A rush of a week....

Wow, what a fun and interesting week it's been!  Just one week ago, I was packing and anticipating for my departure to London, and it's hard to believe it's been a week already!  The days have gone by so fast!

Tricia, the woman I am staying with, lives in the London borough of Brent, just north of Notting Hill, and about a 20-minute Underground ride into central London.  Tricia is extremely friendly and helpful... on the day I arrived, she took me and my roommate, Andreina, on a walk around the neighborhood, pointing out the nearest bus and Underground stops, the post office, and a few restaurants and cafes.  Tricia's an amazing cook... after everything I had heard about British food being not so great, I have been very pleasantly surprised by her meals, my favorite so far being Moroccan meatballs with couscous. YUM!!

We've already had our first two days of program orientation, and regular classes start tomorrow.  I'm really looking forward to all of them, especially Art, Architecture and Society, which is taught by a hilarious British instructor, Peter.  He led us on two extremely long but interesting walks for our orientation, and he seems like he'll make the class really fun as well as interesting.  The class includes no actual classroom time; it is entirely taught on the streets of London, where we exam the architecture of houses, buildings, churches, even statues.  The class also includes weekly day trips to places of interest in and around London, such as Greenwich, Stonehenge, and Stratford, where we'll actually spend the night at a B&B.

I've loved getting to know my classmates, too.  Aside from all meeting at program orientations, we all met up on Friday night at a pub near the classroom in the Holborn neighborhood.  We pushed a bunch of tables together and all hung out as one large group.  Getting to hang out and talk with everyone in a relaxed, non-classroom setting was a lot of fun.  We talked about everything, from school to weekend travel plans (talks are circulating about trips to Scotland, Paris, and Dublin sometime in the near future).

I already feel like I'm a master of London public transit.  Andreina and I have had many adventures resulting from mishaps, from trains not running to late-night bus journeys across London.  Luckily, though, these mishaps have all ended well, and they've really helped us figure out the Underground system (and the bus system, to some extent).  If there are any future employers reading this, my problem-solving skills, my improvisational skills, and my keeping-cool-under-pressure skills are all top notch right now!

In this first week, I've already visited Buckingham Palace, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and the Tower of London.  Plan to do more touristy things (London Zoo, London Eye, etc.) in the coming weeks, mixed in with exploring the less-touristy, more residential areas outside of central London.

I'm definitely missing my friends and family back home, but thanks to cell phones and Skype, keeping in touch hasn't been an issue.  This first week has already flown by and, before I know it, I'll already be on a plane back home, so for now, I'm embracing the time I have here and trying to get as much out of the experience as I can!

Leavin on a jet plane....

Well, the time has finally come: I'm currently sitting at Gate S10 at SeaTac Airport, waiting for my flight to London, which is scheduled to leave from SeaTac at 7:35 tonight, and arrive at Heathrow at 12:00 noon, London time... yep, just 2 hours to go.

So many emotions going on right now.  Nervous, excited, even somewhat sad.  I can't believe that after all this waiting and preparation, I finally get to get going!  Luckily, there are 4 or 5 other UW people on the same flight, which will help ease my nerves a little bit.  Can't believe this is the first big trip I'll have gone on completely alone (well... without anyone from my family, I mean).

So now, having enjoyed a cheeseburger from the grill right behind the gate, it's time for me to sit back, relax, and wait to head off to London.  Next time you guys here from me, I'll be saying "'Ello, guvna!"

There's no place like home(stays): Part deux

So I found out just this morning where I'll be moving to after my first couple weeks in London!

I'll be living in a rather large house (once again, thank God for GoogleMaps Street View!).  The house is in a neighborhood called West Harrow, near the University of Westminster.  It's pretty out of the way from the main part of the city, but if GoogleMaps is correct, there's a bus stop just about half a block away, so commuting shouldn't be too much of an issue.  It just might take a little longer to get into the city than from my first homestay.  The house is right near a bunch of parks, which will make it perfect for taking a few jogs around... the plan is to go jogging a few times a week, but we'll see if I can stick to that and what kind of time I have to be able to go jogging, either in mornings before class or in afternoons when I get back from class.  The house is also right near a train station (maybe 5 blocks away), which will make short weekend trips a breeze.

With each passing day, I start to get more excited.  In just two and a half weeks, I'll be off to London for two and a half months!  Something I've wanted to do for so long, finally happening.

Keep checking back, I'll post updates as they arise, and once I'm in London I'll post to this blog as often as I can to keep you all updated on what I've been up to.  I'll also try to get pictures up on Facebook as often as I can, too!

There's no place like home(stays)

Small update on my path to London... actually, a rather large update: I've finally found out where I'll be staying during my time in London!

Actually, that's kind of only half true, as there's been a bit of an issue with my homestay.  The woman I was originally assigned to stay with, Jenny, had some unexpected family stuff come up, and so she won't be able to host me until April 7, a couple of weeks into the program.  So, for the first couple weeks, I'll be staying with Tricia, who lives in an area of northeast London called Queens Park, just a bit north of Notting Hill.  First thing I did when I got the e-mail with Tricia's contact info?  I GoogleMap-ed her house, of course!  It's a very nice looking house (more of a duplex, actually, kind of representing the type of home you'd see in San Francisco: narrow, 2 stories high, and squished right up next to the house next door).  All the houses on the street, from what I can tell, pretty much look alike- seems to be more of a suburban area rather than right in the middle of the city, which will make for some long Tube rides to and from class.  Oh well,  more exploring for me!

At first I was a little annoyed at the prospect of having to go stay at one house and then, just when I'm settled, having to move to another, but now that I think about it, it'll be a really cool and unique experience!  No one else (except for the girl I'm rooming with) will have had the chance to live with two families in two different parts of the city... to my knowledge.  It will defiintely be cool to get to experience different points of view and different areas, maybe even two completely different lifestyles.

I have yet to find out where Jenny, my 2nd homestay lives, but I'll be sure to update when I do.  The time is drawing near!  Less than 3 weeks away, and still a lot to do before then!

Catch you guys later!

Chani