S CLUB TAKES LONDON

Greetings from London! I arrived here on Sunday morning around 935 am (435 am eastern time) and have been on the go ever since. It was such a strange feeling to land at an airport and not have a cell phone to turn on! However, soon enough I was in the long line for customs (which was in a non-air conditioned room, mind you) and being interrogated by a woman who was very perturbed by the fact that she had "nevah heeeeard of such a program here in the UK". I found Heathrow to be rather nice in the end though and thoroughly appreciated the free dollies available to collect your baggage. With the two 50 lb suit cases, 80 lb carry-on duffle, a jacket that I carried on annnnnd my rather large personal item (aka basically another duffle), I was extremely happy to discover these dollies. I was even more pleased when the man that my father called to pick me up from the airport was waiting for me at the exit of the baggage claim despite the fact that my flight had landed almost an hour early (thank you, jet stream). As he drove me through London for the first time in my life, we discussed the unique buildings along the highway, the weather, why he, unlike most (if not all) British people and Europeans for that matter, does not enjoy football (soccer) and much prefers other more violent sports like ice hockey. I found it particularly hilarious when, in his British accent, he imitated "those weepy footy players" when they get injured. As my driver spoke, I realized how much more eloquent the Brits are. Not because of their accent, though it helps, but because the common phraseology and word choice is just more elevated. Rarely did he use any slang. If something was bad, it was rubbish. If something was good, it was beauuuutiful. It made me want to be more choosy with my verbiage and avoid using slang because it just made him sound much more intelligent and made me feel like a dim-witted American. Once we rolled up to 14 Queen's Gate in Kensington, the BU staff immediately whisked my baggage away and brought me inside to sign in and get everything sorted out. A few minutes after I got to my room, one of my fellow demon deacons Chelsea knocked on my door! I was so excited to see a familiar face (one that didn't belong to my parents) for basically the first time in two weeks. She stayed with me as I unpacked and then we made our first outing to a nearby cafe to get a quick bite. Eventually, my roommate Ally rolled in and I met up with some of the Wake Forest boys living in a quad on the first floor. We went on a walking tour of the area with our RA's and saw where our classes will be, where the grocery stores are, where to find the tube stops, etc. I was SO loopy because I had barely gotten any sleep on the plane, but being the GREAT influences that my friends are, I was convinced to spend my first night in London in the pubs instead of in bed. At around 5 pm we made our way across Hyde Park, which is basically the Central Park of London and is right next to our building, and trekked through a very Middle Eastern neighborhood to find the "cansino", as the boys called it, so they could gamble away. Us girls somehow managed to convince the boys to eat first so we found our first, and favorite (so far), pub in London, which was called the Duke of York (pictured). The people who worked there were so kind to us and the food and drink were great. It wasn't exactly cheap, but we were drinking beers that were twice the size of what you would be served in America for the same price of any beer that I found in New York City. We bonded quite a bit with the staff at Duke of York and even received a few hugs from them when we made our final departure, 5 hours, 3 pubs, and a casino later. It was a great first night in London with great friends even if I was not in the best shape to be on a boat the next day.... which I was. This morning, we somehow made it out of bed, grabbed some breakfast, then went to Sainsbury's to get some groceries. We also got a temporary Oyster Card, which is what you use for the Tube and the busses (which are all your quintessential double deckers). After all of these earlier morning shenanigans, we joined the rest of our building on a boat tour on the Thames River, which is the river that runs diagonally through the city. I got to see my future place of work (the Westminster Palace where parliament meets), the Big Ben (which is SO BIG, seriously... it deserves the name), the Tower of London, the Eye of London (the ferris wheel), and everything else you hear about London when you're not actually there. It was great to go to that area on our first real, less jet-lagged day here and I can't wait to go back. Here are some pictures that I took with my regular camera, but hopefully I will get some better quality ones once I make my way back with the better camera that my brother in-law gave me (thanks Joe!!). I must go so I can eat dinner with the S-Club (as in S-Club seven, as Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Kessler so cleverly labelled us... though they regretted it after when they saw that I liked the name and would continue to use it and give them credit for it). I believe we have red wine, pasta with meat sauce, and a salad to eat. I will update again as soon as possible! Much love!