GOOD EVENING FROM NIDO, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM!
Sorry I haven't updated earlier! I really wanted to, and I was planning what to write, but I haven't gotten much spare time yet...so here's the happenings so far:
12 JANUARY, 2010
I said goodbye to my family two days ago (12 Jan) and headed for JFK. I was sad and weepy, I'm going to admit. The flight was kind of interesting. NYU students took up many seats, and I was between two friends, so it was all good. I wasn't able to get much sleep, though, which I regretted once we landed and I had to drag 2 50 lb. suitcases (one with broken wheels...so literal dragging) and a 20 lb. carry-on. I suppose that was all quite uneventful...
13 JANUARY, 2010
Our first glimpse of London (after Heathrow, which was also uneventful and uninteresting) was a bit snowy. Apparently the UK doesn't do well with snow, because they declared school and college closings and the buses were all messed up due to about 1 inch of the snow on the ground, which was quickly becoming slush anyway. I saw bits of quintessential London: double-decker red buses, red telephone booths, black taxi cabs....
We arrived at Nido and checked in. Our room is 12.30. When I first opened the door, my honest and immediate reaction was the sinking of my heart. Our room is quite TINY! Then I opened the bathroom door and nearly cried. Our bathroom is even TINIER! We have two beds, two desks, a microwave, a strange and funky electric kettle, a poorly placed bulletin board, and a pair of closets. Some nice features: a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking southern London, and back-lit mirrors in the bathroom. However, it will take some getting used to, the bathroom: I can barely towel off or put on clothes without bumping into the sink or the door handle.
The first night, a few friends and I took a short evening walk around the area with the aim of finding a pharmacy/grocery store (Tesco). I ended up buying a liter of milk from a sketchy hole-in-the-wall for £0.99 (about $1.60), and as I found out today, that is cheaper in the hole-in-the-wall than at Tesco. Weird. The rest of the evening, I cleaned up our room and went to sleep on my very soft and smushy mattress.
TODAY, 14 JANAURY, 2010
There was much hitting of the snooze button this morning. We walked down to Bloomsbury (the academic center where NYU London and the University of London are located) in the morning, to be greeted by a free lunch (yum). I suppose when British people try to imitate American food, it's not too bad. We had vegetables, veggie lasagna, and some chicken in sauce, and chocolate cake. Then, we sat through an extremely boring orientation (one of the NYUL coordinators is kind of a "hot British guy" btw; don't judge me). Then I went to buy a mobile at a place called Car Phone Warehouse (sounds completely sketch, but looks like any old cell phone store in the States). I ended up buying a mobile for £5 and £20 worth of minutes (300 minutes and unlimited texting for 30 days or so). Finally, I went to a pub quiz. This was actually quite fun! I realize I had seen pub quizzes before, but forgot what they were and was definitely intimidated by the facts that pub=alcohol and quiz=grades. It was basically a massive team trivia game about all things British and European. I can't believe I couldn't recognize Julie Waters' face (Mrs. Molly Weasley?!), but I was glad to get "Battle of Hastings" and "Bath". The quiz ended with a dinner of completely deep-fried finger foods like onion rings and samosas and egg rolls and fried shrimp...and pitchers of beer for £5.95 ($9.75). I refrained from drinking, although I nearly tried but gagged and chickened out when I smelled it. Gosh, how am I going to survive in this city if I can't even stand the smell of beer? After eating, we ventured to the grocery store, Tesco, where we bought immediate foodstuffs like cereal and bread. Aaaaaand, now I finally have a bit of time to myself before another packed day, although it is past midnight and I should go to bed. Soon, soon.
That's enough recap, I suppose. Now onto the touchy feely stuff! I am not really sure what to feel just yet. For the most part, I am happy and excited! I am in a new city and I get to spend time with my friends exploring it. I have the freedom to stay out late at night (although I have to worry much more about safety, apparently) and I even have the freedom to buy alcohol if I liked. I am learning to live by myself, buy my own groceries (with a lot of help from my roommate), and soon we will be cooking and doing laundry too! All this comes with the anxiety of having to start classes in a few days, though. I am very nervous about taking Organic Chemistry II here. I did very mediocrely in Orgo I, so I hope I don't fall behind this semester. Then, I'm taking two psychology classes which are likely reading-intensive, with papers to write (I haven't had to write a paper for a while!). Finally, I'm taking Seeing London's Architecture, which sounds like a fun fine arts class, but might also have a lot of reading, writing, and also drawing/sketching! In sum, LOTS OF WORK. BLIMEY. Also, I have been waiting for certain post to arrive at my house in New York before it can be sent here, and the post in question is important material, so I wonder should I trust the mail to get here safely? Finally, I really want to sightsee soon, but we haven't the time! Between orientations and events, I haven't even had time to visit museums or take many pictures (plus, the misty weather is NOT good for my camera...).
Speaking of sightseeing, on my itinerary for the near future: the British Museum, the National Gallery, the British Library, Buckingham Palace, Harrods, Big Ben/Parliament, one of the bridges spanning the Thames, Hyde Park (in the spring, maybe), Chinatown/Soho, the London Eye...oh, how the list goes on!
Anyway, I'm quite content with my life and environment now! There are nuisances and strange things, but...I'M IN LONDON, BABY!
Hope to have time for more and longer updates, but here it is for now. Cheers, loves!
Wow! Quite detailed entries. I would suck at the pubquiz. Thanks for posting these entries. They are very detailed!
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