I Arrived!

I finally managed enough time to write again. This week has been exhausting! It is all so much fun though.

I arrived in England at 5:45am on Monday the 18th. Leaving my family and friends was so difficult. I stayed in Lawrence Saturday night with my friends and barely slept from excitement. The next morning I hung out with my family until I had to go through security. It was so hard seeing Susan, Dad, and Lydia walk away as I walked through the door.

I flew a dinky jet to Detroit and then took the red eye to London. I have not fully recovered from my jet lag. I had thought it would be simple to snap into the new schedule, since I had no problems my last trip, but I suppose as I've gotten older it's become more difficult. Here is the view as I flew into London.

Our tour guide, Susana, met us at the airport. From there we went to check in at our hotel, and set off sightseeing. Our first stop was a boat ride on the Thames, which was followed by a tour of the Tower of London. It was a very cold day, but luckily the sun showed itself towards the end and I was able to get some great pictures.

That night we got back to the hotel around 4:45, and were very sad to see that the sun goes down much earlier here. The days seem to last between 8am and 5pm, but it become noticeably darker around 4. After changing and recovering from our marathon traveling day we decided to go out to eat. There were about 29 of us who split into 3 groups. I went with a group of girls and one of the boys to a pub near our hotel's tube station. The beer was great, the food terrible. The burger had a bun that literally broke in half cause it was so stale, and the burger tasted microwaved with an odd kind of meat that didn't appear to be beef.

I went to bed that night exhausted and hungry, but it didn't really interfere with my excitement.

Tuesday was a much better day. I was well rested and fed when I began the tour, and the weather was much more mild than chilly. We headed to Buckingham Palace first, and took a tour through St. James Park. The queen wasn't home, but we did see some pelicans in the park that were a part of a bird collection started by one of the early Kings (I can't remember which one specifically).

Next we headed to Westminster Abbey. I love this place. It is without a doubt my favorite historical spot in London. There are thousands of famous people buried here, including Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Sir Issac Newton, and a slew of Kings and Queens, knights and nobles...I have read about these people so many times, but to see their tombs in person, and know that I'm just a few feet away from their final resting spots gives me the chills...and makes me feel so amazing. The Abbey itself has been around for a very long time. It was originally a monastery, and then was made into an Abbey. It was torn down and rebuilt in the 13th century so that Royalty would have a proper place to be crowned and buried. It is soooo beautiful.

Tuesday night we went on a "Jack the Ripper" tour to see where the famous murderer killed in London. The neighborhood where he killed was largely destitute, and the buildings have mostly been torn down and replaced with large modern office buildings. It takes some imagination to envision what it must have been like in 1888 when the place was crawling with prostitutes, but it was definitely a fun tour.

Afterwards we went to an Indian restaurant nearby. It was pretty good, and it was nice to give my feet a rest. Two huge blisters have developed and as the days go by I've noticed my two pinky toes have gotten swollen and blue. I should have brought tennis shoes but I am an unfortunate slave to fashion.

Wednesday was a very long day. I won't say much about it except we saw the Globe Theatre and Tate Modern. The Globe was exactly as it looked when I visited three years ago, and Tate Modern had some good displays but definitely freaked me out at times. I may not be a modern art person. The place we went out for lunch was fantastic. It had chicken that you could order with different sauces, and was located in what appeared to be the inside of an old train station.

After our morning and afternoon of sightseeing we were over the freezing rain and ready to get to Leicester. We finally got in a bus and arrived last night around 6. Since then we've been doing orientation stuff, which is not exciting enough to talk about.

My room is cozy, but it serves it's purpose, and I'm sure I can feel at home here. I have beautiful gardens around my hall and green grass behind my window. I love the street where the students live. It is so scenic, even in the dead of winter. So far, everyone here is so nice. We have all become very close these last few days.

I'm so very excited to start school here, and excited to find out tomorrow what courses I will be taking. I'm not homesick, but I am people sick. Thank goodness for the Internet.