Getting the hang of things

Hello Friends!

So, I have already decided I am terrible at this blog thing, but i am going to keep trying! There is so much to say, so please excuse the randomness of this particular post!

I have officially made it through my first week of classes! The school is in a really nice and totally beautiful part of town (unfortunately it is 30 minutes by bus or 45-60 by foot from home). It is very modern, and the main building of the school looks like a very swanky storefront or something. It blends right in with the rest of the street. Our library and classrooms are located a couple blocks away from the man building, but it is just a couple minutes away. We must be right next to a very nice private girls school, because there are all these little girls in green pleated skirts everywhere.

Classes are going really well. I have a color theory class on Tuesday and Thursday Mornings. The teacher is a professional artist and knows a lot about the art industry. It is turning into much more of an "art" class than i thought it would, but I am already learning a lot. We paint everyday in class, and then have massive assignments to do outside of class. I actually spent 4 hours today working on homework for tomorrow's class.

My garment construction class is going to be way way way too easy for me, but there isn't really a better class to take in that time slot, plus I am really excited about our big project for that class. I can already tell that I have far too much sewing experience for the class, but I have little experience on the industrial machines that we are using, so the practice will be good. Throughout the term we are working on a project to analyze denim in the fashion industry, I am excited about that and I think it will be really cool to be able to learn about that. I have already written 8 pages of notes on the history of denim, which is surprisingly interesting!

My last class on Tuesdays is an academic class for my internship. The teacher is this amazing bald Englishman who knows all there is to know about the fashion industry, and is especially knowledgeable about British designers. He is incredible smart, and also has a really good sense of humor, so going until 9pm once a week isn't really going to be that bad.

I still need an internship. My first day at Prangsta (where I was supposed to be interning) was a complete and utter disaster! After traveling for 1.5 hours to get there I was led into a shop where I would be working. The shop was a complete mess!!! There was garbage all over the place, piles of old clothes and fabric, and no table space to work. I had to climb over garbage and tipped over mannequins to get to a sewing machine. It was awful. I started my day with a very open mind, but as the day went on I knew that it would take a special kind of person to work in that environment, and apparently I wasn't that person. I had to tell myself that I wasn't paying thousands of dollars to go to school in London and have to work in that kind of environment. I am a little disappointed in myself for not sticking it out, but at the same time, if it would have been my first day of a paying job I would not have even stayed as long as I did. So our internship coordinator is looking for a new placement for me, and I am enjoying having nothing to do on Mondays and Wednesdays for right now.

I have been exploring London through the cultural activities that the school sponsors. My first day here we went on a walking tour of London. We went all around the city and saw some of the major sights. Buckingham Palace, Parliment, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Picadilly Circus, Covenant Garden, Theater District, Trafalger Square and many more. It was really cool to be able to get an idea of where we were living in relation to many of the places we have heard about. Then, last Saturday we took a day trip to Greenwich. We got to see the National Maritime Museum, the royal palace that was occupied during the Tudor Dynasty, the Royal Observatory, the Prime Meridian and lots of other great things. We had dinner at an AMAZING PUB! and I had bangers and mash (sausage and mashed potatoes) It was so good! This week my cultural activities take me to the Tower of London and THE GLOBE THEATER on Friday!!! I am so excited to see the globe!

Weird things about England-- Buildings have the weirdest floor numbering systems. I live in a flat on the second floor, but in name, I live on the Upper ground floor. The third floor of our building is called the first floor. Also, none of the food tastes the same. There is always something different about it. And, I can't find canned beans! Anywhere! I still haven't gotten the hang of spending pounds. I have all these one and two pound coins in my wallet because I forget that I have them and end up breaking larger bills because I am not used to coins that are worth more than 25 cents. Weird!

My flatmates and I seem to be getting along just fine, and one of them is a KD from WSU.. such a small world!

Guess that is all for now, look for updates on the Globe on Friday!

Love and miss you all!

London: the trip over and day one.

It has been a crazy couple of days. Hopefully I can catch everyone up, and then I am off to bed for the first day of school tomorrow! No classes, just meetings.

The flight over went just fine. No major travel hiccups. I boarded the plane in Boise around 9:30 AM, left Portland at noon and flew all the way to Amsterdam. After the 10 hour flight I ended up in Amsterdam at 8:00 local time. The flight was super long and I managed to have the only three people under the age of 2 on the entire plane seated directly in front of and behind me. I also had no idea that children could physically scream for 10 hours. Needless to say, I got no sleep. I got to amsterdam and bought a phone card so I could call mom and dad at home. I sat and stared at the phone and the dutch all over it, tried swiping my card several times, and finally gave up and called collect. It was very reassuring to know that I only had to be in a foreign speaking country for 9 hours! I rented a room in a Yotel, which is this hotel in the airport with these tiny rooms. I had a bed, toilet, tv, desk, wireless internet, and most importantly a shower in the square footage of the bathroom I left in Boise! I slept and took a much needed shower and felt ready for my flight to london. I left Amsterdam at 4:50 and arrived in London at 5:10 (with a one hour time difference)

It took me nearly an hour to get all the way through the border, there was a huge line, but I managed with no problem. the border agent didn't question me, didn't ask for additional documents, nothing. Just looked at my passport and sent me on my way. Wielding three piece of luggage and finding the cab driver proved to be interesting, but I found everything and was proud of my airport navigating abilities.

First observation upon arriving in London: the wheel is on the other side of the car! I knew this, I had heard it millions of times, but seeing it was so surprising! Also, the traffic was crazy, and I am so glad I do not have to drive in this city! There were so many twists and turns and one ways and roundabouts, and the list goes on, but it was good to finally arrive.

I found my flat and checked in. The flat is tiny- six rooms all connected by a skinny hallway. All of our rooms and then the common room, which includes a small seating area and a pretty good sized kitchen. The setup is really weird, and the doors all shut automatically. I feel like the walls are kind of caving in, but I will get used to it. The sorority house is a lot bigger, and is filled with so many more people. I have already started to miss K∆. My room, roommates, kitchen, everything. the adjustment will come eventually, I know it will, but the adjustment is just so big! I did meet all my flatmates, but I know little to nothing about most of them, so I will spare you the details, because I have none.

The first night I was there I went out with two of my flatmates and a couple other girls. we found a couple pubs in Camdentown, the area we are living in, and also some food. I was exhausted, so after the trek home I thought I would crash. Then I started to unpack. Exhaustion eventually took over and I had to go to bed so I could wake up for the tour the next day. I must have laid in bed for two hours before I fell asleep, my mind was racing about everything, and to be honest, I was feeling a little unsure about the whole thing. I mean, I just moved to a completely different country, in a completely different part of the world where I knew no one.

Sunday was better. People from the school took us on a walking tour of London. (I will try to figure out how to post pictures on here) We got to see all the major sights of London. I am continually overwhelmed by the amount of history. I saw buildings and walked down streets today that were hundreds of years old. I have never been around anything that has this much history. Highlights of the tour included Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Green park, Picadilly Circus, Covenant Garden, Pall Mall, and many others. Being able to just walk around the city was probably the coolest thing. There is so much more I want to see and do, and the tour helped me to know where thins were, so I can be sure to revisit.

I also learned to navigate the Tube (which, by the way, is actually shaped like a tube. Who knew?) it is so much more user friendly than the subway in NYC. Which, I have little to no experience with, so my judgement may not be entirely valid. Me and one flatmate and a couple other girls went and found groceries after the tour was over. I shopped at the UK equivalent of the dollar store, aka the 99 pence store (which is actually a little deceiving, because 99 pence in about equal to 1.65 dollars) Grocery shopping in a city is a new experience, and having to carry all your purchases was a pain in the butt! You have to buy much less so you can actually carry everything, I totally overdid it, so lesson learned, buy fewer groceries more often.

The environment of the students is really weird. I feel like everyone applied and came to the school with someone they knew. I am pretty sure I am the only person from Idaho (one girl clarified that I was in fact from the same city as the blue turf) And many have to really think to determine where Idaho is. (Did anyone else have to learn the states and capitals in 5th grade?) It seems like nearly everyone is from the east coast and most attend school in large cities, (NYC, DC, Chicago, Miami.) I am feeling very alone! I have already been able to connect with some people, and I know it will get better, I mean it is only the first day. Plus, I know having a regular schedule and a good idea of where and when I will be spending my time will be a huge help.

For now, I am off to bed. Tomorrow is a new day, and will be fun and exciting, right now I am taking it one day at a time. I have so much to learn, and that is the best way. I love and miss everyone at home, pictures are coming soon, I promise!

Goodnight from London!