Study Abroad -- June 22 to June 24, 2007

I'm blogging this from ENGLAND, where of course it is stormy, but I think I almost like it better that way...The land seems more alive, I guess...much preferable to the hot mugginess that is Washington, DC this time of year...

Here is a recap of what I have been up to so far, including a few pictures.

I flew out from Dulles Airport around 7 on Friday night. The flight wasn't that bad, but it was sort of cramped and I didn't get to sleep at all. There was some sort of beef concoction for dinner...it was chewy. We got into Heathrow right on time and went through customs before picking up our luggage. Once we were done at baggage claim we attempted to call a cab, and promptly discovered that my phone wasn't working! Ack! Luckily, Shannon's was working so we took the cab to St. Giles Hotel. We had to wait for the people from IFSA-Butler to get there, and then we checked into our rooms. I roomed with Ann, who it turns out is in my class first session. Here are some pictures of my hotel room:









We had the rest of the day off until dinner, so I took a shower and then me and Shannon took a train into Waterloo Station in Central London. We walked from there to a restaurant where we had Fish & Chips:



We could see the London eye from the restaurant:



From there, we walked up to the London Eye, and then along the Thames on either side of it:




































We took the train back in time for a group dinner, and then I purchased an hour of internet (5 pounds!!) and split it with Shannon so that I could check my email and email my parents so that they would know that I got in okay. After that, I watched some football (aka soccer) with Shannon and went to bed around 10pm.

Today I woke up at 7:30 and went downstairs for some yummy FULL ENGLISH BREAKFAST in the hotel restaurant. Beans on toast...delicious. After that we had orientation for several hours, where we talked about academic issues, general England-related info, and safety. Then, we checked out and took a bus down to the University of Sussex.

After we got to Sussex, we checked in and got our packets that included our IDs and lots of other information. We then took our bags to the porter of Park Village, and he gave me my keys. I took my bags to my room and set everything up...Its actually pretty nice, although I'm definitely going to need to buy an extra pillow.












I skyped with my Mom and then emailed my dad so he could contact the phone company to get my phone fixed, which he told me he did when I skyped him later on.

From there, I went to a welcome "party" in a tent next to the Library. It was okay, but would've been more fun if it wasn't raining. They had free food (sandwiches, etc) and free beer and other assorted alcohols, as well as a d.j. After that, I came back to my room and took care of the things that I needed to do on my computer, etc.

More updates tomorrow!

*~Mary Beth~*