getting acquainted

After 12 hours of travel, I finally made it to London.  As we descended into Heathrow airport the sun was just coming up and it couldn't have been a better welcoming to the city.

After going through customs and magically making it out of the airport with all my bags alive, I hopped in a cab and headed to my dorm on Queen's Gate road.  The very nice cab driver gave me a semi-guided tour of the area once we arrived in Kensington.  When we pulled up to the dorm, it was surrounded by students and I quickly reunited with friends from BU.  The rooms are much nicer/larger than expected with an ample amount of storage.  I would take pictures but those of you who know me well enough know that the room is already a disaster and definitely not photo ready.  Mom, you would be very proud to know that I unpacked as soon as I arrived (unlike my routine when I arrive home from school for a break).  After, I activated my European phone (which is Nokia nugget, a flashback to 8th grade).  When both of my other roommates arrived we headed out to a pub for some lunch, which I promise will not become a regular occurrence because pub food is disgusting. 

The hardest thing I've dealt with so far is the jet lag.  My friends and I can't seem to get used to the time difference and hopefully will get acclimated soon.  Until then, my routine will consist of short naps in the afternoon in order to get over the tiredness.. 

The first day of orientation was filled with a talk from the police and several academic lectures.  Did you know pepper spray is considered a fire arm in the UK?  It was a long day but I think having us get up at 9 and be occupied until 4 was BU's attempt to help us get over jet lag.  It didn't prove very successful because people were sleeping during the lectures.  My friends Sam, Skylar, and Meghan are the perfect example.

That evening, we went to the grocery store in order to avoid having to eat out all the time and then headed to a pub located right behind our building.  I've come to very much enjoy cider.  At the Queen's Arm pub I got a blackberry flavored cider which was super delicious.

Just so you get a feel for where we are, when I walk out the door of my building and look to the left, I can see Hyde Park.  Kensington High Street (the big shopping area) is just about a 10 minute walk from our building.  Funny side note, they have T.K. Maxx here instead of T.J. Maxx.

On Tuesday, we took a boat ride from Westminster Pier to Greenwich.  I was so excited when we walked out from the Tube station to see the London Eye and Big Ben!

Greenwich was absolutely beautiful.  We visited the Royal Naval Academy, the Queen's House, and the local market area.

I've been having a great time going out and getting to experience British culture so far and hope that this weekend we will get to go see some of the sites that London is so famous for.

ALSO, I recently found out that I will be interning for a PR firm called Premier PR for the second half of the program. The company is known for their work with the European film festivals and international publicity campaigns for films, TV shows, theater, and other forms of entertainment. I will be working on online publicity which is an aspect of the business I have little experience in.  Another thing I am truly looking forward to.

Until next time,

Katie