Touristy London

On January 31st, after a few days of recovery, Libby and I decided to get up and knock some things off the "Tourist List." Since we live here, we've been very concerned with finding the underlying secret London. Touristy London was put on the back burner seeing as its always there and we can go any time. Today, we decided any time was now.

We started at madame Tussauds Wax Museum by Baker Street. For a joint ticket of 39 pounds, you gt entrance into Madame Tussauds and a ride on the London Eye. Libby and I, being the thrifty girls that we are, decided to save a few bucks and buy the joint tickets. If you're planning to come to London and see both of these attractions, the joint ticket is definitely the way to go. We also got lucky that it was a peculiarly sunny day for London.

Inside the wax museum, it was like one long photo shoot. Once I realized you could touch and fondle the statues, the real fun began. After pictures with the red carpet walkers, we moved on to Disney channel stars, into movie actor and directors, sport people, British royalty, and finally political figures. Favorite pictures of the day= Margaret Thatcher, Pope John Paul II, and Henry VIII.

After a short tube ride (which was actually horrific to figure out because half the tube lines were shut down) we came out on the south bank of the Thames and were eclipsed by the London Eye. Before entering the pods for out trip around, we watched a 4D movie about the Eye (worthless but fun nonetheless). Upon boarding, Libby and I were in a state of utter and divine happiness. After phone calls and texts to love ones telling them where we were (in the hopes of making them incredibly jealous) another photo shoot began. This time however, we were not the subjecs of these photos. It reminded me of the scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off when they are at the top of the Sears Tower looking down and Sloane says "It looks so peaceful from up here." London, while hustling and bustling around on street level was serene and calm from the air. One of the best parts about waiting to ride the Eye until a few weeks into our adventure was that fro the air, we could point out areas and landmarks from the air. We finally saw all of London and how it laid out. As the sun set in front of us, I couldn't have imagined a better experience on the Eye.

After a nice dinner at the Red Lion Pub right up from 10 Downing Street, we headed home, wrapped head to toe in happiness from our amazing day in Touristy London.

My 21st Birthday

Started well...ended with me safe in my bed...in between is a blur. good night. :)

Come Dine With Me!

While many American TV shows are very popular across the pond, Britain does have many original shows, one of which, Come Dine With Me, has become the inspiration for many a Poobeaurice night. Basically, a group of people (4-5 if I understand it correctly) each make a meal at their home that is attended by the other members of the group. After dinner, they go into a room with a camera (very Big Brother style) and give the meal a rating. The person who gets the best rating overall gets a prize and bragging rights. While I have never seen the show, the Brits have informed me that the greatness of the show has nothing to do with the food or people but with the narrator. When I told the group that I wanted to make them an American dinner, one dinner spurred into a Come Dine With Me extravaganza that is still incomplete to this day. After each meal, we go give a score on Katy's computer and at the end, we'll watch the scores, crown a winner, and that person gets an all expense paid trip to How's Your Father? Can you say jaegerbombs!!! (I really hope I win but I think Krish has taken the cake)

We began with Nikki, the token vegetarian, who made stir-fry. A little spicy, and the first time I had ever tried tofu, but all in all an awesome meal.

I was next. I like to call it Dinner de Americano. I went a little overboard and decided on a menu of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, and a from-scratch apple pie with ice cream for dessert. I spent the better part of 6 hours prepping this wonderful meal and let me just say, it was well worth it. The Brits had never had meatloaf before (shocking!) and the sides were just my favorite meatloaf sides while at home. I had to ask Kate Happe for her recipe as she is the master of meatloaf and it turned out perfect. I did burn the top crust of the pie but I just rolled out a new one and baked it again, no harm no foul. Everyone loved it. Including Libby, Sami, and Adele who came as my American support...thanks lovelies. :)

Josh was next, chicken skewers and stir-fry, more spicy than I normally like but still delicious.

Cat was next, sausages (not at all like American sausages) and a cheesecake for dessert.

Sofia made some type of casserole type dish that was awesome.

Krish is the only meal that I really remember for two reasons; it is the most recent of the dinners and it was the first time I had ever had duck. Let me tell you, every chance since then that I have been able to order duck, I have. Thank you Krishnan for introducing me to the wonderful world of duck. :)

Katy went just last night and made chili (a little spicy but awesome) and fajitas with a nacho starter. Everyone ate way too much and went home happy.

The best part about Come Dine With Me is that we all get together for dinner, chat about our days, discuss plans for the night, and just have time to be together. When I think about it now, these were some of the best nights, just sitting around and sharing some food. These people are nothing short of amazing. :)

Brick Lane Market

Sunday January 23rd

In St. Louis, the only market I know of (besides the illegal purse market) is Soulard. In London, markets are all over the place and each market is known for selling different things from jewelry and clothes to antiques to flowers. Whole markets dedicated to flowers...can't wait until the spring to see these markets in all their glory but I digress...

Brick Lane Market is one of the closest to my campus and is mostly home to incredible jewelry, awesome clothes, and one of a kind accessories...not to mention the huge food hall area with cuisine from all over the world. The best thing about Brick Lane Market is that it doesn't really get rolling until 11am at the earliest which means that there is no near to race against the sun to be there on time so you don't miss anything. After a short walk past some of the best curry restaurants in London, a warehouse has been converted into an indoor market with three levels. The first level has the food hall and a ton of vendor stalls, second floor has more stalls plus an area with picnic tables to rest and eat at, and the third floor is a vintage market with everything from shoes and clothes to jewelry and purses.

On this particular morning, we walked from Liverpool Street tube station through the windy streets of Shoreditch and eventually landed at the market. After shopping for a few hours with Ben, Amy, Libby, Sofia, Josh, and Adele, the Americans were left in the dust as the Brits moved onto the next market. Libby, Adele, and I then decided to get lunch from this restaurant/bowling alley called All Star. If you ever come to London and miss fluffy buttermilk pancakes, All Star is the only place to go. After a month of scones, croissants, and baked beans for breakfast, a traditional American breakfast was incredible. The best part about this restaurant though was not the breakfast, but the Blue Moon with sliced orange that was served along side it. (Well, technically Libby ordered it but that lightweight can't handle anything...haha) The best part about Brick Lane, its a short distance away from a tube that goes right to Mile End...of the joys of the tube.

I've been back to Brick Lane in the last month and find it more amazing every time. There is always a new booth or food hall...tons of people lining the streets selling everything you could ever need from plumbing supplies to sausages to vinyl records. More markets are on definitely on the agenda. :)

Saturday, January 23rd

Tower of London...One of the best days so far. Anyone who knows me knows how much I am in love with history. I knew that coming to London would be an incredible place to experience this history first hand and walk the streets where commoners walked 800 years ago. Upon arrival, the pavement surrounding the city did not seem like the fairytale historical epicenter I had been expecting. But on this day, a slightly chilly and cloud day, I walked on history. It was one of the most incredible feelings I've ever had.

We started the day a little tired from the party the night the before but excited to find what the day would bring. After a short tube ride, a short ticket line, and a short wait for a tour to begin, we were off inside England's oldest royal residence and fortress since the Norman invasion in 1066. Our tour guide, yeoman as they are called, was excellent at storytelling and walked us through every story the Tower had to offer. He explained the purpose of the Tower, its history, and its many brutal stories of murdered young princes and the beheading of queens of England. Even if you aren't a huge history geek like me, you will just be overwhelmed with the history inside the walls of the Tower. To stand in the place where Henry VIII proposed to Anne Boleyn just 100 feet away from the place she lost her head at Queen of England. We walked through the White Tower, the inner most and oldest of the complex and saw armor and swords plus got completely sick on the winding staircase. Gift shop at the bottom full of amazing trinkets and souvenirs. The Tower is set up as a small town where in the event of an invasion, the royal family would have no need to leave. It looks as if you've stepped back in time.

After seeing the Bloody Tower, Traitor's Gate, Tower Green, and the White Tower, we ventured to see the crown jewels. I have to admit, I assumed that the crown jewels were the Queen's jewelry. Not so...mostly just crowns hence the name crown jewels. Seeing all the crowns and septors, even solid gold table ware and a punch bowl you could bathe in, was amazing. Each doorway you pass through gets thicker and thicker. I only wish they would let you take pictures...the jewels were beautiful. Oh well, something you have to see for yourself.

After the crown jewels, we headed for a walk around the top of the outermost tower. We were able to get the most amazing pictures of Tower Bridge and look through windows that hundreds of years ago, kings and queens of England could have looked out as well. Being in a place that is so old and has so much significance was just amazing. The cool thing is that the yeomen live inside the Tower with their families because they are always on duty to protect the Tower in the event of an attack. The Queen also has the option to stay at the Tower anytime she wishes and there is an armed guard outside the residence at all times just in case the Queen ever does show up. The Brits take their royalty seriously... :)

After spending the day walking on history, we decided we owed ourselves some good food. Cutest pub ever right off of St. Catherine's Docks. Lovely end to a lovely day. :)

just can't seem to catch up...

Saturday, January 16th

British Museum with Adele and Sami. We got to see the Elgin Marbles, the Rosetta Stone, and a ton of other cool ancient things. I took a ton of pictures, specially of swords for Ryan. We ate lunch at a pub down the street from the museum. I finally decided to try a cheese and pickle sandwich...needless to say, not my favorite.

I've decided that one of the hardest parts about being in a new place is that you never know when something is just really different or if something has gone wrong. You want to roll with the punches and try new things, but at a certain point, something is not right. I guess it will just take time to figure out which is which.

Monday, January 18th

Today was my first Architecture Field Trip and we went to visit the Houses of Parliament and the Foreign Office. Adele came with, even though she wasn't in the class...teacher never noticed. I got some great pictures and learned some pretty cool stuff in the process. My favorite tidbit was that when the Houses of Parliament burned down in 1837ish, they were rebuilt by 2 architects, one of them Catholic. They modeled Parliament after Westminster Abbey so the historical look is fake history because the buildings are really only 170 years old. The Catholic architect also designed the throne that the Queen sits on...a Catholic designed the throne that the head of the Anglican Church sits on...haha. Well, I thought it was funny...

We also saw Trafalgar Square on this trip...it really is incredible that you can make a turn and walk two blocks and be in a totally new area of town. We went from business types running around Parliament to artsy types running around the National Gallery...this whole city is just full of surprises t every turn.

Thursday, January 21st

After a lecture-filled day, we had our first IFSA get-together since orientation. Not only did I get lost but I was late. Woohoo for me. :) The first time I've ever seen mexican food in London...apparently mexican is not the thing here. It actually makes me miss El Agave. The Butler people are amazing. They are so intelligent and hospitable and helpful...if anyone is looking for a group to study abroad with, I highly recommend them.

Friday, January 22nd

Oh lord...the Cheeky Little Flat Party...what a night. Flat parties here are like house parties back home. Some IFSA friends were having a party in their flat downstairs and we were all invited. The party got crazy out of control, there was table dancing, whiskey stealing, and fights between the Germans and French (Adele and Markus). You know those nights when you tell yourself "I'm not going to drink tonight...I'm just going to go out and have a good time." and you end up getting twatted and having the best night of your life. That was this night. It wasn't supposed to be so amazing, but it was, which made it even more amazing.

Time to play catch up...

Ok, I've decided that if its not up to date when I log off tonight, its just not going to be... forgive me for jumping around and leaving gaps....

Tuesday January 5th

Avenue Q- hysterical...go see it...go now...I can wait...seriously, GO!

Wednesday Jan 6th-

Some Queen Mary talks and tricks, and I have no idea what we did that night because people from other school were leaving the hotel and moving in that day...jeez, Alzheimers already...:(

Thursday Jan 7th-

Move in Day!!! We moved into our flats, got settled in, and I cried for the first time. I set my stuff down and it just hit me...I live here. For almost 6 months, I won't see my family or friends, I have to go to classes with teachers I don't know and don't understand, and I'm essentially all alone. Up until that moment, we had too much going on for me to get homesick. I guess thats why you don't get too homesick on trips because you're doing too much stuff to pause for even a minute. Once I moved in, crying was almost inevitable. I decided that I needed to get out of this room and do something productive or I would just crawl into a ball and never leave my room.

We ventured to Argos in Whitechaple in an attempt to find hangers and pillow. We soon realized that we should have just gone to Sainsbury's (kind of like a Target) instead, of course we only realized this after we had walked for miles and miles.

When we got back, I unpacked, hung up pictures, and tried to set up my computer. We had dinner that night at The Curve (a restaurant on campus) and then went back to our flats to get some sleep. I had to watch a movie to drown out the silence I felt in my room. I felt like a big baby but that day was the hardest since I'd gotten here. I called mom twice that day if I remember correctly and cried both times. It was just a rough patch...easily gottne over but you have to live through it first. :)

Friday, January 8

Queen Mary Orientation, we learned all about what there was here on campus, places to go off campus, and how the classes work. I still cannot believe that the don't have online course enrollment. Most of us spent the afternoon running from campus office to campus office trying to get into more or different classes. I got into 4 that were already approved by Rockhurst, which was incredible, but unfortunately had no idea where they were, who taught them, what books I would need, nothing. And to make matters worse...snow had fallen three days prior and people were still having trouble traveling into the city so some offices weren't going to be open until Monday or Tuesday. It was a stressful day that didn't really need to be. If QM would just put things online, none of this would be so difficult.

Saturday, January 9th

Pretty much a day from hell but I learned a lot. We started off wanting to get to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum and do a bit of sightseeing. Unfortunately, the Tube had other plans in mind for us. We got halfway there (our first trip on the tube) and the tube line we were taking shut down! I wasn't kidding when I said that 1/4 of an inch of snow shuts the whole city down. We decided instead to go shopping by Oxford Circus and took a different tube line to get down that way. Well, the weather was only getting worse as we walked around Oxford Street peeking into different shops. Eventually, we did find this pretty awesome department store that reminded me of a Nieman Marcus. We were able to warm up while looking at thousand dollar bottles of perfume. It was the bright spot of the night. By the time we got back to campus, we were cold and hungry. We decided to hit up a pub on the Mile End Road and get some food. It was a nice ending to a long day. the wax museum will have to wait until the weather is cleared up.

Sunday, January 10th

Bus Tour!!! I actually really liked this outing...we got to see a lot of the city and get more acquainted with how the different pieces of the city fit together. We saw everything and even got off to take pictures at Buckingham Palace and the Tower Bridge. I got a ton of incredible pictures which made my day. :)

I have no idea what we did that night..again with the Alzheimers...

Monday, January 11th

First Day of Classes- Architecture was good but I'm already a little lost. I thought I was the only one but I am definitely not. :) The style of teaching is different than back home by a long shot. Teachers lecture for an hour, then you have an hour of seminar when you are actually allowed to talk and ask questions. It just seems weird. There also isn't any set list of books to read for any classes, there is a huge list of books that you're encouraged to read over the whole course of the semester. Apparently, we do a lot more work at home than they do here and the grading scale is lower so a C at Rockhurst is like an A here...I think I can handle it. :)

Boat Cruise on the Thames- It was fun but we were out there way too long and the other people got way too drunk. I get the idea that you can't legally drink back home but seriously...drinking isn't that fun. Whatever, I hope they get used to drinking before it gets them into trouble. Me and my group just shared cider beers and sat around talking. (Coolest thing- crossing the Greenwich line/prime meridian/separation between eastern and western hemisphere and being in two hemispheres at once...awesome.) After the cruise, we went to one pound drinks at the campus bar which was tons of fun. All my british friends are awesome. I got really lucky with them. :)

Tuesday, January 12th

a day spent in bed sleeping and a night sharing food in the flat kitchen with Katy, Sofia, Ben, Josh, Krish, Hex, and Nikki- we spent the night asking questions about each other's cultures. It was too much fun for a night in... :)

Wednesday, January 13th

Sofia's Birthday!!! Flat party for my flatmate's birthday. So many people, wonderful drinks and music, tons of fun.

Things I learned...

1) Sambuca is gross and should be removed from the market

2) Apparently the Brits are shit at sports but if drinking was a sport, they'd medal in every round.

3) These people are incredible and I already know, after one week of knowing them, that I'm going to cry hysterically at the thought of leaving them in June.

Thursday, January 14th

A real day of classes...2 lectures and 2 seminars, all attended by yours truly. :) Seriously, the classes are set up weird. I knew that a lot of it would be student directed but seriously, I feel like the teachers don't do much at all. I hope I get used to it before papers become due or I'm not going to do too well in these classes.

How's Your Father?!? Apparently, every Thursday night, a pub right next to campus hosts a QM student only night called How's your father. While I was drunk at Sofia's birthday, I was really drunk at the New Globe...a little too drunk to b completely honest. I met more incredible people and had a great time with the ones I already knew. Seriously, these people are incredible. We just sat around talking and drinking and making fun of each other's terrible accents. Dancing ensued and the night ended with me sleeping safely in my bed. Success!!!

Friday, January 15th

Class...US Foreign Policy- almost got into a fist fight with a Russian guy in this class, apparently everything America does is a sin ans we're all brainwashed. I just laughed.

Dinner on Oxford Street- Adele and I went to meet Libby and Hillary on Oxford Street for dinner after they had been shopping all day. All I can say is never ever ever in your life eat at Garfunkles. Just take my advice and don't do it.

School Disco at Drapers- Drapers is the campus bar (yes we have a bar on campus!) and they hosted a back to school disco where everyone was supposed to come dressed up in a school uniform. While Adele and I did not dress up, we enjoyed shots of soco and double vodka and lemonades as we danced the night away...good times had by all.

I'm proud of what I have accomplished tonight and promise to try and get completely up to date soon. I'm technically only 4 days behind so I'm sure I can catch up. I don't know if anyone is reading this but if you are, thanks. It makes me feel special to know that someone cares that I'm over here. :)

goodnight.

where I last left off...

I had finally made it to New Jersey!!!

Now let me tell you... the New Jersey airport is crap! Three terminals, attached by a tram system, and not a drop of wireless internet access anywhere! It was horrendous...The Virgin Atlantic ticket desk didn't open until 5, I found out that there was no place to store my bags while I walked around for 6 hours, and no way to get online. I dragged my bags around with me everywhere, ate some lunch in a TGI Fridays, and found a comfy spot on the floor to watch, movies. How could a airport not have wi-fi or chairs?!?! It was the most horrible time of the entire trip. Once the Virgin Atlantic desk finally opened, late at 5:30 as if my day wasn't horrible enough, I checked my bags and didn't have to pay extra for them. (Woohoo!!!)

I met Libby in the line. We had been chatting for months on the IFSA website and we finally got to meet each other! We made it through security and found a comfy place to sit for another 3 hours in the terminal. Had I known that there were seats near electrical outlets inside the terminal, I never would have left it that morning! We met this crazy smart guy in the terminal who kept talking about existentialism, what he would do if he won the lottery, and how we should visit him when we got to England. I got his email but I'm not sure if this is legit...he was a really cool guy though. His wife was hysterical! She kept talking bad about him and her accent was so soft and sweet. They really were awesome. :) We also had no idea that they put the Newark airport on lock down because we were already in the terminal. Virgin Atlantic just told us that the flight was delayed for some extra security measures...we all had no idea...I'm glad none of our parents called freaking out until the next day because then we would have lost it and not wanted to leave...thank god for small favors. :)

The plane we flew on was the largest plane I'd ever seen in my life. It had a lower level and stairs to get to an upper level. It was AWESOME!!! The plane was 12 rows wide with tvs in all the headsets...it looked so cool. I asked for a window seat when we signed in so I could see the view and take pictures...that was a mistake! Although I did some very good pictures when we finally got to England, not being able to get up and walk around a little was terrible. I've never been served food on an airplane before so that was a fun and new experience. Some beef with mashed potatoes on top accompanied with carrots and broccoli, served with bread, pasta salad, and dessert. It really wasn't great but it wasn't inedible either. Once everyone had been served, I tried to get some sleep. They supplied us with these little travel packs with an eye mask that saved my life! Next time, I'll definitely pay the extra $80 to upgrade to first class. You never know just how much space you need to be comfortable until you don't have any. The ride went faster because I could sleep through most of it and the view out of the window when the sun came up over the ocean made the whole trip worth it.

Once we got to Heathrow and disembarked (I was the last one off the plane, of course, and got to witness the flight attendants having a pillow fight...best flight attendants ever.) and had to get through customs and immigration before we could meet up with our IFSA people. Since I was the last one, the immigration officer already knew that there was a huge group of students coming through and she didn't even ask for my paper...whatever...they let me in!!! We met the group, loaded buses, and set off to our hotel.

The hotel was...quaint. That is probably the best way to describe it. It was here for the first time that I realized just how cramped the Londoners were for space. Everything is tall and skinny because they build up. Our hotel had 14 floors and 4 different towers. My roommate in the hotel is from Pennsylvania and goes to school where they filmed the Exorcist, Fordam in the Bronx. We got into the hotel and almost immediately took a nap. While most of us got some sleep on the plane, we had essentially lost an entire night. The hotel was small by American standards but out orientation leaders told us they were pretty spacious compared to others in the area. We were right near the Tottenham Court Road Tube Station near the Soho area of town. There was a walgreens-type store 100 feet away, two places to get cell phones, and a mcdonalds. We walked everywhere!!! The city is pretty small if you know where you're going...now when I look at a map, I can't believe we walked as far as we did!

The first night, we went to this restaurant down by Leichester square and had a traditional English dinner...some pot pie thing with "chips" (or french fries for the truly American) and some orange pudding with raisins. It was different but pretty good...the pudding looked like melted velveeta cheese but it was good nonetheless.

The next day was orientation...Caitlin and I were late (jet lag!!!) and were teased for it. Apparently in the UK, everyone is early or on time, never late. We did a basic overview of cultural differences between the US and the UK, which there are a lot more than I expected. Can you imagine living in an America where religion does not play into politics at all the the liberal party in the states was the conservative party of the UK?!? They are also in awe of our gun laws...there is hardly any gun crime in the UK. I've already been asked if I own a gun...I laughed...nope!

After a little lesson in culture, we met a Pearly Queen. I wasn't sure how this fit into the orientation, and I'm still not sure, but it was interesting. There is a group of people, called the Pearly Kings and Queens, who go around and donate their services to charitable organizations. They wear traditional Victorian clothes covered in pearly buttons so they are easily recognizable on the streets. They organize and attend different functions and are hired (all proceeds go to charity) to go to parties and luncheons. The Pearly Queen I met had met Michael Caine, Ringo Starr, and Queen Elizabeth. That's right, one degree of separation between me and the Queen of England!!!

Then we had a guy come in to talk to us about safety and security...and he basically just scared us half to death. Seriously, he made me never want to leave my dorm room! He talked to us about how to avoid being mugged, what to do during and after, and how the UK has the highest knife crime rates in Europe. We already knew that the UK has a national hobby of pickpocketing but the thought of being mugged was just too much for our poor American minds to absorb. It was horrendous!!! Even now...7 days later...I'm still scared to take my purse on the tube and refuse to leave my room unlocked for even 2 minutes. I guess I'll relax as I get more and more comfortable but he really scared most of us into being homebodies.

For dinner, we walked to a restaurant called Wagamama (because one of our leaders gave us coupons) and had Japanese noodles. It was delicious!!! I was a little caught off guard when the Japanese waitress started talking in a British accent but the restaurant was fun and delicious...

That gets us to the showing of Avenue Q last Tuesday night...sorry I can't just get this done...I'll really try to get completely caught up tomorrow...night all!!!

Wow...all I can say is wow...this place really is incredible and I'm so happy to be here. I miss a lot of things about home, the people mostly, but I'm still glad I did this. Let's start at the very beginning, essentially this is my diary of sorts so bare with me if you don't want to read everything I write here. I'm trying to keep track of my life here so I can remember everything about this experience. Per saying that, let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start...

Saturday morning, mom and I left the house a little after 4 in the morning, got to the airport in plenty of time, and made it through security with very few tears considering the longest time we've ever gone without seeing each other before this was 6 weeks. I sat in the airport for an hour and a half doing nothing but talking to mom on the phone as she searched for her missing coat. (I wonder if she found it...) I took a picture with April and Jamie and boarded the plane. The smallest plane I've ever been on in my life!!! We only had like 20 people so the flgiht attendant let us spread out if we wanted to. I sat across the aisle from a mom and baby, cutest thing ever, and basically knitted the whole way to New Jersey. The turbulants almost made me sick...seriously it was crazy. The side to side isn't so bad but the up and down makes you feel like you're free falling. Sleeping on an airplane is harder than I thought but I guess I've never really had to do it before. It was whatever...I made it to New Jersey!!!

Finally!!!

Just wanted to pop in and try to put a few things down so that I don't forget. Once I get moved in tomorrow, I'll be sure to elaborate. :)
Saturday, left my house around 4am and left Lambert around 7. After a really shaky flight, on a plane the size of a stick of gum, I made it to Newark, New Jersey. After a few hours, lunch, and numerous tram rides around the airport later, I got my ticket, met Libby, and made it through security.
The flight over the pond was long and not the most comfortable (next time I'll do the $80 upgrade to 1st class) but we made it. After clearing customs and immigration,we headed to the hotel. We moved in, took a nap, then walked to dinner. (They walk everywhere here and therefore a 10 minute walk to a Londoner is a 20 minute walk to an American.)
Yesterday, we had orientation meetings, met a Penny Queen, and got scared out of our wits talking about security. We had dinner at Wagamama (an awesome Japanese noodle place) and then saw Avenue Q (hilariously offending). After the show, we decided we needed a drink and found a wonderful basement bar. After a quick stop at McDonalds, we headed home to crash into bed.
Today, some of our friends have already moved on to their schools so there are only a few of us left. We're wandering around the city tonight to find food and drink then coming back to get packed up.
I'll write again as soon as I can...this no free wi-fi thing is not working for me. See you tomorrow!!!