First Weeknd

Hello All!
I thought I should start a blog since the time difference has prevented me from speaking to any of you... It seems that the only time that we all are on at the same time is around 3:30 am here and I wouldn't be able to form sentences because the pubs don't close till 3am.... (Don’t worry parents I am being responsible) I took a couple Tylenol PM last night to get adjusted to the time difference and didn't wake up until 2 pm today, so I think it is going to take a few more days to get use to the time difference. I guess I should let you all know what I have been up to this past weekend

Wed Jan 7th
I got dropped off at the airport around 4pm and said the last goodbye to the parents and brother. I was so excited to be starting my adventure. I found a few people I knew already sitting at the gate. Finally the whole group showed up and we all were buzzing with excitement. When it was my turn to board the plane I got called up to the counter. They had changed my seat. I was thinking, oh great now I’m stuck in the middle. But actually it turned out to be a way better seat then I had before. I was put on the outside of a two person row, and I woman I sat next to didn't get up that much. So what was the most exciting part of the flight? THE TOUCH-SCREEN TVS!!!! The TV's were like little computers and had several categories. I watch 2 out of the 10 choices of movies, so that kept me occupied me for most of the flight. I slept for the rest of the flight

Thur. Jan 8th
"Just touched down in London Town" When I arrived we had to go through the "non-UK" line and I gave the man my papers, got my bags. I was really surprised after that the customs line only took two minutes... well actually there wasn't really a customs line it was really more the dog sniffing the bags. We all met up and got on the bus to get to our flats. I live in flat 18 B which is right next to the front door. It took about 20 minutes to open the front door because the lock was stuck. How most of the flats are set up is there are two bedrooms, 1 kitchen/living room and 2 bathrooms. Ours however, is the front flat and our room is connected to the kitchen and bathroom unit. The other bedroom in 18 B is not connected to our unit, which is nice because it is like we have our own flat. AND everyone has decided that our room is the biggest! My bed is right under the front window and next to the heater which is nice. It is really warm because I have been able to sleep in shorts and still be hot under the blankets at night. My window looks right out onto Bedford Street, and is right across the street from the Duke of Bedford’s Huge Apartment. (Oh and by the way, Angie our tour guide says if your every met the Duke of Bedford, even if he is uglier then the side of a building, you should marry him because you can always get a divorce and a nice settlement after.) We then got ready around 4:15pm for our welcome dinner that the pub. It was really cute. We had the room upstairs which was set up with tables and snacks. I went down with my friend to buy our first British Beer (which actually ended up being a Heineken - I’ll have to get use to the darker beer so I can drink the local stuff) and when I ordered it I was carded! Yes I was carded in London; I guess Americans look really young because the drinking age is 18. Most of the group stayed for a couple hours and left. The group of 6 that I was hanging out with felt it was two early to go home because it was only 6:30, so we continued to drink. Two hours and 3 beers later, we went down stairs to hang for a little longer. Nick, one of the guys in our group says he has a photographic memory and he knew how to get back because he had lived in London when he was 11 and knew his way around. I think beer inhibited his ability a little because the 15 min walk there took 30 minutes to walk home, (minus the time it took for us to take a picture with lion statue outside the British museum). It was a good start to the trip.

Friday Jan 9th
I didn't really sleep a lot due to the confusion of the time difference. We had to get up for a 9:30am orientation meeting at our School, which is really the University of Florida's building. We got the information about the classes and what will be happening on the trip. We also got safety information from PC Foster who is a police officer in London. After, the whole group went to get cell phones for £5 which is really good. We met up for our walking tour around 2pm to get historical and practical information about the area we are living in. This was really interesting because each building has a story, and out tour guide Angie knew the stories. It would be like; this is the house that Charles Dickens used in his story The Tale of Two cities. And this I where they filmed My Fair Lady. I love it here. After we all got changed and met up for our group dinner at 'Spaccanapoli' Pizza. It was really good because actual Italians were making them. AND they were meter long pizzas. We all went back to hang out a little and get ready for the night. A group of about 10 of us decided we want to go to a pub and ended up at a nice place in So-ho. We danced and drank, and basically looked American because we were the only ones who were dancing.

Sat Jan 10th
I came home and took Tylenol PM in hopes that it will help with the time difference, but it just made me sleepy most of the day which is how I came to writing this blog.


Hope this is a better way of keeping you all informed about my stay in London. Love and miss you all!!

xoxo