Dodgy Days

Ello, ello! I am officially here, safe and sound in London’s Camden Town. The neighborhood is adorable, lots of row houses and just 2 blocks away is a busy street (Camden Road of course) with shoppes such as “Snappy Snap” (where you get film developed; how clever), “Murray’s” (London Radioshack), Sanisburys (My grocery store), “Chicken & Ribs” (full vegetarian courses… kidding), and the like. Apparently just up the road is H&M (dangerous, I know) but we haven’t made it there yet (don’t worry, I will tomorrow!).  

My travels were less than pleasant. I have discovered a few things I would like to relay to anyone planning on traveling here via the route I took: 7 hours is JFK airport is 10 too many, people in JFK have their panties in a multiplicity of wads, men with Scottish accents are a cute novelty until they yell loudly across the whole 757 and have to be told repeatedly to put their chair back up to take-off/ land, don’t count on your pre-arranged cab to be there (it wasn’t), and finally, 45-50 pounds actually means 80 pounds. We arrived in London at 9am London time so that was about 2am Portland time meaning we traveled for far, far too long and slept far, far too little. We had hoped to get out into Manhattan for some sightseeing during our awful 7-hour layover but we did not. This was due to the fact that a) Ally and I were exhausted, b) we were tired of carrying our carry-on junk around, c) we felt disgusting and nauseous, and d) I had TA attendance to grade! So for 7 hours Ally semi-rested in what must have been the loudest and most obnoxious airport on the planet and I input attendance data and thought about taping my eyelids open for the majority. Thus, I am exhausted, more than sleep deprived, thinking I am still in a dream, didn’t see Manhattan, didn’t get much exploring done in London, my immune system is failing (Nyquil/ Dayquil here I come), and I have heartburn from the stress and nasty airport food. I was more than ready to get the grades onto the Internet for the kiddies in the class but, alas, I was unwilling to pay for Internet in the airport (no Royal Crown Club for us poor students, thanks for the thought though Rick) because I figured I would have it upon arrival to my flat (yes, flat). Wrong. Apparently I will not have Internet until tomorrow morning. What can you do.

Our [$130] drive from the airport [more like in a few circles] took about 40 minutes. The cabbie was not much of a talker- I asked about the weather and he half answered, paused for what seemed like forever, and semi grunted/ semi spoke something to finish his sentence. He was helpful in the end after he took us around our block a few times… you might be asking how he was helpful? Well, he did finally drop us off on our doorstep. So, we checked in, lugged our bags to our flat, crammed into the world’s tinniest elevator, dropped our bags off and went on a walking tour. All I can say about the tour was that I felt like I was at camp and there was a giant stamp on my forehead that read “Stupid, Obnoxious American”. We stopped to talk at the most inappropriate and teensy areas and were rewarded with a multitude of disgusted looks. I was almost killed by two different ladies utilizing strollers as bulldozers to get through our group. Finally we were done with the excursion and Ally and I literally ran to our room to shower. After the shower I got to know two of my other flatmates, Bill and Briana. They are from SUNY Oneonta New York and are studying fashion as well. We have one other flatmate whom I have yet to meet. Apparently she/ he lived here last term so we are guessing she/ he is traveling until school starts up on Monday. For dinner we went to a cute Italian pizzeria, had a Margherita pizza, paid for water, and went home to unpack. People here are adorable. People watching has never been more rewarding. I have noticed two prominent things during my stares: first, everyone has their own style so there is tons of variety and not really a right or a wrong, and second, there are zero rusty beater cars driving around. 

American convience store: tobacco and beer; London convience store: Food and wine. This is my world, without a doubt where I belong.

[Please remember that I am very sleep deprived and lacking full use of my brain when reading this section] I will be utilizing Murray’s tomorrow because I blew a fuse. First I tried plugging in my alarm clock in an adapter, which effectively fried the a/c plug’s inner workings and smoke immediately emitted from the cord hole. I threw open the window so the fire alarm would not sound which thankfully worked. After it cooled I wondered if I had broken the a/c plug so I plugged it into the converter. I blew technically two fuses. After bravely opening the fuse box that read “CAUTION” and “DANGEROUS” in hundreds of places to right the first fuse, I flipped my bedroom switch back on. To right the second I tried to switch the fuse from the surge protector with one from another adapted. It did not work and I am now out a converter until tomorrow- off to boots. Lovely.

So, here I am, logging my first adventures of what is shaping up to be a most exciting, nerve wracking, and life changing experience of my life and here you are living vicariously through me! Pretty sweet of me don’t you think? Heh.

Few questions for those travel experts out there:

What is the kosher amount to tip taxi drivers?

Since they drive on the left should I walk on the left? Trying to figure out where to walk makes me look like a complete idiot with two left feet thus rewarding me with more disgusted death glares. Some of these glares rival even my best stink eye if that gives you a good idea.

What should I do if I realized that I have a check I neglected to cash prior to departure? Theoretically of course.

I’m sure there will be more. I’ll try to keep up with posting pictures and more stories best as I can in the future.

Much love! Ta ta, cheerio, peace out (a little Americana for you incase my accent was getting too thick)!