Across The Atlantic

Hello everyone!

I have arrived safely, after a six and a half hour flight through Canada, across the Atlantic, and into London. I flew Virgin Atlantic, which boasts some of the better flying accommodations in the air. I have to say, I expected my economy class seat to be a littler larger than it was. It was certainly much smaller than the domestic flight planes I've been on in recent years. After some help from very tall people, I finally stowed my carry-on in the overhead compartment, and shoved my backpack, the best I could, under the seat in front of me. I was in one of the middle seats of my 4 seat row, but luckily, there was no one in the other middle seat next to me. This certainly made for a more comfortable trip!

I have been reading the book Rules, Britannia for the past week, which is an insider's guide to life in the United Kingdom. After a few chapters I realized living in a foreign country, or at least, in this foreign country, was going to be a little more difficult than I first imagined. For the most part we assume that people who speak English are just like us, and they obviously understand everything we are saying. After a test run with the elderly British lady sitting next to me, I realized Rules, Brittania will probably save me from many embarrassing moments. "When you ask a Brit where they are from, they will normally give you their birthplace as opposed to where they live now." and "A county ending in "Shire" is normally pronounced "Sha" or "Shu."
I said, "What part of England are you from?" The lady responded, "Well, I'm from
London, but now I live in Hampsha. I do not prefer the city."
The book was right. From then on, I refrained from using certain words that Rules, Brittania told me would elicit giggles or guarantee embarrassment or offense.

For dinner on the plane, I had pasta with red sauce, salad, double chocolate swirl cheesecake, cheese and crackers, and a glass of white wine. As far as airplane food goes, if you're lucky (or unlucky) enough to even be served airplane food, this was the best I've had. Plus, all the alcohol was free, and we received goodie bags with socks, an eye mask, toothbrush, and toothpaste. Ironic, considering the stereotype that the British have bad teeth. But, from my observations I'd say it's not a stereotype at all.

After my 35 minute, 43 pound taxi ride, I found myself on the doorstep of the Meininger City Hostel and Hotel. It is my temporary IKEA furnished abode until I can move into my flat tomorrow morning. Upon check-in at the hostel, I was informed that I could not check in until 3:00 pm, but I could certainly pay now. As it was only a quarter past 10, I decided to abandon my luggage in the locked storage room downstairs, pack up my backpack with essentials, and venture off in search of my flat and study abroad headquarters called "Metrogate". After four blocks I found Metrogate, and after two more I ran into Hyde Park and my flat, which was situated between the Algerian Consulate and the Netherlands Embassy. I took a few more turns and found Partridge's grocery market where I got a bottle of water, an orange, and some pretzels. The rest of the day and evening I spent asleep or close to it, considering the time difference and my excess baggage, I was exhausted.

I have since moved into my flat, with two roommates, Katie and Amanda. Both were born in Wisconsin, and obviously, attend the UW. We have the largest room out of everyone, and we are assured that our room is "the best" because it has a fireplace and has tons of space. Mick, our British comedian/London Centre faculty/our best friend for the next 4 months....told us we couldn't make fires in the fireplace because of London has a no-smoke policy, be it from homes or industry. London also has a noise ordinance police force that patrols from 11pm-8am. If we make noise during those hours, we are cited, and after 3 citations, we can be evicted. It is a very serious offense, due mostly to the closeness of quarters.

Our flat is quite large....7 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms....20 people, 2 guys, 18 girls. The rest of the guys take up residence in the basement flat, and the rest of the girls take up residence in the third floor flat. Along with our floors, Lewis and Clark College and UCLA have rented out all the remaining floors. We are situated between the Dutch Embassy and the Algerian Consulate, and our windows face Hyde Park, which is mere footsteps away.

We start classes on Monday, and I only have class Monday, Wednesday, Thursday. I am taking Contemporary Britain, History of London, Interpreting Popular Culture, London Roundtable, and Intro to London Theatre. I opted out of taking the classes offered by the UW Professor who has accompanied us to London, mainly because they did not interest me. He is a very interesting man, and I'm sure I will continue to get to know him through our group-wide activities, but the theory of aesthetics just wasn't on my radar.

Everything has been strictly orientation and orientating ourselves thus far. Tomorrow we are going on a coach tour of "Old London", and going to see The Woman in Black at the Fosters' Theatre. After that, a few of us are meeting my friend Katherine (who is also studying here in London this semester) at a bar called "Cheers". Yes, it is fashioned after the TV Show, and yes, I'm sure it's a very cheesy bar. However, after several phone calls and failed attempts to find a bar that would be playing the Packers/Seahawks game, we settled for Cheers. The man on the line informed me that they would not have the volume on, but when options are slim and you're in a foreign country where they normally only profit off the Super Bowl, you take what you can get!


Hope all is well! Go Packers! XOXO

Annette