Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Past the Pizza Hut and Onward...

Made it.

I’m here. But wait…what is here? I mean, I’ve made it to the place I’m staying at for a while. But it still doesn’t feel real. I almost feel like I shouldn’t be here. Almost like a visitor, or a tourist, or even an immigrant. Perhaps a refugee for learning… A culture refugee?

Hmm…clearly I’m a bit mixed up in my thoughts. There were a lot of question marks in that last paragraph. Maybe I need a bit of a recap.

Got on the flight no problem. Ended up in business class. Talk about a nice way to travel. I read, enjoyed myself, and slept like a baby. I did feel a bit bad though, one of my fellow Euro Semester buddies was on my flight. I tried to get her up in the “second class” with me, but alas, not one open seat.

I got to entertain a little girl who was sitting in the row in front of me in her backwards-facing car seat. That was great. She was a really good airplane child, only crying once. In fact, it was right when we needed to wake up too; she was my human alarm clock.

I got off the plane still in a bit of a morning fog, and walked to immigration. I had filled out my landing card except for the address of the place I was staying. I didn’t have a printed itinerary, and had no clue the actual address. The immigration employee was a crass and less-than-patient woman who decided I was just trying to annoy her. Apparently she was close to turning me around for the States. That would have been a nice start… Thankfully, Joy, my travelling companion, had her itinerary with her. I got it from her and the woman decided to completely change her tune. She went from bitingly bitter to a ray of sunshine faster than a French surrender. Welcome to Europe, mate.

Joy and I then spent a half hour on the Underground. Which is just great. I love the Tube. Then, it was a quick walk to our residence. The London School of Economics dormitory. Let’s just say that British dorms are a bit different than American. But I’m digging it. I have a room to myself for this week. Good thing I got a year of practice rooming by myself, or this would be rough.

Went on a 2 hour walk around Holborn (the “L” is silent by the way) with a few others and got lost in a big city. Now that’s a perfect start to things. We’re staying in the middle of a beautiful piece of London, so I will absolutely take some pictures soon. Good call on the camera, Mom. J

I don’t miss the States much, I love London. But I sure do miss the people already. J

Cheers, mates.

5 comments:

  1. ahaha. LSE - we stayed in those dorm rooms....so many locked doors! enjoy london...go to pret a manger and eat for me (many many times, please!)

    so glad you're there!

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  2. ha ha Pret! Already a big fan. I got free coffee for a day because the barista loved Colorado and I made small talk about Argentina with her!

    And yes...I thought I would enjoy an actual metal key... hmm...

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  3. Kurt, I just wanted to tell how much I absolutely love your sister!! She is amazing and I'm so glad she is in my section! Moving in went smoothly but definitely was busy. We had our first section meeeting last night and it was the first time I had all 22 women sitting in my room just looking at me...I officially felt like an RA. I'm super excited for this year and I can't wait to get to know all my women! Hope everything is going smoothly for you :)

    P.S. I think I'm gonna steal Brittney as my own sister ;)

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  4. Hahaha, favorite line, "faster than a French surrender." Dear Lord, i miss Kurt Walker.

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  5. Ah! Kelsea! How wonderful! I'm so so excited for you! She is loving at all, and it sounds like you are doing a spectacular job!

    Enjoy the weekend and love M! :)


    Shanky - Glad you appreciate my non-PC humour ;)

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