Insert Uncreative Title Here

So I have successfully survived almost four weeks in London. Although the term successfully is used in it's loosest form possible. For many things it's just been one thing after another. First, we get to London, try to get our bank account open so we can get a cell phone. Can't do that because we need to be registered for classes. We didn't register for three weeks. Even after we did that, it would have taken another three weeks to get our bank card which meant that it would have been six weeks to get our cell phones. We ended up buying pay-as-you-go phones until we found HSBC which let us open an account early. Then we switched to our blackberries. Then two weeks after getting my blackberry, it got turned off. I called to find out why and apparently I have a £300 phone bill. How I got that, not sure. It ended up being an error at the store. And that is after the three other times I had to go into the store because my phone stopped working. Secondly, my loan money. I thought I was supposed to get it a lot earlier then I did. No big deal when I find out. Then, the day I am supposed to get it, Sallie Mae didn't realize it was labor day there but not here. So no check. Eventually I get it. Once I get it though and try to put it into my bank account. They freeze my account because the check was so large. Seriously?? I had to find paperwork to bring it to the bank and prove that I was allowed to put that money into my account and then they would unfreeze it. And to top everything else off, the other day, my laptop power-cord decided to melt. All of a sudden something smells bad and I touch the power-cord and it's burning. I pull it from my computer turn it over there is a hole melting in it. I love Apple though. They gave me a new power-cord for free.

Now that I have vented about all the bad stuff, although overall it's not that bad. It was just one thing after another and finally got to me. I had my first class today. It was Anthropology of Art. I think it's going to be a really fun class, especially because we will be talking about art, a lot. We had our lecture then our smaller seminar groups, which is where we do our discussions and ask questions. The lectures are really supposed to be just for listening. I am technically not registered for the class because the secretary in my major messed up when sending the information to the Anthropology department. So cross my fingers I can still get in since it is full. I will find out tomorrow I think.

Tomorrow's classes are my core classes for my major. They are my talking lecture, which is in the morning. To tell you the truth, I have to clue what those are. I will let you know once I find out. And then in the afternoon I have my Through the Lens class. Again not sure all the details but I will also let you know about that. The only probably I have about the school so far, is my commute. It's not long, like 20-30 minutes by bus. But if there is traffic, it's frustrating and it's boring. Not that big of a deal though. I only have class twice a week. Maybe a few other meeting times thrown in there. Trust me, although it doesn't sound like a lot of class, but at looking at the course schedule for the semester. I am gonna get my butt kicked. The way schooling works over here, is a lot of on your own. Which on one hand is cool but on the other not so much. I am going to need that on my own time though when I have to take my pictures and write my thesis so I can graduate. Getting an "A" over here is really hard too. I was told a teacher might only give out one "A" for the year. A WHOLE YEAR! It doesn't seem to hard to pass though. The way their percentages works give you a lot more leeway.

Work has been going well too. I am working for the same study abroad program I went on two years ago. I am working for my resident director. We have had two groups come in already and they are settled into their dorms and one group already started classes. It doesn't seem like a lot of work, just walking around with the students and showing them London. But I am exhausted by the end of the day and my feet are killing me. With the group I have gotten to go to Greenwich, Tower Hill, Parliament (inside), Buckingham Palace(inside) and upcoming events are: a play at the Globe Theater, Stonehenge and Salisbury (Lindsay, if you are reading this, I am pretty sure it's not like your school, but it would be cool if it was), York, Oxford and I get to see Hairspray at the end of the semester. These are the events that the program puts on. I got to see Wicked when I came. The beginning of the semester is a lot of work, but once the students get settled into the housing, we only seem them every other week give or take. The last group comes in tomorrow but I can't meet my boss to help her since I will be in classes.

But well, I guess that is it for now. I will let you know how the other two classes start and everything else that is going on here. Let me know if you have questions for me, because sometimes I don't know what to write. Miss you.

It's Celsius not Fahrenheit

One of our biggest problems here is converting celsius into fahrenheit. First the temperature then last night I tried to master the oven. Which didn't turn out so bad. I had to call my mom first to ask her what it was supposed to be in fahrenheit to cook chicken and then I went online to figure out what it was going to be here. I have to say, my chicken turned out pretty awesome.

I started work last weekend. I am working for the same program I studied abroad through. I am assisting my resident director in working with the students and taking them to their orientation meetings and show them around the city. I also have to have a cell phone that is on 24 hours, just if something happens they can call me and hopefully I will know what to do. The rest of the groups come in next Friday so from then on I will be a lot busier with those students.

Starting Monday I will be doing things for school. My own orientations and registering for classes. I know I am only going to be in class on Wednesdays and Thursdays this semester. I am not really sure about the spring though. It should be interesting getting used to the classes over here since a lot of it is on your own type studying. I mean grad school is supposed to be like that anyways but school here is really lets do things on your own type studying and teaching.

We are still getting settled in. Still ordering books and things needed for our room to make the next year comfortable. Eventually we will have it done and this place will feel a little more like home. I have been taking buses everywhere instead of the tube. There are two bus stops right outside of our flat that can take me either to my school or right into the center of London so there is no need to walk the 10 extra minutes to only be on the tube for one stop. Plus on the bus you can see London and not just the basement of it. It's fashion week this week so the streets are a mess with the shows going on and some roads are blocked off as well for people to ride their bikes through the city instead of driving. I wish I had a bike here for this so I could ride around and see the city in a different way.

That's all for now. There is nothing really exciting going on. But I will try to update when things are. <3

here we go again

So Jessie and I have been in london exactly one week. Day one consisted of me trying to go to a completely different terminal to wait for jessie since neither of us had cell phones. My flight was uneventful. Can't say the same for Jessie's flight. She has to circle the airport for 45 mins before landing. They were literally circling so much so that she said the twin girls sitting in front of her got sick. After that we took a taxi to get to our flat. Which by the way is the cutest thing ever. Most of the rest of the day was spent trying to get some things we needed for our flat such as bedding and food. We tried to get cell phones but had a huge hassle with that since we were international students and had no bank account set up yet. We ended up getting pay as you go phones for about a week. 

Friday we made the hour long trip to Ikea via the tube which was an adventure in itself. We got off the tube and ended up walking ten minutes in the wrong direction until we found somebody to ask. We ordered some stuff that was sent to us on Sunday and we got a few things for the kitchen that we didn't have such as a frying pan and a strainer. 

Saturday we got to see the graham family since everybody was in london for the weekend. And that night jessie and I went to veritys flat which is really cute as well. The kitchen is all pink. Too cute.

Sunday we received our ikea stuff that we ordered. We don't have screwdrivers or hammers so we put together everything with a butter knife and what we assume to be a bottle opener. The best part was finding out that Jessie's desk had no instructions. We called Ikea to have them email the instructions to us and then attempted to find an internet cafe open on a sunday afternoon. When that failed, we admitted defeat and went to the pub across the street for a drink. Armed with a little alcohol in our system, our butter knives, and our pretend hammer, we managed to put her desk together with only a few remaining pieces leftover. Its still standing half a week later and pretty sturdy to boot. 

Speaking of the pub across the street, that's how we decided we are going to tell what the weather is going to be like for the day. Besides looking at the people who are walking around and what they are wearing, we are looking at the doors to the pub. Two doors open means its really nice out. One door means it can be a bit chilly and no doors means its cold or we have been up too late and its closed for the night. 

We have still been setting up the flat, trying to get my loan money from my school and exploring the neighborhood we live in. We are right between three tube stations right on a major bus route and are off of st. George's circus (which by the way has no elephants or lions) and can walk to Picadilly circus and Trafalgar square in twenty minutes give or take. I love our area. Its still gonna take some getting used to but I think this next year is gonna be pretty awesome.