a weary two days.
January 31st, 2007 | Published in Uncategorized | 9 Comments
After months of thinking, wondering and daydreaming, I finally arrived in London yesterday. Unfortunatly, I can barley remember my first few moments. A painful jet-lag hangover stuck with me most of the day. Even after a short nap I was mixing words and muddling thoughts. I actually started to write a blog entry yesterday, but after rereading what I wrote, deleted the post in its entirety.
The weariness broke soon after dinner. Canden, a friend who recently graduated from Elon, took us out to a restaurant for fish and chips (of course). It was nice to see a familiar face, especially since she’s already been here a month, and knows her way around the city quite well. The first night in any big city can be daunting. But knowing that I live here and need to be learning street names, tube stops and where to get a deal on milk — it can be a lot! I’ve already had to remind myself that this is not vacation — class starts next week so I’d better work fast!
I cut together this short slideshow a little bit ago. I will not lie — it is kind of crude. But I figured the point was not to produce a masterpiece, but rather convey an idea of the day to day life. This one covers the first two days.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai7xj5iVMmk]
I only really showed a little bit of the flat. But to go into more detail — I’m living with 7 other girls. There’s 3 bedrooms, all of them look pretty much like mine. Each room has its own bathroom as well. It was certainly a pleasant suprise. The rooms are a lot larger than I expected! Lovely!
February 1st, 2007 at 2:27 am (#)
Olivia! Love the slide show. You inspire me to do more with my blog. haha. I am glad to hear that you all arrived safe and sound. Your room looks much larger than expected. Bet you are thrilled! Tell Mandy and Bethany I said hi! I set up skype today so we can talk! yay! I am feeling much better, not 100%, but better. Can’t wait for the next post.
February 1st, 2007 at 4:09 pm (#)
hey girl! it’s so exciting that you’re in london! beautiful neighborhood… and i like the kitchen’s colors.
good luck with classes next week! i have a feeling you’re going to take london by storm before too long.
February 1st, 2007 at 9:03 pm (#)
That’s definitely the exact same flat I was in! We broke the washer (or was it the drier?) three times that semester. It’s amazing what a little Ken Burns zoom-in can do for a bathroom shot. That had PBS written all over it.
February 1st, 2007 at 11:28 pm (#)
Haha, thanks JD. That’s so awesome you were in the same flat as me! Now I can feel you in the walls! haha. Hey, since you’re a working guy now, if you want to afford a ticket to come over here you should!And Megan, I can’t wait to start reading yours!! You’ll have to post often! Let me know if you need any help.Abby — Dinner was awesome. You should have a blog too. That would be such an interesting thing to read in contrast with mine!
February 2nd, 2007 at 2:02 pm (#)
That is awesome…Let me get this straight. Is that a washer machine in the kitchen? Because that is AWESOME!
February 2nd, 2007 at 2:50 pm (#)
Yes, that is actually a washer/dryer combo. We haven’t used it yet, but aparently our ‘spin cycle’ is their ‘drying.’ So essentially, we’re going to have clothes hanging all over the place. Sweet.
February 2nd, 2007 at 5:18 pm (#)
Great Video Olivia. So exciting to be able to see where “my baby” is living. This modern communication stuff is GREAT isn’t it? So you have to hang your damp clothes around to air dry? We Americans have no idea how much more energy concious the rest of the planet is. Maybe we should take some hints.Great talking with you last night on Skype. Is the Abby who posts here the same Abby from Pittboro? Her Mon said she was going to South America this semester, so it would be a great contrast to read you BOTH. More later…take care, have fun…Love ya! Dad
February 5th, 2007 at 3:18 pm (#)
Olivia Welcome to Europe! Glad to hear that you made it safely and you’re settling in perfectly. Your neighborhood looks great so keep your eyes peeled for a good hotel close by as I’m going to come to visit. Good luck with the washer dryer combo – a friend and I stayed in an apt in Paris for a week and never could get past the wash cycle – of course there were language barriers which made it even more difficult. The we discovered that we’d been washing our clothes in fabric softner instead of liquid detergent. Oh well at least you’ve got the language in your favor! I really enjoyed reading about your experiences – much of it sounds all too familiar. You are a terrific writer and I look forward to your future entries. Don’t forget you’ve got an Aunt on the Swiss Italian border – you can come any time! Email me to let me know about the dates that you and Sam will come! All the best -
February 6th, 2007 at 8:43 pm (#)
So glad you’re reading! I am actually sitting down to look over my calendar tonight so expect an e-mail in a couple days!