Living in London: Week 1

My journey from Crystal Palace Thursday morning was a bit longer than I anticipated.  I met this guy on the bus that couldn't get the hint, so I just stayed on until he got off and had to cross the street to ride back to my stop.  I arrived at the same time as  a caravan of undergrads.  Nothing could have made me feel more out of place so quickly.  Finally, they handed out keys and room assignments, and I finagled my luggage up the stairs.  One of the lessons I've learned during this trip is the art of packing light.  Too bad I figured it out after I got here.


The flat the Heidi and I share with three other girls is actually nicer than the newly renovated dorms I stayed in at FSU.  Heidi and I are roommates with an extra set of everything, including a third bed, dresser and closet.  Of course, we've already managed to fill most of it :)  The rest of the flat has another bedroom shared by Patty, Danielle and Jacquell (our fellow grad students studying sports management), two bathrooms (small does not begin to describe) and a common area with couches, a TV, table for 5 and a sizable kitchen.  Everything is a bit strange at first, but we have cooked in the kitchen successfully many times.  That first one was just a bit of a challenge.


So after I dropped everything off, we started to collect each other outside 99.  As we would wait for the arrival of one person, another masters student would show up, too.  We went to lunch at Pret, which is becoming a great mainstay, and then went about finding the grocery store for essentials and locating the rest of our class.  By the 4pm tea, almost everyone had made it except Ryan, one of our band guys.  I was very lucky to have already been over here based on the issues so many people had with cancelled flights in Atlanta.


For all the complaining teachers do about students being off-task, we sure are good at it.  We were clearly the only one's at the tea that knew everyone in our group as opposed to two or three people coming into this.  After too long in a tiny, un-air conditioned room, most of us set out for a real English dinner.


We found a pub called The Plough across from the British Museum and raised our glasses in triumph that we had made it to the home stretch and we were actually in London and would go back home with our Masters degrees!  We wanted to do a bit more investigating, so we wondered around near our flats and stumbled upon The Jack Horner.  Soon after that, most people were feeling the jetlag and we called it a night.


Our meeting the next morning was...interesting.  It was clearly geared towards the undergrads who were experiencing an international type of freedom for the first time, including easy access to alcohol with the lowered drinking age.  I would venture to say that our behavior only worsened when we had a mandatory meeting about alcohol and drug use.  Man, did I feel old.  At one point, they asked our ages after specifying the typical age that they speak with was 10-18, and our group, naturally being the loudest, spouted out ages from 25 and up.  I don't know that they saw that coming.  However, it was the end of the meetings we had to attend, so the rest of the weekend was ours.


We found a great Thai food place across from the British Museum.  After which, Heidi and I set off on an unintentional, awesome adventure.  First we just wondered.  We stopped at Aveda (must have my products) after walking the wrong way for about 10 minutes stumbling on future yummy restaurants.  At this point we just stopped off where we needed to: Boots for toiletries,  Sally Hair supply for nail stuff and a scarf for Heidi.   Then it was time to find the Whole Foods in Soho.  That part of the journey was more of a wonder-til-you-find-something with only the general direction in mind.  After walking all the way to Piccadilly Circus and turning around, there it was!  One of the cashiers was nice enough to give us directions back to the flat, and at first, we did so well.  But when we got to Oxford Circus, we went left instead of right.  Good thing: found all the major shops (H&M, Zara, Dorothy Perkins, etc. in duplicate).  Bad thing: hit rush hour and actually found out that you can have a traffic of people.  We ended up all the way over in Hyde Park before it was glowingly apparent that we had gone through a lot to only be going the wrong way for half an hour.  And taking the Tube back was not an option.  So we kept walking, this time we knew where we were and got away from the traffic jams and construction and had a very peaceful walk home.  We saw so much and still made it how in time to cook dinner (using a Wok to cook the pasta!?) with everybody in Liz and Rachel's flat.


After a round or two of Skipbo, we felt energized enough to venture out into London night life.  It was Friday after all.  After finding Soho more directly this time, David (band guy in our program) stopped someone to ask them where the best dance club was in London.  And so, we followed this person to Heaven.  I can't even make that up.  The place was so much fun, but it got crazy crowded and we felt it was time to go.  One problem...how?  Brock (chorus guy) feels like he knows and is very convincing.  Until we all realize, there is no way we're going the right direction.  Plus, Heidi and I have had enough adventure for one day.  Thank goodness for taxis! And everyone made it back from Heaven safe and sound.


Saturday morning, I felt the need to better associate myself with my new cultural surroundings.  William and Kate were on the BBC for a ceremony to honor soldiers who had died or been wounded in battle.  As with many celebrations and  ceremonies in the UK, bagpipes were integrated into the splendor of it all.  I couldn't help but get up and Scottish dance.  I mean, seriously, you can;t hear Highland Laddie and not dance.  That's normal, right!?


The rest of Saturday was spent in Covent Garden by the market and shops with Liz, Rachel, Megan and Jen.  I found a dance supply store, bought a beautiful watch at Fossil and found my new pair of Toms!  We then met up with most of the rest of our class at Wagamama's (thank you Kara!) for dinner.  Still the weekend, we tried going out again to the Jack Horner and then the Rising Sun.  There is nothing like sitting around with good people and good conversation.


Sunday, I will admit, I slept in, but at this point I had been traveling for almost two weeks and needed the rest.  I enjoyed my leftovers from Wagamama's and made sure I was ready for class on Monday.  We had a quick flat meeting with the GC's (Graduate Counselors, who are at least 5-10 years younger than most of us) then a quick run of errands to Sainsbury, Boots and Whole Foods for yet another wonderful meal, and rather impromptu, with about half the group.  Let's just say, Liz waved a magic wand and there was enough food for all.


Monday marked our first day of classes and the beginning of our Dr. Madsen experience.  Heidi and I woke up early to grab a coffee treat and barreled back into the world of TRANSFER!!  Our first class was such a great realization of how much I have changed since I took his class in undergrad.  It was also a relief to know that I am proud of that change.  With a spring in my step, we enjoyed some jacket potatoes for lunch and grabbed some dinner supplies.  Thankfully, I did figure the over out and had honey-glazed salmon and whole wheat pasta with spinach, onions, mushrooms and fresh mozzarella.  I was very proud of myself :)


That evening we had all been given tickets to see Blood Brothers, the musical.  My memories of this show only include one song.  The song the kids sing when they're playing in the first act.  Several of my friends in my thespian troope in high school took that song to districts.  But I had never seen the full production.  I wish someone had warned me that this particular piece I knew from watching rehearsals was the musical motif for the ENTIRE MUSICAL!!  Grrrr... plus, I now have issue with Marilynn Monroe.  I wish it had been a straight play.  The music got in the way of a very well-thought out, tragic story with some very talented performers to boot.


Somehow, I turned off my alarm Tuesday morning, so it was a mad dash to class followed by a trip directly after to the British Museum.  You can barely get through a room in this place properly in a day, let alone an afternoon.  At information overload, Liz, Rachel and I went for gelato.  Mmm.  The rest of the evening was low key, with talk of where we would all travel to and what else we wanted to do in the city.


Wednesday's class was a very valuable subject for me.  Learning how to control my circle and not spending time worrying about other circles I have no control over.  In the spirit of that, instead of asking everyone what they were doing that day, I made my day happen and invited others to join if they like.  I went to Sainsbury to grab lunch, and went to discover how to use the laundry room.  With only three washers functioning, I was glad for the company of Liz who helped me convince them to work, and then for Megan, who joined me and made sure I took all my clse back to the flat with me.


Tonight, I really had something to look forward to... Scottish Dance class!  A few days before, I had done an online search for classes close by and discovered classes for under £5.  It's in the Crown Court Church of Scotland and the classes are open.  I went on my own, and found great new friends.  They were actually my age!  I was out of shape next to these championship dancers, but it gave me some real motivation to push forward.  I can't wait until next week!  I grabbed some Wagamama on the way home and passed out from exhaustion.  The good kind.


Thursday morning came a bit too soon, but I always feel better when I get where I'm going.  We worked through the concepts of fixed and variable systems.  After class, it was off to Victoria Station to grab tickets to Billy Elliot for the evening.  After a bit of mix up at the ticket counter, we had changed our plans to the matinee performance in 40 minutes.  One roundtrip on the Tube saved and an open evening turned out even better, so my friend Erin and I ran to Pret and stuffed our faces just outside the theater.  


Billy Elliot was full of great dancing and wonderful passion.  I was glad to have seen the movie already since the storyline was clearly not as important as the dancing, but it didn't bother me :)  Dinner followed after searching Whole Foods and Sainsbury's for soft corn tortillas.  Full belly's lead naturally to finishing homework and falling into bed after another amazing London day.


Friday was a welcome day with a great wide open weekend.  After class, Heidi and I planned our trip for our week off in July.  We probably spent about an hour getting the details down and then booking.  It's looks like you'll all get to hear about Dublin and Edinburgh very soon!


As Heidi and I learned from our earlier adventure last Friday and the traffic jam on the sidewalk that Friday night is a big deal in London.  We went to a place called B@1 that had the friendliest staff and played great music.  That was followed by some amazing Mexican food and some great conversation with Erin's London friends about how Americans end up staying in London.  What a wonderful week!