Jolly Old England!

This is my first post from England!

1-27-08
All I desired was to walk upon such an earth that had no maps. ~The English Patient

Around three o’clock EST Kay, Jacob, my parents, and I began the trek to the airport. First, we dropped Jake by the metro so he could catch his train back to Williamsburg, then it was on to the airport! Check-in went smoothly, I nearly began crying as I started through security, then I got to my gate and waited around to board the plane. The ride was pretty uneventful. I finished reading The Alchemist (which was a great book, everyone should read it), then watched part of The Jane Austen Book Club, which was ok, but I wouldn’t advise spending money on it. The characters weren’t all that lovable, but I mean, it was cute for what it was. After the movie ended I watched the map they provide for awhile. I watched as we flew past Boston, over Newfoundland, past St. John’s, over part of Iceland, and then I fell asleep for about an hour or so. I woke up with the worst leg cramps in the world, because I had fallen asleep in a little ball on the airplane chair. My legs still hurt and it’s been nearly a day! Anyways, I woke up with about another hour and a half to go. There was more map-watching involved. There was also some serious thinking, since it was quiet and dark with that nice airplane noise going on, and the tiredness beginning to really set in. Soon we were descending from the sky over London. There was fog over the city in patches, and the lights shown through in orange and white swirls. It was silly, but I felt like I might be Peter Pan flying over London at night going to Neverland. I was tired. At long last the flight ended, and somehow it had become six o’clock in the morning, Greenwich Mean Time.

1-28-08
The wind spoke to Vianne of towns yet to be visited, friends in need yet to be discovered… ~Chocolat

I got off of the airplane and easily went through customs. I made my way to the train station in the basement of Heathrow airport to buy my ticket on the Heathrow Connect to Paddington. First of all, the first twenty pound bill I handed the cashier was apparently an old twenty pound bill that is no longer accepted as legal tender in the UK. That was somewhat of a shocker and I had a short, mini-freak-out that maybe all of my twenties were dead bills, but luckily it appears that it’s only the one. He told me I could just exchange it anywhere that changes money, and explain the situation.

Next, I got down to the platform and realized that I had just missed the train. I had an hour to wait in a metro-like station all alone. Plus, it was foggy in there, because it connected to the outside somewhere along the line. I began to re-read The Alchemist, then read my sea-turtle I Love You book, then sat around a bit before beginning to laugh out-loud because I remembered this old couple in the Wren Building to whom I was giving a Spotswood tour when they said, “You know, there was so much inbreeding in Britain. That’s why the British are a weak race with holes in their hearts.” And they were dead serious. I decided it would be wise not to share this anecdote with any of the Brits sitting around me.

Finally, the train came. We got to Paddington at 8:30, and I bought a ticket for the 9:30 train to Bristol Temple, which stops at Bath Spa. I literally sat and watched the seconds tick by for an hour. I felt rather numb with exhaustion and sadness and loneliness and boredom. I people watched a bit. Some British guy asked me if I knew which line to take to West Point, which I didn’t. He called me “Miss,” though, which sounded very British polite. I watched a pigeon dive-bomb the ground in front of me repeatedly. He came to a sliding stop each time. It was amusing. I saw a girl spill coffee on herself, and I saw a man eating what appeared to be a sausage link and cheese sandwich—it looked disgusting—and I noticed a Paddington Bear kiosk at Paddington Station. I was almost tempted to buy a teddy bear, just because they are nice when you are lonely, but then I decided to save my money. Plus, I never much cared for Paddington Bear. Just as my train was arriving it hit me that “Hey, I’m in London right now! I’m in my favorite city in the whole world right now!” It was kind of an exciting thought.

The train arrived and I managed to get on without problems (a first, as anyone who knew me in Italy can attest to). On the train, I met three girls also going to Bath for ASE. They seemed very nice and we sat together on the train. One of the girls, Liz, said she was going to take a nap and to wake her up if we saw anything British, which we did. There were little churches, and rolling hills, and sheep, and hedgings. We got to Bath after a rather short train-ride, though perhaps that’s just compared to the airplane ride, and stepped out into the unknown.

Bath is beautiful. It’s one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever been in. It has sort of an Italian feel to it, but also a jovial, kind, English feel, like London. Everyone I’ve met so far, both British and American, have been incredibly nice. We got to our building, then realized that our flat was at the top of the building, so we have to climb up a thousand stairs to get to it. It’s ok, though, because it’s an incredibly sweet little apartment, with the best views of the River Avon and the city. One by one I met my flatmates and my roommate. Shea is amazing! We hit it off right away. And our room is huge, but also cozy. The program had provided some starter food for us, but I didn’t get a chance to eat any because of unpacking, and the quick orientation to the building that ASE gave us. At long last, my housemates and I went out for dinner. We began to walk around Bath and realized that, indeed, we are right in the center of everything. We’re a two minute walk from the train-station and just down the street from the shopping and restaurant district and about five minutes from a movie theater. We ended up eating at a place called Wetherspoons/King of Wessex for supper. They had a beer and burger and chips deal for only 4.49 pounds, which seemed excellent. I got a pint of Strongbow with my burger. They IDed me though, and I swear the guy thought my driver’s license was a fake so I had to give him my ISIC card. Do I really look younger than eighteen? Really? Anyways, the four of us were happily finishing up dinner when one of the bartenders came up and said that he had just gone on break and could he sit with us to drink his latte? Well, ok? What else could we say? “No, doesn’t this place have a breakroom?” He seemed nice enough, but we were all a little weirded out, especially when he gave us his number and said to call him if we ever wanted to go clubbing…. Sure…. Maybe one of the other girls will take him up on it, but seriously?

After we left we all laughed about that for a little bit, then just marveled at how beautiful Bath is, especially at night. It really is. And from my window I can see a view of the whole city! It’s spectacular. I think I’ll be happy here. I hope I will be. Anyways, I’m still pretty jet-lagged, so I’m off to bed for now. Also, I happily have Skype up and working!!!!

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