:)

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. ;)

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!

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!

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.

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)

 

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. 

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.

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. 

Cheers.