A Whole New World

It’s official I have safely arrived to London! Phew, what a relief! The past 15 hours have been slightly hectic, but well worth it and comical at times. Here’s the low down on my 15 hour escapade…

1^st I travel to Harrisburg airport. Usually it takes 10 minutes to navigate to Harrisburg airport, instead the traffic was bumper to bumper, so we took the turnpike…not such a speedy trip.

2^nd I arrive at Harrisburg airport with a zebra print carry-on, backpack, and jolly green giant suitcase. Keep in mind that the giant suitcase must only weigh 50 pounds or less and also keep in mind that I am a girl going away for 3 weeks.

3^rd So, I print out my boarding pass and check in my luggage. Backpack, check and carry-on, check! Jolly green giant suitcase, a big whopping X! It weighs 62.4 pounds.

4^th I spend 10 minutes on my hands and knees on the airport floor with a laughing audience behind. Fortunately, I discovered that my carry-on could fit a lot more than expected, oh and my backpack! I managed to toss in 3 pairs of jeans, 2 jackets, 5 pairs of shoes, and a hair dryer! Luckily, my suitcase lost 10 pounds and I avoided paying the $200 fee for an over sized suitcase! The downside, my backpack and carry-on became increasingly heavier! The best part is, I encounter a man chuckling while telling another man about “the silly girl unloading and repacking her suitcase on the dirty airport floor for 10 minutes”…glad I was an entertainment to all :] I even thought it was quite hilarious!

5^th Now flustered, a fun flustered (I swear that’s not an oxymoron), I headed to security. I had a handful of items and a security officer to attend to. I gracefully (shocking) handed him my passport and boarding pass. Of course another interference to my trip was expected. What was it this time, well I forgot to sign my passport-strawberry BLONDE moment, hehe!

6^th Finally seated in my gate, with 35 minutes until boarding time, there sounds an announcement: “Flight to Newark delayed.” Okay, fine, only 40 minutes. That was too easy…those 40 minutes soon became 45 minutes, 50 minutes, to an hour and ten minutes. Eh, doable...just another minor glitch to my traveling.

7^th My Newark arrival, successful. Ben and Jerry’s ice cream craving, satisfied! 3 gate changes later, stationed and comfortably seated. Flight to London, on time-well almost! 

8^th I arrive in London around 8:00 in the morning, so about 3:00 in the morning at home! The cab driver picked me up with another girl that is in my program. Her name is Samantha and she is such a sweetheart! We chatted the entire journey to our flat (our apartment complex)! 

 9^th Finally settled in, we all met outside to head to a quaint bar near our flat. Here, I ordered my very first beer. I have to admit, it was quite exciting! Dinner was scrumptious and the company was perfect! We decided at dinner that we should explore London a little that evening…

10^th Time for the tube! The underground system is so simple and well thought out. Pat on the back UK! We quickly found where we needed to be, transferred tubes, and arrived at our destination. We walked around looking like tourists. We had our maps and our cameras out all evening. We walked around aimlessly and stumbled upon a cute coffee bar. Nearby we spotted the infamous Ice Bar. We plan on making our way there next week. Yes, it’s made out of ice and yes, you where a provided warm jacket inside. You also get a drink served in an ice mug, but you can only enjoy this ice bar for 40 minutes. 

My experience so far has been a whirlwind, all on the first day! I’ll admit, I was a tad homesick at first, but I’m settled in now and I only have positive things to say! I have a great group that’s full of adventure! Cannot wait to share more….