LONDON!!
Posted by Jackie , 16 September 2010 6:22 PM
I'm finally here! It seems like it has been a week already, with the time change and being in a massive city and being in LONDON and walking around everywhere. Utterly sublime. Luckily, I moved straight into my flat when I arrived (some students are staying in hotels until they move into their dorms on Saturday). I think it's rather far from UCL, and that I will invest in a student discounted Oyster card to get around on the tube, but I'll have to walk the distance to make sure.
The area surrounding my flat seems nice. There are two small grocery/convenience stores, one open 24 hours, as well as a post office (with free atm machine) and a drug/beauty store. We are about one block from two different tube stops, and a 5 minute walk from a third. Situated half way between Hyde Park and Regent's Park, the area seems to have a high density of muslims...many of the signs on the main thoroughfare, Edgeware Rd, are written in English and Arabic.
The flat itself is fabulous. I feel like I'm on the Commons in its first year again! Apparently, a Russian millionaire bought the place at a time when he bought a number of properties together. He forgot about my building for a few years, and only just renovated the space into modern flats. I am one of the first to live here, and it really shows. There are seven girls in my flat, and I'm in a "double" with Lily, from CA. There is a flat screen TV, massive (and well supplied) kitchen, and three and a half baths. It still seems unreal that I actually live here. I'll make sure to post some photos of it soon.
Since I've been here, I've...
1. Taken the tube a lot. It reminds me of the Boston public transit system, so it hasn't been too hard to figure out.
2. Realized that street signs aren't on anything as uniform as posts, they are on the sides of buildings. And never in the same general location, so one must be diligent in searching the buildings that surround an intersection to determine a street's name.
3. Met Elissa at Trafalgar Square!!!!!!! It was so amazing to see her, and FINALLY be in London together. She had to attend a performance at the Globe that night for her Shakespeare class, so we crossed the Thames and walked all the way there on the South Bank. I can't wait to attend a performance myself!
4. Definitively determined that it is St. Paul's Cathedral, not St. Peter's...Elissa was having a hard time with this :)
5. Got some groceries and a cell phone, and figured out how to work it!
That's the general outline of my past two days. I've spent a lot of time with my roommates and in IFSA Butler meetings. I'm now off to bed, as it is swiftly approaching 1 AM my time and I have to be out the door at 9 for, you guessed it, more meetings.
