london calling, see we ain't got no swing

i know, i know--everyone warned me that i should stay up as late as possible on my first night, but i ended up passing out at 7 (or rather--19:00). so here i am, wide awake at 1:30 in the morning and ready to spill the beans on my travels thus far!

might as well start at the beginning. my flight left (yesterday? i suppose two days ago) from lax at 5:40 in the evening. my parents were kind enough to make sure i got through check in alright, then left me at security. it was very hard saying goodbye, especially since i've never been far away from home. however, my tears were soon dried when i got to the end of the security line. there was a man asking each person a different question about the US government. the girl in front of me was asked "who was the 16th president of the united states?" and i thought the guy was just being facetious and messing around with people. turns out, nope, it's a legit test.

when he asked her i realized if it had been me, my mind was so clouded and convoluted that i probably would have said "king james" or something equally preposterous. i resolved to focus very hard when he asked me my question. it was, "under what branch does the president work?" i successfully replied "the executive branch," and was congratulated. i got off easy!

i smilingly asked the man what would've happened if i had gotten the question wrong. he said i would've been led away and subjected to further questioning. thank goodness i know the rudimentary basics of our government!

anywho, finally i got to board the plane. i asked the british woman sitting in the aisle seat if i "she would care to switch seats" with me, since i had the window seat and knew i'd have to get up to climb over her and her child. she declined the offer, so i squished into my dratted window seat.

the plane was filled with children. i don't know why people think it's a grand idea to bring their infants on international flights, but apparently it's fairly routine over here. i would guess that about 25% of the plane was under the age of 3. at any given point during the entire flight there was at least one baby crying. it's okay though, it wasn't miserable. the 11 hours didn't seem very long at all, and british airways has decent food.

before we landed, i cracked open the windows and looked outside to see a thick blanket of clouds below us. since we were above them, the sun was shining brightly through the window. as we were landing, we were submerged in clouds for about four solid minutes--then, beautiful, green england came into view! i peered out over farms, old, dilapidated houses, and cars driving on the left side of the road. i couldn't wait for the drive to the hotel!

however, there was a little delay getting our baggage. while everyone waited for the bags to come out, an awkward, middle-aged british man who worked at the airport struck up a conversation with me. he asked how long i was staying, we spoke about different neighborhoods and the weather, etc. he gave me some helpful hints! the only probalem was that he mumbled a lot, and i couldn't understand half of what he said because of it. i just kept smiling and nodding, like a fooligan. eventually he said some rather nasty comments aboout romanians and bulgarians, which was when i decided it was time to seriously look for my baggage and get going. other than that, though, he was a friendly (though a little odd) guy.

the english border control is really loosey-goosey. i was like "well, i'll be here for five months" and they didn't ask to see proof of roundtrip or anything. they said "alright, then!" and stamped my visa on my passport! they didn't even notice that i had smuggled an apple into the country in my purse...

anyways, my hotel shuttle came about an hour later, and the driver was everything i could've hoped for--knowledgeable, hilarious, and oh-so-british. for the first fifteen minutes of the drive it was just the two of us in the van, and he must've though i was delirious, because i was cracking up at everything he said. the only thing that didn't amuse me was when he started talking about how my school's neighborhood--mile end--was a bad area and full of "coloreds." i didn't appreciate the comment at all, but didn't know exactly what to do, so i just kept my trap irritatedly shut.

however, later, when we picked up more passengers, our driver started joking around even more and making ridiculous announcements over the van loudspeaker. i was giggling at everything he said, but apparently no one else thought he was funny. oh well.

the drive to the hotel was beautiful. there were so many old, british-looking homes, countless soccer fields, cows, and some cool-looking, modern buildings. the driver dropped me off at my hotel--the royal national--and pointed out the british museum, which is only a few blocks away. i'm planning on going later today! it has to be in the morning, before it gets dark. the sky is pitch black by 16:40.

the hotel instantly reminded me of either a hostel or a dorm, because it's kind of run-down and all of the guests are european (french, german, italian...i've heard all sorts of voices outside my door!). at the moment it's a bit lonely being here by myself, but i know that in a few days when i move into queen mary it'll all be jolly-olly. it's a bit scary traveling by yourself as a female, but i've been keeping my eyes peeled. the people i've spoken to here so far have been surprised that i'm by myself.

in the airport i looked like a freak because i kept swiveling my backpack around so no one could touch it, hahaha.

well, i'm right knackered. i'm trying to use as much cocked up british jargon as possible so that i'll fit in more, bahaha. like that will happen. bloody ginga.

cheers,
lilly