Orientation

After forcing myself to stay awake until 9 pm on the day I arrived in London, in order to prevent jet lag, I crashed and slept like a baby throughout the night. The next morning and throughout the last week, I got to know my roommates better and they are all very different, but interesting. Sam Shiff, from Boston, carries a faint accent and uses the term "wicked" a lot. He is also trying way too hard to get involved with some of the young CAPA ladies who are not feeling his vibe. Ruslan, from upstate New York, was born in Russian but only lived there till he was six. He goes to Colgate, which not only a brand of toothpaste, but also a well-respected university. Both Ruslan and Paul, a fellow Gopher from Milwaukee, have a bunch of other friends also studying abroad in London so they often go out with there friends from home. Illia, lovingly nicknamed 'The Russian' is a giant bodyguard that reminds me of Arnold Schwarzenegger. He is actually from Russian and moved to the states when he was 18. The Russian, 26, has a very thick accent and spends a lot of type skyping his girlfriend. They are all hilarious and great to party with because they are from different parts of the U.S. So not only am I learning about London, but America as well. Of course, I've met a load of girls that live in our building that I love including Megan, Olga, Genevieve, Sarah, Sara, Bekah, just to name a few.

September 3rd, my second day of London, contained a long, boring, but necessary orientation meeting about dealing with London basics: living, eating, site-seeing, crime, etc. After I got my first real taste of London but Katie Weber and some of the BFAs on a visit to Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. Once I saw the clock tower and the London Eye, I finally felt like I had arrived. I smelt the River Thames, felt the stone walls of the abbey and got a real sense of the city.

Friday 09/04, after a morning stroll in Hyde Park, was another day of orientation for both safety and my internship, followed by a welcome dinner. The dinner was at the Crown Plaza Hotel, however the food was awful and the staff had a hard time keeping the buffet table stocked. Plus, it was a cash bar, so the dinner was a major let down. But that night was my first chance to bond with my roommates and the girls down stairs. We pre-gamed at my flat with vodka and wine. It is nice that the drinking age is 18 in the UK because everyone can buy their own drinks. Anywho, we rode the tubes to Piccadilly Circus in order to go pub and club hopping. Unfortunately, my lovely friend Genevieve had a bit too much red wine and got sick on the Piccadilly Line resulting in a case vomit flying through the underground train onto me, Megan and some locals. One lady was not happy about the throw-up, to say the least. So Olga and I got off the train to help Genevieve. Megan and Olga helped Genevieve find relief in the Piccadilly McDonald's bathroom. Not a great start to the semester, but a hilarious one nonetheless. As soon as Genevieve was in a cab home with Megan and Olga, the rest of us went out to party. We found an awesome multi-level pub called 'Waxy O'Connor's.' After a few 3.50 pound drinks, we went to a club called 'Sound' in Leicester Square. It was pretty crazy; the music was perfect, but fricking loud and there were a few under-age girls there. The drinks were the worst part. I only got one and it was 7 pounds - that's a rip-off - but the club still a blast. We had to take the night bus home and don't worry, I got all of the puke out of my pants.

Saturday CAPA sponsored a bus tour to some of the major sites in London, including Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, The Millennium Bridge, The Tower of London and The Tower Bridge. The tour was beautiful and it inspired me to go to more and more places in the city. I am definitely going to check out the free museums - The National & The V & A Museum. Sarah Bys and I were talking about have a Church week and Museum week in order to knock out all of the major sites in just a few days. The Millennium Bridge, featured in the latest Harry Potter movie, offered an amazing view of the Thames and the buildings bordering it, like the Tate Modern and The Globe. Some of my friends said they may have seen Dementors!

That night, the group went out again to a pub in Islington called 'Central.' It was SO much fun because we met up with a group of CAPA students living in Ability Tower Flats, including some of the BFAs. The lame thing about most of the pubs in London is that they close at either 11pm or midnight, not giving us a lot of time to go out. So we went back to Ability Towers to hang out with the CAPA students. It was a blast and there are a lot of great party pictures on Facebook. Partying together is the best way to make fast friends. The night ended on a sour note because we had to wait an hour for the night bus, so it took more than 2 hours to get back to Praed Street. We did meet a couple British blokes on the night bus that mocked our attempts at an English accent, but helped us get home. I don't remember their names, but I called the blonde on 'blue sweater' because that was what he wore.

We spent a beautiful Sunday afternoon strolling through Regents Park. The park is gloriously specked with fountains, flowers and a boardwalk. The boardwalk was full of locals walking their dogs and little eateries leading to the London Zoo and the northern end of the park. That night we ate at a pub calling 'The Globe,' not to be confused with Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. At the Globe pub, I had my first real, British traditional meal: Bangers and Mash with a Strongbow Cider to wash it all down. Mmm...Mmm...good. The ciders are far superior than typical American beer because they are made with apples instead of hops making them much tastier. Plus, there is more alcohol in English cider than American beer brands.