I'm heeerrrreee

So, it's my first day in the UK and it was a pretty lazy one. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The flight:
As it turned out, my brilliant packing skills were actually kind of horrible. I had to split my bag into two bags (good thing I packed a duffel!) because it was soooo heavy. Yes, that was an adventure, especially since I felt pretty crappy at this point (leave it to me to come down with a cold the day before I have to get on a plane for 8 hours). But I got through to the gate with barely any hiccups (other than forgetting to take my phone out of my pocket through security). My flight to JFK actually got in about a half an hour early, and then I had about 2 hours to kill before my 8 hour flight to London. A few phone calls, a search for an ATM and a Starbucks blueberry muffin did the trick. I popped a couple Benedryl an hour before my flight and passed out as soon as I got on the plane, I only vaguely remember the plane taking off, haha. Of course, I woke up about 6am London time (1am for you all) completely disoriented... Anyway, the plane got in an hour early and I was worried that I'd have to wait for whoever was meeting me, but she was there with a bright orange Kingston shirt on! We talked for a while and then she put me in a taxi (payed for by the university) to where I'm staying.

The arrival:
It's about 30 minutes from Heathrow to Surbiton where I'm staying, and the cabbie and I talked a little and he asked why I was coming to England to study when schools in America were at a higher level, haha. I told him for the experience of living here, but I just thought it was funny that he said that. He was middle eastern, but he went to school in Germany.

So anyway, he dropped me off where I'm staying a little after 10, but unfortunately, no one was home. I can't blame them since my plane wasn't supposed to be in until 9:30 and supposedly customs was going to take over an hour (according to the university) which made my planned arrival time around 11:30 at the earliest. But Jane got home about a half hour later. It's pretty warm here to me (40+ degrees) and so the wait wasn't bad. Plus, amazingly, the sun was shining!

My room is very nice, and it's actually kind of seperate from the rest of the house (a door blocks off the hallway that leads to my room and bathroom) which is pretty awesome. I unpacked, and amazingly, all my stuff fits in the closet and dresser provided.

As much as I planned to tough it out today and stay awake until nightime, I lost the battle using the excuse that since I have a cold, I would have taken a nap even had I not been jet lagged. Well, that nap lasted about 2 1/2 hours, with about an hour and a half of television watching in bed tacked on to the end (yes, I have a tv, but it only gets like 4 channels).

The town:
Around 4 I decided that I better accomplish something today, so I showered and then walked into the town of Surbiton, which only takes about 10 minutes. And the weather is so great that it's pretty enjoyable. I got a phone and attempted to get an Oyster card for the bus, but apparantly the server was down today and they couldn't sell any. I have to go back to town tomorrow for groceries anyway, so I'll try again. I could have gotten groceries tonight, but I was still feeling a bit lazy. I decided since I was already feeling a little over-welmed at the thought of 5 months here, I'd get some Subway to calm my nerves, haha. I know, not the best out-of-country first meal, but what are you gunna do.

So, that about concludes my first day in England! I don't ever expect future entries to be this long and detailed, but I don't really have much to do tonight, so I figured why not.

Shoot me an e-mail if you want my phone number (I got international calling for really cheap, but I'm not sure what it will cost you) or my mailing address.

Talk to you soon! I miss you all already!

-Kendyl