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!
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