Day 4

I love London! Now that I am officially all settled in and actually have some spare time, I will try to fill you all in on what has been going on in my life. Well, day 1 was a little rough. I was really sad to leave everyone, and the states in general (not to mention the plane rides were terrible). Then I got to the flat, and a wave just hit me. I guess since I have been so excited for this trip for so long, I never really thought about the negative aspects (ie, being away from my family, and everything that I am used to). Needless to say I had a little melt down, but that was quickly over once I went to my first orientation that night. Everyone in my program met at a little restaurant where we had a small meal (nasty! tons of unidentifiable meat haha) and wine (finally something to calm my nerves!). One of the main coordinators of our program, Mary, just gave us a little preview on what was to come. After that, I came back to my flat and went to sleep at about 7:30 p.m. The next morning we had a walking tour at 10 which was amazing. Although it was freezing, I still found it enjoyable. It was interesting to learn about the neighborhood that we are living in. I found out that the flats that are in this neighborhood go for about 2.8- 250 million pounds. I feel so lucky to live here- at least I can pretend I have money hah! The next few days are confusing, I don't really remember the order of events, but we did have another orientation where we got a brief overview of the culture and what classes and school would be like. Then we had a bus tour on another freezing day, where we saw the main sights of london like Parliament and Westminster Abbey, etc.... We learned so many interesting things about the city and it made me appreciate the history of everything. And the most important thing we saw was obvi where they filmed parts of Harry Potter (Gringotts Bank, Diagon Alley, the Millenium Bridge) Yes, you should all be jealous!! hehehe Today was the first day where we finally got to relax and do whatever. Some of the girls and I went to the Natural History Museum which is only a few blocks away from my flat. The building itself is beautiful and looks like it should be a castle or something. We spent a few hours inside and only saw a few parts of the museum. I am excited to go back, and visit the other museums around this area, I know for my art class- the first day we go to an art museum... I will try to channel my brother and Aunt Lizzy to help me get through that one, cause lord knows I can't figure out that stuff.

Well that is an incredibly brief overview of my first few days here. These are my first thoughts on this lovely city.

1. EXPENSIVE, the exchange rate is bad, but even that aside- everything is just so much more pricey in general.
2. the city is so big! I live in such a small area and I am overwhelmed. I shall be Pocahontas and explore until I know where things are
3. The Brits are really closed off. You have to make the effort to talk to them or get a conversation out of them. Also, Mary told us that most of them look through people instead of at them, and if you look someone in the eye they may take it as a come on. Well, everyone must think I am a freak cause people watching is one of my favorite things to do.
4. Everything here is really environmentally friendly. I always think of Alison because the stores won't use plastic bags, and recycling is a big deal here. They recycle everything, and it makes me realize how much the states don't- but should.
5. Obviously it is beautiful here. I love the mixture of old historic buildings, and modern ones. I wonder if the natives are still in awe of this city? I don't see how they can't walk down the street and feel really lucky to live in such a historic and absolutely gorgeous place.
6. Fashion is so strange here. I am going to be a creeper and try to take pictures of random people so you all can understand what I am talking about. Explaining their clothing choices won't do them justice. My new friend Hannah and I call some of the ladies snow princesses because they wear these gaudy large fluffy fur hats. But I will try to take some pics and add them so you get an idea. 

Well that is about all I got right now.  I could seriously write so much more but I actually want people to read this and don't want to bore them to death with my excessive writing. I will try to add another post tomorrow after my first day of classes! ahh so excited! Love you all!

GO PACK GO