Keep Calm and Carry On

What a whirlwind!

I’ve been in the United Kingdom now for four days.  After my entirely uneventful plane ride which involved a gin and tonic that cost me only about $6 (or 750 Iceland Kronas), I made my way to my hotel.  I met a lovely American girl who told me about the tubes and gave me a few pointers.  She even showed me to the taxi queue and warned me about the cold.  I did worry for a moment that she might be trying to take advantage- because of course they drive that into your brain when you’re preparing to go, but no, she was just a kind girl who remembered her first trip to England. 

The hotel was nice, nothing spectacular.  For £65 anyway it was fine.  Dodgy breakfast, but fine, whatever.  I did get to see Kensington on the first day, which was lovely.  I actually teared up a bit seeing Queen Victoria’s description of how Prince Albert died.  I slept early the first night and bought a hop-on-hop-off bus tour the next day which was nice, got to see everything pretty quickly, though I only went to Buckingham Palace, and The Globe Theatre. 

The Globe.  There are no words.  It was beautiful and everything I imagined it to be.  Our tour guide was a cheeky older woman who was very indignant about having her paving stones covered by a drinks caddy.  Apparently while building it, they sold paving stones for £300 each.  Once bought, the stones would receive an engraving of the buyers name.  She bought two, and they were covered by the caddy, and there really isn't much more to say about it.

Anyway, I managed to get a standing ticket to A Midsummer Nights Dream, and it was amazing.  I was actually doubled over laughing for most of it.  I can’t put into words why it was histerical, except to say that Puck was a bit like an awkward teenager, Oberon was a big tough faerie dude, and Titania was simultaneously beautiful and goofy.  Bottom was……. Bottom.  He had a very monotone voice but used these looks to convey everything and I was dying everytime he came on.  Every time he referenced Peter Quince he would say, “Peter Quince, Peter, is it Peter?  It’s Peter.  Peter Quince-” and then go on with his line.  Quince was this brilliant gay director; Snug was a typical country smithy, tall, stoic, with a pipe; the guy that played the moon was just ridiculous, and the guy that played the wall resembled closely the skinny annoying pirate in POTC, minus the wooden eye. 

I can’t say more than that, but it was amazing. 

Anyway, I'm here in Swansea now.  I’ve got five roommates, four of whom I’ve met and seem like cool people.  They apparently did think I was going to be a guy, though, which was interesting.  Four other guys and one girl.  They made me an English breakfast today, which was nice.  I tried blood pudding, but didn’t care for it.  They said it wasn’t as good as usual, so I’ll try it again.  Interestingly, while I am studying in Wales, all five of my roommates are English.  I have yet to really experience Wales.

I have to admit, everything feels like Christmas to me.  The weather, the way everyone’s swathed up, the fact that I’ve got a duvet on my bed which is labeled “13.5 Tog” which apparently means that its really warm.  The boiler doesn’t work right now either, it copped out sometime yesterday after the first tenant arrived and the man won’t be here until tomorrow to fix it.  Also no internet, so it should be today by the time this is actually posted. 

I think the best part of today is that… I'm sick.  I woke up with a sore throat yesterday and it’s developed into a cold.  Annoying that.  It doesn’t help that there’s no heat and its freezing outside.  Glad I bought the coat right about now, of course I was at Tesco yesterday buying linens and pillows and a duvet, and I saw coats for £50.  Of course.  Oh well, I love my coat.

Today was also the fresher’s party, something called “Fresh and Free.”  I wasn’t planning on going, but it was directly after the international welcome reception, so I figured I could stop buy.  It wasn’t awful, I met several people who were pretty cool and I'm excited for tomorrow’s orientation.  I may actually know some people. 

In all, I'm dubbing this a very good day.

Also pictures! (out of order)

 The fry up my roommates made for me my first morning here.

The globe!

Buckingham palace :)

Houston, we have liftoff

I'm here!  And by "here" I mean New York.  I arrived yesterday at about five pm, and though I thought about it, I didn't get to writing a post.  I meant to, I really did, but I hadn't slept all night, got a few hours on the plane, and in general needed to crash.  Even being three hours ahead, I fell asleep at about 8 while we were watching a movie and still slept through most of the night.  Then I woke up at 6 and am now bright eyed, bushy tailed, and ready to take on the day!

I think the most exciting bit for me is getting to see my cousin, Sarah, whom I rarely get to see.  Me being the dork that I am, I totally forgot she's living in New York until my dad reminded me on the way to the airport at four in the morning.  So I dropped her a message after arriving and we are going to meet up later.  Yay!

Anyway, let me backtrack.  My flight departed out of SFO at 7am in the morning, so we left Davis at 3am, drove to SF, and I was through security by 5:15.  Of course, there was some slight weather delay, so we got on half an hour later than expected.  We arrived two hours later than expected, and it took me twenty minutes longer than expected to meet my car, but in the end, all was well.

Probably the biggest problem I've encountered was luggage.  I was borrowing a small, check size bag from my sister, but after having it fully packed at thirty five pounds and knowing I had tons more, I realized I needed to get something bigger.  Luckily, I managed to get a six piece luggage set at JCPenny's for about thirty bucks (Score!), though its a bit rickety and not the greatest, I only intend to use the biggest size three or four times total, so I'm fine with it.  Of course, I packed that suitcase within an inch of its little cheap life, so it weighed a whole 50.5lbs.  I thought I could manage that buuuut maybe not.  I foresee a lot of taxies in my future.  Oh well, it'll all be worth it in the end.

I think I can now safely say that I have an apartment.  I got an email back saying that he had received my bank transfer, so I'm thinking that's real.  Something tells me if he was a scammer, he wouldn't bother emailing me that.

My mother cried when I left, of course, no one else.  It was sad saying goodbye to all my Davis friends, but mostly I think it hasn't quite sunk in yet.  Probably when I've been in Swansea for a few days and can't find cocoa puffs or peanut butter, that's when it'll hit.  But at least I'll be able to watch new Doctor Who episodes, Sherlock, and Downton Abbey WHEN THEY COME OUT.

And tonight, we'll be breaking out the champagne that has been waiting.  Pics of my adventures so far to follow!

T-28 Hours; On Packing

I hate packing.





That is all.

T-4 Days; FOUR DAYS

It’s nighttime.  Things are advancing.  I am leaving for another country in four days (three really, and really not for another week or so, since I have a stop off in New York for a few days first).  I'm literally bursting with excitement, which is mostly manifesting in tears and a bad stomach ache and a bit of a headache, which is a bit inconvenient.

I won’t go into details, but apparently accommodations has been emailing the wrong address, which means I'm not in dorms after all.  After  a bit of searching, I think I’ve found a place in the Brynmill area.  Don’t ask me how to pronounce it, I have no idea,  but I'm leaning towards “brimmel or “brin-mill,” so I'm just avoiding saying it aloud until I arrive and have someone explain it to me. 

Anyway, the room is a really good size in a good area, and the landlord seems very official, so I'm crossing my fingers it isn’t a scam.  Also crossing my fingers that any and all roommates I have are decent people, though my room is so big I can probably just hide in it.  I think the most frustrating thing is knowing that I bought those damn shower shoes and I have no reason to bring them now.  I also am going to have to do a bit more shopping than anticipated, but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.  I think the saddest thing is knowing that I won’t be within walking distance of “The Wonky Sheep,” though I’ll get over that one quite quickly. 

There’s been a bit of family drama, which is to be expected in my family, but still is annoying to deal with right before I leave for another country for a year.  Anyway, bad news aside, I'm having ridiculous fun getting everything ready.

New jeans, one pair of non-jeans trousers (I must remember to call them “trousers” and not “pants”), a new top, and new shoes- so many new shoes!  A book light, power converters, all kinds of good things.  I love shopping.  I'm hoping I'm booked solid for the next few days with preparations and seeing people before I go, though I'm terrified things will fall through and I’ll be all alone. 

I had my going away party this weekend, which wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.  We got waaaaaay too much food, but other than that, it was fine.  We had champagne in a park with little baby chocolate eclairs and good times were had by all.  Tomorrow I should be having lunch with a friend, then dinner and hangouts with another friend, and then tuesday begins official freakouts.

And I won’t lie, one of the things I'm looking forward to the most is getting to the end of my title countdown.  T-4 days, guys, are you ready?  I AM.