The first two days in London

I arrived around 12:15pm at Heathrow Airport and met up with another CAPA student on the way to our apartments. My flight was about 8 hours from Atlanta. It wasn't as nerve wracking as I remember long flights to be. It certainly was not as bad as the thirteen hour flight to the Philippines. I thought carrying my luggage from the baggage reclaim area and going through customs were going to be a pain. Surprisingly, it went very smoothly. I arrived at my Flat in central London and my neighborhood is predominantly occupied by Middle Eastern Londoners and I have eaten chicken kebabs, hummus, and baklava for the past two days. I'm not a picky eater and all of the food that I have tasted are amazing and delicious. The apartment is pretty small, but the location is beyond amazing. Minutes walk from Oxford Street and Hyde Park. The famous shopping center Harrod's is pretty close by as well. The architecture and the buildings of London are just breathtaking to look at. I rode on the London subway for the first time, which is called the Tube. It will be my mode of transportation going to my classes and my internship which is located in Kensington Street (equivalent to the Upper East Side) and Haverstock Hill respectively. I am confident that I figured out the best way to get to my internship through the Tube and I will occasionally take the red double decker bus as well. We will see what happens... Crossing the street in London is probably one of the scariest things I have done so far. Sometimes there will be signs that show that pedestrians are allowed to cross the street, then some intersections will not have it. You just have to pay attention to the lights and to oncoming traffic. My safest option is wait to cross the street when everyone else crosses the street. I've already gotten honked and beeped at already. We had orientation today and we also have orientation all day tomorrow as well. I have not yet visited any sites and landmarks of London besides walking through my neighborhood and Kensington Street. The jet lag has made me go into zombie mode for the past two days and it is very hard to stay awake during the day. Fortunately, it is going away and I can actually start to take in and enjoy everything around me. My next blog will all be pictures, because its getting late and I really want to past out right now and I'm too tired to upload pictures. Until then.


"By seeing London, I have seen as much of life as the world can show."
Samuel Johnson