Getting acclimated: I've done a lot of walking around, trying to get my barings of this city. The Tube is AWESOME! I so wish Seattle had a Subway. I've had the chance to try a ton of places to eat (some more notable than others) of both English and International cuisines. My over all impression of English food: yummy comfort food, but definately not for every day. I can only eat so many potatoes. They serve french fries, mashed potatoes and roasted potatoes with just about everything.
Playing the tourist: I haven't done a whole lot of tourist stuff...yet. My dad has been with me and has done and seen most of the famous sites. We toured around St. Pauls Cathedral, saw a play in the West End (Deathtrap, a comedy about a playwrite willing to literally kill for material), went to Dover on a day trip (see below) and toured around the Churchill war rooms, which are very cool. Up next is seeing Henry IV at the Globe.
A couple of sites from my first day walking around.
Being oriented by school: I've had to go to a bunch of orientation events. Most of this is pretty standard stuff. I've met a few people from my program. Classes start on Monday. Hopefully then I'll feel more settled and recognize some faces around campus. I'll expand upon this more after I finish the orientation process this week.
Moving into my dorm: Unfortunately this has been a really dissappointing experience. The photos of my dorm online are of the best rooms in the residence hall, and I did not recieve keys to one of these better rooms. It was a pretty stinky room and had not been cleaned by the vacating tenant. It doesn't have much light as it is in the bottom floor looking into the foundation of the neighboring building 18'' away.
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All of that being said, some elbow grease, a trip to Ikea and some creativity, and it is starting to look like a place I can live for the next year. Once I finish organizing I will show some after shots.
Overall: London is very cool and I'm looking foward to this next year!
