We are here!

So yesterday I woke up and we were flying over Ireland. Naturally, I was ready to set the plane down there and start exploring, but that was not my end destination (this time!) Our plane landed in Heathrow airport in LONDON ENGLAND!!! Despite the fact it did not feel like I got any sleep on the plane, I feel like I had to have gotten some. It did not feel like an eight hour plane ride. So we disembarked, and made our way through immigration. I was right behind another guy in the WiE program and when I was called up and stated I was doing the same thing as the guy in front of me, the immigration man asked, "Is there anyone left in America?" Well, I certainly hope so, otherwise I'm not sure who would be reading this blog. :)

We gathered up our luggage and climbed onto a coach. I discovered the full extent of my directional difficulties, when I only had a vague feeling that something was different than usual, where my friend Ian was freaking out that we climbed onto the bus on the opposite side from the States. We dumped our stuff at our hotel, and went for a looooong walk in the city. We went all the way to Regents Park which was absolutely filled with beautiful gardens. I only took about 200 pictures my first day here. Hopefully I can get some of those edited and put up soon. Unfortunately I had felt pretty rushed out of the hotel by my roommates and left without a pound on me, which became important when we stopped at a grocery store to buy food. I ended up mooching off of four different people. In a way it was a good thing because I had a good idea of what other people had bought for when I manage to go back. After our walk I was REALLY tired. I took a nap even. This was a very poor idea. I'm never taking a nap ever again (at least on this trip.) Sleep did not come last night until probably 10 at night Illinois time. I did get a lot of reading done. I'm hoping tonight will be better. We dined at the hotel this morning and after some experimenting I discovered how to drink black tea! I had avoided it up to this point as I prefer to drink my tea plain. Black tea is not delicious (to me) by itself. By adding a tiny bit of milk and a small amount of sugar, it was actually quite nice. Good first lesson to learn in England.

Anyways, I'm here in England. It doesn't quite feel real yet. Maybe it's the combination of the sleep deprivation and the newness of everything. I can't believe I have so many weeks to explore this country. I love the people I'm with and I'm excited to get to know them better in England of all places. :)