Destination: London

Even though I have been here in London, England for just over a week I haven’t had the full opportunity to look back, reflect, and, yes, blog.  The hype for going “across the pond” and the endless hours of packing, and then re-packing, and weighing, and finally re-re-packing were all I could think about.  And then, I got here.  I flew out on a late Friday, September 12th night flight.  As I waited for my flight I saw multiple other college age students waiting around.  Little did I know that in the crowd was my closest friend-to-be at school.  As I sat down in row 43 in seat E, another girl sat next to me. I had a backpack, purse, and a pillow with me (I really didn’t want to have to buy one in the UK; see image below).  As I was horribly losing the battle against squishing my pillow into my tiny seat when I started talking to my new friend to be: Allison.  Some of the anxiety subsided because I finally had met a friend!  After a long, long six and a half hours with only a short one hour nap, we landed at London Heathrow National Airport.  Allison and I maneuvered our way off the plane and to Customs, where they have a special line for just students.  I was very nervous, I had never been through any customs by myself before.  Luckily, everything went by quickly, we collected our wicked heavy luggage and began looking for the Queen Mary collection group.  They were incredibly easy to spot in their blue shirts and friendly demeanors.  Shortly after that we were on a bus going through the heart of London towards Mile End (the part of the city where our campus is located).  Mile End is home to not only the college, but a plethora of cultures, a lot of fried chicken, a tube stop that can get you pretty much anywhere in the city, and at least two beautiful parks.  Coming from Rollins I knew that any campus would be big, but this one is BIG.  It still only takes me around 5-7 minutes to get to class (I like to think I walk fast), but still it is big.  It has at least two bars, two restaurants, a campus store, bookshop, and multiple dorms on campus.  There are around fifteen thousand of us at least attending here for undergraduate studies; at least six hundred of which are study abroad.  Needless to say, the big school atmosphere is a lot to take in.  Those first few days after arriving I stayed close to campus and met a few people.  One of my flat mates, Yachana, is a  study abroad student, and Allison introduced both of us to her flatmates most of whom are from Britain.  That first Sunday, the 14th, a few of us went to Westfield Mall, the largest mall in the UK (see image).  In all, the first few days here in London were used to adjust to the area and grow comfortable with where I am.  So far I love it and I can’t wait to continue to love it!  Keep your eyes peeled for more of My Adventures Across the Pond! I promise that stories (and pictures)  of sightseeing are coming!