So my flight was from Chicago to London last Monday, with a 3 hour layover in Ottawa. Upon arriving at O'Hare and settling in at what I was told was the correct gate, I happened to glance at the display board and noticed that my flight was now departing from a different gate. I had to basically half-run across O'Hare but managed to make it in time to board. A rather inauspicious start to my journey I suppose. I then arrived in Ottawa and had a Molson and watched some hockey at an airport bar, feeling very Canadian. I finally arrived at Heathrow about an hour behind schedule, feeling like absolute shit from the jet lag and lack of sleep. Those who know me will recall I have trouble sleeping in cars and on planes, which can cause problems on a 7 hour overnight flight. Managed to make it through immigration without any problems. Luckily they didn't find all the drugs I was smuggling in my rectum or the explosives strapped to my leg.
I hopped on the coach bus with some other Americans on my program and set off to a hotel where our program's orientation was to take place. I got settled in, had some introductory meetings, met some people, and then we grabbed a couple beers at a local pub. The hotel was in an area called Kensington, which is very upscale and touristy, so the price of everything was a little obnoxious. The next day we had a lot of orientation stuff (differences between U.S.-UK education systems, getting around London, look right instead of left before crossing the street, don't get mugged, etc.), and then we went to the Victoria & Albert Museum and out to dinner. The museum was fairly boring, it was full of stuff that you could consider art, but that isn't like paintings, such as statues, cloths, everyday objects, etc. etc. They had stuff from all over the world, though mostly everything was pre-1800's it seemed. Hit up some more pubs that night. The beer here is magnanimous. I would imagine if I were a normal person and my weight actually fluctuated I would pack on a few pounds. Though that would probably be canceled out by the walking and the fact that I am poor. Look for updates on financial distresses in future posts, as I am sure they are coming. Anywho, the next day was a bit more orientation stuff then we basically had the afternoon free. Myself and some other kids attempted to do some touristy stuff in order to get better oriented with the Tube. We went to see Big Ben/Parliament and the London Eye, which wasn't even running because of the weather. O man, the weather. Apparently this past week or so has been the worst week for winter weather in like 50 years in the UK, meaning its like 30 degrees with like 5 inches of snow. The whole country is freaking out, you'd think it was the apocalypse. It is a bit of a pain in the ass with all the walking around I've been doing, but I suppose it'd still be worse in Evanston. Anywho, after the failed attempt at tourism, our group had tickets to see the musical Blood Brothers. It's about these two twins in Liverpool who are separated at birth, with one going to a rich family and one going to a working class family. They become friends without knowing they are brothers, but later in life drama ensues because of their socio-economic differences. They really beat you over the head with the class stuff. Went straight to bed after that, as I was pretty wiped out from the jet lag/walking around/endless meetings/drinking.
Yesterday (Thursday), we finally took a bus across town to the school where I will actually be staying the next 6 months, and I moved into my flat. Its a pretty legit set up they got over here. They don't really do the whole shared bedroom situation in the UK, so I've got my own room and bathroom, and share a kitchen with the 5 other kids (2 other Americans, 3 Brits) in my flat. I took some pics and will get them uploaded eventually, so stay glued to your facebook for that. There's no real common area with couches, a TV or anything, which is a bit disappointing. Makes me miss the Pike great room that much more. The rest of the day was spent unpacking and buying some sheets, towels, etc. at a local store called Sainsbury's. It seems kinda like the Target/Wal-Mart of England, full of your local schmo's but its got a good selection at low prices. After a group dinner, the main focus was on finding the local liquor store so we could celebrate our first night in style. It was also some kid on my programs 21st birthday, so we had to commemorate that meaningless age (in England) as well. I opted for a 3 liter (or should I say litre) bottle of cider that cost like 3 pounds, for pregaming in the flat. It was glorious. Not in taste, but glorious in its cheapness and volume. It really tasted like apple juice, which is kinda hard to binge drink with. Anywho, I don't think I accurately gauged the strength of the beverage (7.5% abv), because by the time we left for the bar, I was really drunk. Not as embarrassingly drunk as many of you may have seen me, but probably a little too drunk for hanging out with people I'd known for 3 days. No major problems, but getting up the next day for a 9 o'clock orientation was rough.
Today was spent registering for classes, which was a huge pain in the ass. The Brits apparently can't handle the internet, so all registration has to be done in person, the old fashioned way. Really made me miss the glory of CAESAR, which I never thought would happen.This means queue-ing up and waiting, which is something I absolutely hate. Anyone who knows me knows I will just keep walking rather than stand and wait 2 minutes for a shuttle. I can't deal with standing around and waiting. Other than that, I just kinda hung out today and caught up on the world now that I have the internet and some free time. Read the newspaper and sports, I had completely forgot about the BCS championship. The registration experience kinda segways nicely into the subtle differences between American and British culture that I have begun to catch on to. Our program adviser put it nicely, so I am going to paraphrase his analogy. If you go to a place like China or Africa, where everything is completely different, the shock is kind of like a punch in the face, but at least you know its coming. With Britain, the differences are like being consistently poked, ever so lightly. Sometimes you don't even notice it, but its always there and it can be obnoxious. The queue-ing is one shitty aspect I've come across. Another subtle difference, that probably seems retarded, but which has been a bit bothersome is that the locks are upside down from what they are in the states. I don't know if you can even picture that, but its really bugged me the past couple days. One kinda more positive difference I've noticed is some of the different word usages, which I kind of like. For example, a new building is being built on the campus as part of the "2010 Construction Scheme". Now, in the states, that would probably be called the 2010 Construction Plan, and I really like the use of scheme instead. I think it makes the construction sound just a bit more devious, which is at least entertaining.
Anyway, thats all for now. I have a lot more to say about the area the school is in, my plans for the semester, and just general musings, but I realize this post is pretty long, and I'm also getting hungry. So kudos to you if you've read this far and thanks for either caring about what I have to say or for just using reading this as a way to procrastinate.
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