Down time in London...

Hey there everybody!  Well, I made it across the pond safely.  Right now it is 3:33 in the afternoon, which makes it 9:33 in the morning at home.  My flight arrived at Heathrow around 6:30 this morning, London time, and we got to our hotel about two hours after that.  Upon arriving at the Copthorne Hotel near the Chelsea Football Club, we were basically told to go explore for the following five hours until our rooms were ready.  As tired as we all were, those of us who arrived from Chicago together spent the day riding the Underground and walking around the city.

 

London is beautiful and we had a perfect day to meander through the shops and see some things on our own.  We went to King's Cross Station in search of the famous Platform 9 3/4 from the Harry Potter series, visited the London Tower, and walked across the Tower Bridge. 

Right now, I am just relaxing in the hotel room that I share with a fellow student named Ciera.  We have some down time until our meet-and-greet with the other students at 6:00.  If we have time, a lot of us want to go to the London Eye tonight.  However, we have tomorrow afternoon free after our coach tour so we have the option of riding the Ferris wheel that night as well.  As I'm sitting here, jet lag is starting to set in.  I have been awake for more than 24 hours and the tiredness is just starting to hit me.  I got a little bit of sleep on the plane, but not for more than an hour at a time.  Saying good-bye to my parents yesterday was so hard.  I already miss them and everyone else I had to say good-bye to.  But I have been trying to be a bit more outgoing and less shy.  I know that that is the only way I will adjust to this huge change...opening up to new people and experiences.  By the way, everyone in London is so friendly!  The man who checked my passport at the UK Border talked to me about my trip and gave me some advice about things to do in London.  And even the taxi drivers are friendly.  I haven't ridden in one yet, but almost every driver let us walk through the crosswalks today without honking or nearly running us over.  That certainly wouldn't happen in Chicago!...I just took a break from blogging to talk to my folks on Skype.  Whoever came up with that idea is a genius.  I need to charge up the battery on my laptop so this is it for now.  I probably won't do another blog post until after I've gotten settled in Salamanca because I have a feeling those first few days will be a little stressful.  Look for pictures from London on Facebook!