made my room call to me. So I took my leave, only to receive a knock on my door ten minutes later.
My first tea! We sat around in the kitchen and had tea and biscuits! Hari, another study abroad student from DC, came in and whereas I felt some initial cultural awkwardness with the British girls, with Hari there was immediate connection. To be expected, no? Anyway, a lot of us were hanging out and I finally got a hold of Michelle again and invited her over. We all sat around talking and Flynn was there and we decided to play cards. Hari's two friends from DC who are also studying abroad came and we all played spoons with Allison's chopsticks. Then the DC girls went to get food so the rest of us played Slap, a game similar to Egyptian Rap Screw. I had to call it a night after that.
Michelle and I had a better breakfast experience at a cafe two doors away from the one we had visited our first day. I got a plain bagel with sausages and we both had English breakfast tea. Naturally. It was soooo nice to have something warm! I had left Catherine a note, so she and Allison met us on the corner to head to the Sainsburys local. (Sainsburys is one of the major grocery store chains.) Michelle and I oggled all the British products, noting the differences. I came away with some yummy carrots for a pound, some tea, and other goodies. Some things were more expensive than in America and some were the same or better. The only major difference I've noticed is that if something is on sale for like 3 for 4 pounds, in order to get the discount, you have to buy 3 three things. You can't just buy one and get it at the sale price. Tricky.
So after Sainsburys we dropped off our groceries and walked alllll the way to the Tesco superstore. We were pressed for time so all I got was some tacks for the bulletin board. We had to book it back to GDSA (Great Dover Street Apartments) in order to meet up for the neighborhood and Guy's Campus tour. We walked up Borough High Street and mostly I couldn't hear what the tourguide, a senior student, was saying. There was another senior student at the back, named Ina, and she was really nice. I talked a bit with the girls from my hall and even started talking to other people, notably a girl from Gibraltar. During this walk, we went by the Clink Prison Museum which is right next to Vinopolis (a wine tasting place and museum), both of which Samantha Brown visited in Passport to Europe. Exciting!
After ending up at Guy's Campus, we opted to go back to gdsa and rest for an hour. It quickly went by skyping with Mum, talking about possible care packages (YES PLEASE). Then Michelle and I went off to try to find Argo's to get cell phones. Cue our first double decker bus experience. Even though we studied the route, we still ended up not finding Argo's, though Michelle did get some hangers from a Dollar Tree-like store. And we passed an ASDA. The neighborhood was getting seedy (Meredith: If there's not a Starbucks, get the fuck out!), so we turned around and went to the ASDA. Apparently those close at 5, and it was quarter to so we booked it around once the woman on the PA was saying proceed to checkout. Booked it to pick out dishes. 4 pounds for a dish set, same price for 4 mugs, and a set of cutlery for 7. Nice. Then we caught the bus back home again.
Not even an hour later, we headed to the Roebuck, the pub across the street, for a welcome event solely for those who reside in gdsa. There was one free drink voucher. The bartender was really fun, but the free drink was strong as hell and weird so I only had a few sips. We ran into Flynn again and stood awkwardly chatting with him while music blasted around us. This party took place in the private area upstairs and the music made it impossible to hear without having to bend an ear near the person's mouth. So we decided to go. We invited Flynn to get something to eat with us so we walked along Borough High Street and ended up at the Blue Eyed Maid. We all ordered fish and chips. THEY WERE SO GOOD. The tartar sauce! Mmm! It was a pleasant way to spend the evening, especially because it was my first real meal all day. A weird old man was setting up kareoke while we were there. We were the only ones in the main room and he began to sing really awkwardly, especially when he did an Usher song. It got to the point where I was laughing out loud and I felt bad so we left. Another stop at Sainsburys got me those 4 muffins for a pound that Meredith told me about and some hummus for less than a pound (AND IT'S SO GOOD). We booked it to gdsa for peeing purposes and the rest of the night was pretty chill. I took some tea with my flatmates. Two boys had arrived and the kitchen was full of energy. I left to skype home.
Today we were meant to be on Strand at 1 for history welcome. We missed the free shuttle from Guy's to Waterloo (which is a mere 5 min walk from Strand), so we ended up walking. A decent choice for a rather sunny and warm London day. We found the river and walked along it's path. Gorgeous! Cue Millennium Bridge and other lovely sights. Together, Michelle and I can get around, but we're not sure how we would fare on our own. With maps and memory, we did it. After the rather lax welcome by a rather adorable/sexyish Irish professor, we had three hours to wander around before registration. Before the welcome, we met another American named Eric and we spent the rest of the day with him. We wandered along the Strand as it turned into Fleet Street and stopped at a really cute sandwich shop for lunch. I had the cream cheese and smoked salmon with pepper and lemon. We sat talking then decided to make use of our time. I navigated to Lincoln's Inn Fields, a sort of park where we wandered and petted dogs and talked about history. Then we walked more and I got a shitty green tea but now I realize I was just dehydrated. We then went back to campus and sat waiting for registration. That completed, ID card in hand, we ran into Joel, a man (a MAN, 31), who lives in Michelle's block. He was going to get a phone, so we walked along with him and stopped in three stores only to disappointment. Finally, after Joel went home, Eric went his own way and Michelle and I walked baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack to Waterloo Bridge only to discover after a series of enquiries that we had missed the last shuttle to Guy's. Fortunately, the librarians on campus told us the 381 bus would take us to Guy's, which it did, thank Christ.
We trudged home like broken souls, our feet having given out hours before. I offered to cook dinner so Michelle changed and met me at my door. We had kitchen meetings (going over safety, rules, etc.) so she had to leave and due to my cooking during most of the talk, I missed a lot. I ate the pasta and then Michelle came back just as I was putting hers away. But then she ate and we tried to make a tentative plan for tomorrow, which includes us being gone probably longer than 8 hours. Orientation, English welcome, study skills, and living in london. Dear god. AND I still have a list of things I need to buy. Phone is top priority, then probably a trip to Tesco to get more living basics. But I think the ONE history class I'm taking has been cancelled. It's not on the timetable and that fact alone makes me mad. King's website and general way of going about things does not seem too practical to me. Here's to making it through tomorrow!
My first tea! We sat around in the kitchen and had tea and biscuits! Hari, another study abroad student from DC, came in and whereas I felt some initial cultural awkwardness with the British girls, with Hari there was immediate connection. To be expected, no? Anyway, a lot of us were hanging out and I finally got a hold of Michelle again and invited her over. We all sat around talking and Flynn was there and we decided to play cards. Hari's two friends from DC who are also studying abroad came and we all played spoons with Allison's chopsticks. Then the DC girls went to get food so the rest of us played Slap, a game similar to Egyptian Rap Screw. I had to call it a night after that.
Michelle and I had a better breakfast experience at a cafe two doors away from the one we had visited our first day. I got a plain bagel with sausages and we both had English breakfast tea. Naturally. It was soooo nice to have something warm! I had left Catherine a note, so she and Allison met us on the corner to head to the Sainsburys local. (Sainsburys is one of the major grocery store chains.) Michelle and I oggled all the British products, noting the differences. I came away with some yummy carrots for a pound, some tea, and other goodies. Some things were more expensive than in America and some were the same or better. The only major difference I've noticed is that if something is on sale for like 3 for 4 pounds, in order to get the discount, you have to buy 3 three things. You can't just buy one and get it at the sale price. Tricky.
So after Sainsburys we dropped off our groceries and walked alllll the way to the Tesco superstore. We were pressed for time so all I got was some tacks for the bulletin board. We had to book it back to GDSA (Great Dover Street Apartments) in order to meet up for the neighborhood and Guy's Campus tour. We walked up Borough High Street and mostly I couldn't hear what the tourguide, a senior student, was saying. There was another senior student at the back, named Ina, and she was really nice. I talked a bit with the girls from my hall and even started talking to other people, notably a girl from Gibraltar. During this walk, we went by the Clink Prison Museum which is right next to Vinopolis (a wine tasting place and museum), both of which Samantha Brown visited in Passport to Europe. Exciting!
After ending up at Guy's Campus, we opted to go back to gdsa and rest for an hour. It quickly went by skyping with Mum, talking about possible care packages (YES PLEASE). Then Michelle and I went off to try to find Argo's to get cell phones. Cue our first double decker bus experience. Even though we studied the route, we still ended up not finding Argo's, though Michelle did get some hangers from a Dollar Tree-like store. And we passed an ASDA. The neighborhood was getting seedy (Meredith: If there's not a Starbucks, get the fuck out!), so we turned around and went to the ASDA. Apparently those close at 5, and it was quarter to so we booked it around once the woman on the PA was saying proceed to checkout. Booked it to pick out dishes. 4 pounds for a dish set, same price for 4 mugs, and a set of cutlery for 7. Nice. Then we caught the bus back home again.
Not even an hour later, we headed to the Roebuck, the pub across the street, for a welcome event solely for those who reside in gdsa. There was one free drink voucher. The bartender was really fun, but the free drink was strong as hell and weird so I only had a few sips. We ran into Flynn again and stood awkwardly chatting with him while music blasted around us. This party took place in the private area upstairs and the music made it impossible to hear without having to bend an ear near the person's mouth. So we decided to go. We invited Flynn to get something to eat with us so we walked along Borough High Street and ended up at the Blue Eyed Maid. We all ordered fish and chips. THEY WERE SO GOOD. The tartar sauce! Mmm! It was a pleasant way to spend the evening, especially because it was my first real meal all day. A weird old man was setting up kareoke while we were there. We were the only ones in the main room and he began to sing really awkwardly, especially when he did an Usher song. It got to the point where I was laughing out loud and I felt bad so we left. Another stop at Sainsburys got me those 4 muffins for a pound that Meredith told me about and some hummus for less than a pound (AND IT'S SO GOOD). We booked it to gdsa for peeing purposes and the rest of the night was pretty chill. I took some tea with my flatmates. Two boys had arrived and the kitchen was full of energy. I left to skype home.
Today we were meant to be on Strand at 1 for history welcome. We missed the free shuttle from Guy's to Waterloo (which is a mere 5 min walk from Strand), so we ended up walking. A decent choice for a rather sunny and warm London day. We found the river and walked along it's path. Gorgeous! Cue Millennium Bridge and other lovely sights. Together, Michelle and I can get around, but we're not sure how we would fare on our own. With maps and memory, we did it. After the rather lax welcome by a rather adorable/sexyish Irish professor, we had three hours to wander around before registration. Before the welcome, we met another American named Eric and we spent the rest of the day with him. We wandered along the Strand as it turned into Fleet Street and stopped at a really cute sandwich shop for lunch. I had the cream cheese and smoked salmon with pepper and lemon. We sat talking then decided to make use of our time. I navigated to Lincoln's Inn Fields, a sort of park where we wandered and petted dogs and talked about history. Then we walked more and I got a shitty green tea but now I realize I was just dehydrated. We then went back to campus and sat waiting for registration. That completed, ID card in hand, we ran into Joel, a man (a MAN, 31), who lives in Michelle's block. He was going to get a phone, so we walked along with him and stopped in three stores only to disappointment. Finally, after Joel went home, Eric went his own way and Michelle and I walked baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack to Waterloo Bridge only to discover after a series of enquiries that we had missed the last shuttle to Guy's. Fortunately, the librarians on campus told us the 381 bus would take us to Guy's, which it did, thank Christ.
We trudged home like broken souls, our feet having given out hours before. I offered to cook dinner so Michelle changed and met me at my door. We had kitchen meetings (going over safety, rules, etc.) so she had to leave and due to my cooking during most of the talk, I missed a lot. I ate the pasta and then Michelle came back just as I was putting hers away. But then she ate and we tried to make a tentative plan for tomorrow, which includes us being gone probably longer than 8 hours. Orientation, English welcome, study skills, and living in london. Dear god. AND I still have a list of things I need to buy. Phone is top priority, then probably a trip to Tesco to get more living basics. But I think the ONE history class I'm taking has been cancelled. It's not on the timetable and that fact alone makes me mad. King's website and general way of going about things does not seem too practical to me. Here's to making it through tomorrow!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
HERE
I waited so long to just say that I just touched down in Londontown and now I have no spirit for it.
It's my first time out of the country and it's already blowing my mind.
Check-in went very smoothly at the airport and then our flight was delayed 45 min for boarding and another half an hour while we sat in it on the runway. It was super quick though. We booked it from there to a different terminal and only had to wait like 20 minutes to board the 7+ hour flight to London. I was not looking forward to it. I ended up at first sitting next to a woman based out of London, but originally from Nigeria, which made me a little happy cus obviously she made me think of Obi. She had the wrong seat though but her replacement was nice. We ended up having a screen to ourselves like Rachel had told me about. I watched Little Miss Sunshine and was able to ignore the fact that we were airborne and it made me laugh. We were served dinner towards the end. We had a really cool male flight attendant who joked with us. After dinner was picked up, they turned the cabin lights off and most people curled up (as well as you can in an economy seat), and slept. Michelle was OUT. I only slept lightly maybe twice, frequently turning on the screen to check our progress. I was terrified when we were clear over the Atlantic and there was turbulence...
That flight was so long! They served us warm croissants and fruit an hour before we landed. Michelle kept turning to me with the grin that only meant: "We're here." I felt sick. Lol. And tired! We first followed the signs and waited in line to go through the border agency, who were kind of meanish but the guy I had was witty-mean. I had to scan two fingerprints and talk to him about what I was doing in England. Then Michelle and I got our bags and there. were. so. many. We then had a scary scrambling moment about what the fuck we were to do to get to our room. No signs for a shuttle and we had too much stuff to maneuver. We decided to do what we were told not to do--get a taxi to our dorm. At least we were splitting it, right? And the lady at information said it would only be 60 pounds. Our driver was nice but quiet and old so he had not very good eyes. He took us to Dover St instead of Great Dover St and then kept the meter running while he looked up our street on his map. (This is weird because London cabbies have to pass a test proving their knowledge of the roads and routes. He was licensed at least.) We finally got there to a fee of 77 pounds, and unsure whether to tip, I just gave him 80 cus he kind of messed up. Whatever. We got to our place with all of our stuff safely.
We both checked in with ease and were given our keys. Great Dover Street Apartments are divided up into blocks, then apartments, then individual rooms. I'm 5H, so naturally, floor 5, right? Wrong. Floor 3 because there are multiple apartments per floor. Which I figured out after many elevator trips lugging all my shit, wishing for nothing more than a shower, a meal, and a bed. Then my key wouldn't work so I left my stuff and had a senior student help me. She opened the door no problem. I felt shamed. But at least I had my room!
I dragged my stuff in the door and looked at the bathroom. I almost cried. You'll understand when you see pictures. My first thought was, "I signed up for nine and a half MONTHS of this?!" I despaired. But at least it's my own bathroom. I spent time unpacking all my things and getting settled. Finally got a hold of Michelle again and took a shower before she came over. We were both starving so we just went to a pub called Roebuck's down the road. I didn't want to drink and we took a look at the menu. Nothing good. So we walked out and on the road, by this time I was beginning to feel sick from hunger and fatigue.
We settled for a cafe where I committed the faux pas of ordering at the counter, not realizing it was a sit-down place. As I waited for the food, the floor was tilting up and I couldn't focus. I managed a few pieces of bread from my sandwich and a few bites of "salad" (corn, cole slaw, lettuce, shredded carrot, three small slices of cucumber, and two tomato wedges). Then I told Michelle I needed to go back and sleep.
So we came back to our building and split up, arranging to meet later on to plan what to do tomorrow. I set up my plug adapter and then peaced out in bed. I then went wandering for Michelle's room, forgetting the number, but no luck. So I'm here, regaling you readers with my troubles.
I know it's the first day. After the bathroom, I kept telling myself it's a learning experience and it will be ok. I just can't believe I'm here for 9.5 months. That scares me. Am I ready for this? I can't believe it's actually happening. It's hard because I have to make friends all over again, although everyone I've talked to is really nice. I think things will be better once school-type things start happening. Also, must talk to people of my apartment asap in order to discuss food and dishes cus I certainly can't afford to eat out all the time, which I'm going to have to do at least through tomorrow. ALSO ALSO, first impressions driving through London are that it's not that intimidating! I mean, I've been to New York, etc. It's like that. Any other big city. Just old. I was almost disappointed. Lol. But I have yet to go on adventures deep into its heart...
It's my first time out of the country and it's already blowing my mind.
Check-in went very smoothly at the airport and then our flight was delayed 45 min for boarding and another half an hour while we sat in it on the runway. It was super quick though. We booked it from there to a different terminal and only had to wait like 20 minutes to board the 7+ hour flight to London. I was not looking forward to it. I ended up at first sitting next to a woman based out of London, but originally from Nigeria, which made me a little happy cus obviously she made me think of Obi. She had the wrong seat though but her replacement was nice. We ended up having a screen to ourselves like Rachel had told me about. I watched Little Miss Sunshine and was able to ignore the fact that we were airborne and it made me laugh. We were served dinner towards the end. We had a really cool male flight attendant who joked with us. After dinner was picked up, they turned the cabin lights off and most people curled up (as well as you can in an economy seat), and slept. Michelle was OUT. I only slept lightly maybe twice, frequently turning on the screen to check our progress. I was terrified when we were clear over the Atlantic and there was turbulence...
That flight was so long! They served us warm croissants and fruit an hour before we landed. Michelle kept turning to me with the grin that only meant: "We're here." I felt sick. Lol. And tired! We first followed the signs and waited in line to go through the border agency, who were kind of meanish but the guy I had was witty-mean. I had to scan two fingerprints and talk to him about what I was doing in England. Then Michelle and I got our bags and there. were. so. many. We then had a scary scrambling moment about what the fuck we were to do to get to our room. No signs for a shuttle and we had too much stuff to maneuver. We decided to do what we were told not to do--get a taxi to our dorm. At least we were splitting it, right? And the lady at information said it would only be 60 pounds. Our driver was nice but quiet and old so he had not very good eyes. He took us to Dover St instead of Great Dover St and then kept the meter running while he looked up our street on his map. (This is weird because London cabbies have to pass a test proving their knowledge of the roads and routes. He was licensed at least.) We finally got there to a fee of 77 pounds, and unsure whether to tip, I just gave him 80 cus he kind of messed up. Whatever. We got to our place with all of our stuff safely.
We both checked in with ease and were given our keys. Great Dover Street Apartments are divided up into blocks, then apartments, then individual rooms. I'm 5H, so naturally, floor 5, right? Wrong. Floor 3 because there are multiple apartments per floor. Which I figured out after many elevator trips lugging all my shit, wishing for nothing more than a shower, a meal, and a bed. Then my key wouldn't work so I left my stuff and had a senior student help me. She opened the door no problem. I felt shamed. But at least I had my room!
I dragged my stuff in the door and looked at the bathroom. I almost cried. You'll understand when you see pictures. My first thought was, "I signed up for nine and a half MONTHS of this?!" I despaired. But at least it's my own bathroom. I spent time unpacking all my things and getting settled. Finally got a hold of Michelle again and took a shower before she came over. We were both starving so we just went to a pub called Roebuck's down the road. I didn't want to drink and we took a look at the menu. Nothing good. So we walked out and on the road, by this time I was beginning to feel sick from hunger and fatigue.
We settled for a cafe where I committed the faux pas of ordering at the counter, not realizing it was a sit-down place. As I waited for the food, the floor was tilting up and I couldn't focus. I managed a few pieces of bread from my sandwich and a few bites of "salad" (corn, cole slaw, lettuce, shredded carrot, three small slices of cucumber, and two tomato wedges). Then I told Michelle I needed to go back and sleep.
So we came back to our building and split up, arranging to meet later on to plan what to do tomorrow. I set up my plug adapter and then peaced out in bed. I then went wandering for Michelle's room, forgetting the number, but no luck. So I'm here, regaling you readers with my troubles.
I know it's the first day. After the bathroom, I kept telling myself it's a learning experience and it will be ok. I just can't believe I'm here for 9.5 months. That scares me. Am I ready for this? I can't believe it's actually happening. It's hard because I have to make friends all over again, although everyone I've talked to is really nice. I think things will be better once school-type things start happening. Also, must talk to people of my apartment asap in order to discuss food and dishes cus I certainly can't afford to eat out all the time, which I'm going to have to do at least through tomorrow. ALSO ALSO, first impressions driving through London are that it's not that intimidating! I mean, I've been to New York, etc. It's like that. Any other big city. Just old. I was almost disappointed. Lol. But I have yet to go on adventures deep into its heart...
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
First!
TEST ENTRY. SORT OF.
I am leaving for London in TWO DAYS. Two. Scary. Yesterday I spent an hour rolling up my clothes in order to save space in my suitcase, but all my clothes take up the biggest suitcase! This could be a problem...but I think it weighs less than 50 lbs. Anyways, I'm kind of nervous for the flight, especially because I started getting a sore throat yesterday and a runny nose. Sleep sleep sleep for me for the next two nights. And then some Xanax. And then...London! And extreme loss of money coupled with extreme experiences.
Ok, I'm just babbling so I would just like to say a big thank you to my parents, Mum and Steve, without whom this would definitely not have been possible. :)
Now leave me love!
I am leaving for London in TWO DAYS. Two. Scary. Yesterday I spent an hour rolling up my clothes in order to save space in my suitcase, but all my clothes take up the biggest suitcase! This could be a problem...but I think it weighs less than 50 lbs. Anyways, I'm kind of nervous for the flight, especially because I started getting a sore throat yesterday and a runny nose. Sleep sleep sleep for me for the next two nights. And then some Xanax. And then...London! And extreme loss of money coupled with extreme experiences.
Ok, I'm just babbling so I would just like to say a big thank you to my parents, Mum and Steve, without whom this would definitely not have been possible. :)
Now leave me love!
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