Jolly Old London Town

Okay, I will begin this post by acknowledging the fact that I am TWO weeks behind on my 50 Weeks posts. I do have work to show for those two weeks, it's just been a busy time, as I was getting ready for London and then actually traveling to London at the end of last weekend.

So; here I am now in London. I had a rough start; after arriving at 6:00 AM, I found my ride with relative ease and he drove me to Hammersmith, where I am living for the next two months. The problem was that we got here at 7:00 AM on a Sunday. Nobody was available to let me into the building or check me into my studio. Fortunately, the driver let me borrow his phone to call the 24-hour call service, who found somebody inside who could come take care of me. This was another American student who evidently works in the office at the apartment building. The poor girl didn't know anything though apart from the fact that there were three rooms for our group. She gave me my pick of rooms and let me in, and I was very distressed to find a disgusting mattress turned on its side, no bedding or pillows, and nothing to cook with in the kitchen. I was supposed to be supplied with all of these items, and it is still being sorted out now; in theory, we will each have bedding, bath towels, and kitchen supplies by Thursday. Oy.

Anyway, I calmed myself down by wandering around London, waiting for shops to open so I could get a UK sim card and local phone number. I bought a Tube pass and rode the Tube over to some familiar locations, which instantly calmed me down. Although I was initially very stressed out, it has not taken me long at all to settle in and readjust to London. Some things you just don't forget, and London has quickly felt like home once again to me. It's wonderful to be back.

The big news right now, of course, is the identification of King Richard III. The most interesting part of this story to me is that his skeleton was found in Leicester (that's pronounced Lester, against all English rules). I have a bit of a personal vendetta against Leicester right now; I pass through the Leicester Tube station every day during my commute, and I switch between the Northern and Piccadilly lines at that point. I got lost yesterday, because you have to walk to the end of the Northern platform to get to the Piccadilly line, which is entirely different than basically any other station I have ever been through. And then I wandered down a long corridor by myself, and wandering around the London Underground is terrifying when by yourself. Those stations are UNDERGROUND, and many of them are 150 years old. No thank you. No wonder they found a 500-year-old skeleton near there!

I've also now been to two days of my internship, and it's a really great situation. The people are friendly and helpful, the atmosphere is laid back, we listen to really good music all day, and nobody has complained yet that I sing along to everything on the radio. My supervisor Alice is in Vegas right now attending a conference, so it's a bit of a crazy week. Our office reminds me of The IT Crowd, which is probably a mix of good and bad things, but I think it's mostly positive.

I'll start taking and posting pictures one of these days, and I'll get caught up on my 50 Weeks posts (which I will promptly backwards date).