my cup of tea

So I've been here for about a week, and London is definately growing on me. It's been a little hard adjusting to living in a new place, but I'm definately loving the city life. Was a bit homesick at first- looking at all the pictures only makes me sad :( ... I definately miss you all! I think things are only going to get better, and the homesick-ness is only temporary. I'm trying to keep busy, explore, and meet new people so I'll have little time to get sad.

Anyhoo, onto the exciting stuff! I'll give you just the highlights, since a lot happened this week, and I'm sure you don't want to hear about boring things like what I ate on the plane blah blah.

8/21-8/22- Left for London! I was sad to see my family leave :( The military men that checked out carryons actually squeezed my teddy bear and looked in my fobby pencil case. I guess it's good to be extra safe. I flew Virgin Atlantic, which was the BEST! Their entertainment is amazing... everything's on demand so you can push a button to see your movie, and if you don't fancy it, just pick another one! There were 50+ movies, seasons of TV shows, games, and this aim thing. You can play games or talk to other people on the plane! I got to watch MI3, an episode of the Office (wanted to see what all the fuss was about), and V for Vendetta. Unfortunately, I didn't get to finish the last movie. After getting off the plane, Enqin, a local girl picked me up. She was the sweetest and the BEST host! She didn't even know me and went on her day off to show me around. We took the tube all the way to my hotel (AMAZING!).
(my beautiful bathroom!!!)
She showed me around Trottenham Court Road, Leichester Square, Chinatown, Picadilly Circus (London's version of Times Sq), Trafalgar Square, Big Ben/Parliment, the London Eye, and where Tony Blair lives (can't remember the address).













We ate in Soho at this Portugese restaurant called Nando's (so good!). We then met up with one of her and Vanessa's friends, Julie. We took the bus (they're actually double decker busses! O_O), and ate at little tea place called Paul's.

They had really good teas and cakes! Such a CUTE place!!!! Finally, Enqin dropped me back off at the hotel, and I got my first taste of British TV. I watched this documentary on binkins! The bathroom was SO AMAZING! Something that's weird about the sinks here is that the cold and hot water faucets are separate, so you can't get warm water, only blistering hot or icy cold.

8/23- Moved into the flat! I'm living at 17 Bedford Square, in one of the less nice apartments, but anything's a step up from the closet in Dykstra. It's a tad messy in the photo. After unpacking, some people from the program (Brett, Aric, Noel, Alicia, and Peter) and I wandered the streets of London- our new home! That's definately the best way to discover all your favorite spots and "run into" really amazing tourist attractions! We wandered through Soho (where all the night life is), Covent Garden (really great markets and cute stores), and Trafalgar Square. Once we got to Trafalgar, I remembered how Enqin took me to the Thames and Big Ben, so I led the others there too (and without getting lost! woo!). We crossed the bridge and had lunch at the National Theater, while watching this acrobatic show. We walked through the gardens some more, and saw those people dressed as statues with metallic paint. Only here they're in old European costumes like knights or ladies of the court. I finally met my roomies/flatmates later that night, and we had an orientation with all of the people on the program. As usual, there were a million girls and only a few boys. We ate at a little cafe at night called ASK. It really did feel like orientation, since the usual "Hi! What's your name/major/school?" ensued.

8/24- We had an orientation about where the local grocery stores, post offices, and tube stations were close to us. It was informative and stuff, but a bit dry. We also had a walking tour of our area (Bloomsbury), Soho, and Covent Garden. They showed us a place with good fish and chips and told us a lot of history about the place we're living in. By the way, the flat is in the BEST possible location. It's walking distance to almost everything, which is more fun than taking the bus. I say that now, since everything's new, but maybe I'll get lazy and start taking the bus. The British Museum is literally TWO minutes way, less than a block. It's free too, so you can just pop in anytime. Most museums are free here, which is great since I love going to museums. I've made a list of the ones I want to go to, and hopefully, I'll go to one or two a week on my free mornings and just read/study there (and look at the art/artifacts!) I'm so excited to explore the city and find my favorite places to read and drink a cup of tea (I've been drinking tea three times a day now).

8/25- Coach tour of London! So long, but we got to see most of the big sights (AGAIN!) The most exciting part was Buckingham Palace, when we saw the changing of the guard. It was not that spectacular, they just came in with a band and marched past us. The crowd was madness though! It was worse than a crowd of people rushing after Brad or Angelina. We got lost from our teeny-tiny tour guide, Angie. With her umbrella pointed to the sky, she was only a little over normal height, so it was impossible to find her! I have class in the afternoon twice a week, and everything else is done in the morning. SO nice!

8/26- We did some shopping at Oxford Street and my flatmate Danielle and her friend from USC. I used my crappy Chinese to order food, and the waiter felt so sorry for me. We wandered the city again and went to Covent Garden Market, which is like a flea market. It gets really crowded and people push their way everywhere- this is what most of the city is like actually). We went to the Somerset house, saw the Thames, andwent to Chinatown and had dim sum with walked back! We went to this club at night and saw some crazy people. The Italian boys seem very popular- one looked like Daniel V. from project runway! And was straight!! Anyhoo, I've learned that there's LOTS of creepers lurking out there and that I have no game.


















8/27- Notting Hill Carnival! This is the biggest carnival in Europe, and a million people come every year. It's Carribbean, so there was lots and lots of food! I went with my flatmates, Pheobe, Shelly, Carly, and Danielle. It was WILD. Europeans know how party... everyone drinks on the street and smokes doobies! We went to this alley and people were dancing on this street to this reggae/techno music. Girls danced like monkeys-veryyyy strange. The picture's with me and one of the girls dressed up for the parade.


8/28- Our first day of class! We got to watch NOTTING HILL! Can you believe I'm watching fun chick flicks for school!??! neither can I! It was really good, and we learned a lot of deep themes in the movie. Our profs are British, so it'll be really sweet listening to them.

8/29- Today! We went to Leather Lane Market, this cheap place for fruit, shoes, and clothes with bunch of girls from other flats. Aprrently, London's famous for its markets. There's like 18 of them all throughout the city! I think we're going to another market on Saturday- the one where Jamie Oliver and lots of celebrities shop! We found this amazing deal on pashminas- 3 for 5 pounds! My face looks horrid in the picture. X_x Pounds are double what American prices are, so shopping here is so painful! :( We went to Oxford Street and saw all of the shops. It's like 5th ave. in NYC, which means it's crowded, the stores are GINORMOUS, and the shopping is a bit overwhelming. It sucks since doubling everything makes you sad and put things back. Topshop is my favorite, replacing H&M. The have a floor of clothes, men's clothes, accessories/candy, and SHOES! OMG! the shoes are AMAZING! Ballet flats are everywhere here, and it just so happens I don't have a pair! :) I want these pink ones, but I've had pretty good self control so far :) I think the only money I'll be spending on clothes and stuff like that is around Christmas time to award myself. BTW, Christmas starts on November 1st here! Perfect!

I'm going to class now, which is the one I'm the most excited about. We get tours of the British Museum every week! ^_^