Settling into London life

I figured rather than sending out many emails that say the same things, I would create a blog to keep the interested informed and amused with my London adventures.  And because I am teaching a course on the psychology of Internet behaviors and encouraging students to explore technologies beyond Facebook, I thought it would be good to model that behavior.  (Clever, don't you think?!)

If you are still reading, I assume you are really interested in my semester in London.  (Hi Mom!)  Sit back and picture it...

The flight to London was painless and largely uneventful.  I am not sure who thought it made sense to fly to Atlanta just to fly back north toward London.  And we wonder why the airlines are losing money?  I had the misfortune of sitting two rows behind Business Class.  As I ate my tired chicken with mystery sauce, I could see the bottles of wine, the fresh strawberries, and the gourmet meals that those passengers ate in their fully reclining seats.  Hey--good for them!

We arrived Gatwick an hour early and customs moved quickly, so we were early for the students' coach to their home stays and our bus to Angel/Islington.  The students were able to leave Gatwick immediately; we, however, had to wait the hour for our bus to arrive.  Then we schlepped our luggage from the North Terminal to the South Terminal, where we waited forever for the bus to arrive.  After an international flight, that was the last thing I wanted to be doing.  It took a while to get from Gatwick to our flat, and I think Chuck, Terri, and I were ready to cry by the time we arrived.  Note:  Heathrow, Heathrow, Heathrow!

Yesterday was spent with the CAPA staff, orienting students to their semester here.  I am happy to report that the students are thrilled (generally) with their home stays, that they all survived and found their way to Cromwell Road, and that there are no obvious signs of homesickness or culture shock.  The CAPA staff are wonderful!!  The facility is beautiful, ideally situated in a very diverse area of the city.  We will be quite happy there.  The day was capped off with a Cream Tea at the Regency Hotel.  For many students, this was their first proper tea, and CAPA went all out for this introduction.  I am very, VERY pleased with the CAPA folks and our relationship with them.

Today, Chuck, Terri, and I ventured to Victoria Station (beautiful, even if under construction) and Buckingham Palace.  The opulence and history are awe-inspiring.  We had a fantastic meal at Wagamama, and then continued to Harrod's.  I once thought that Macy's Herald Square was huge, but being back at Harrod's reminded me that it is indeed the store with everything you could ever want.  (Pics of Dianna coming soon!)

I then decided to ditch my map and strike out on my own through King's Cross and St. Pancras.  I got utterly lost, which I really enjoy doing, and wound my way along the Regent's Canal.  I stopped a while to watch the locksmen manually fill the St. Pancra's lock so that a boat could pass.  With the help of a very friendly street sweeper, I found my way to Islington/Angel.  After shopping for fruit in a series of street markets, I collapsed at the flat and thought blogging would be a good thing to do.

Tomorrow I will strike out to a new neighborhood, and then the London Eye tomorrow evening.

By the way, I decided that I would use London as the impetus to go vegetarian.  So far, so good.  I found a great restaurant (Veg) that has great and inexpensive tofu dishes.