"And we, the wary pilgrims of the London pavement, were beginning to think of the cloud-shadows on the corn-fields, and autumn breezes on the sea shore."

This quote was on the first page of the first book I have to read this semester. Well, I'm supposed to read it, but due to some scheduling conflicts I think I'm just going to have to skip this one and start with next week's readings. Oh, well. :)

Anyway, it made me smile because I just spent an hour uploading photos of our sea-shore (among other things) to get printed and delivered to me. I need decorations, and what better to look at all day while you're in London than the Jersey Shore?

Just like I remember from my first few weeks at Villanova, the first few weeks here have just been a whirlwhind of highs and lows and excitement and discomfort and everything inbetween. But I am definitely finally settling in. Tonight was the first night I cooked for myself (London was legit breaking the bank after seven days of eating out) and it felt so good to eat a real meal. I had a normal American dinner, but then had English tea biscuits for dessert. Now that I've finally bought real food and started decorating, this place is really feeling more homey.

As for my flatmates, it's been pretty interesting. The first day we got here, the flat seemed completely empty except for an AWFUL stench coming from the kitchen. We thought someone died. After an hour of unpacking, I started snooping around. There was food in the cabinets, so I decided to check the bedrooms. I turned a knob to see if one was unlocked, and walked right in on some Asian boy! I laughed and didn't even know what to do, but he didn't seem to think it was too weird. He tried talking to me for a bit, but really doesn't speak much English, or very clearly, and soon went back to his room. That was one of two conversations I've had with him to date. The other came on Sunday when I saw him outside at the mailboxes and he told me he's not living here for the next four months. So that's Owen.

After a few days of silence and weird Asian food smelling up the apartment (our first purchase was a Glade plug-in), a girl showed up. She was much friendlier. Vera, from Mexico, with pink dreadlocks and a fondness for writing in pink and dressing in pink and just acting very "pink" in general. Her luggage got lost and she had an awful trip, so we didn't see her much for the first week. But last night she finally popped in to chat for awhile (I'm the only one who leaves my door open and walks around like its an actual apartment and not a set of closed-off dorm rooms) and she's actually really cool and hilarious and wants to be friends. So we're going to try and get coffee sometime this week. Yay!

As for the roommate I came with, Cassandra, some of you have heard about the housing drama the two of us have been experiencing. We're basically living in Harlem right now, and for awhile were looking to move to the Upper East Side. But I've had really mixed feelings on the subject, and getting more mixed as the weeks go on. Queen Mary is definitely in the ghetto, but its also allowed us to befriend mostly British kids. I think on Facebook right now I have like 4 new American friends and 15-20 new British friends. And they're really friendly and great. I was walking back to my flat just a minute ago and was looking up at the windows above me and I see this kid Carl I just met last weekend standing flat up against the window waving his arms frantically. He's one of like 20 Brits who is just so ready to be friends with us. That's what I wanted coming here, and I'd be afraid of losing that if I left. Plus, as long as you have fun, good friends, I think you can be happy living just about anywhere.

So, I'm about 85% sure I'm going to stay, even though Cassandra is about 75% sure she is going to move. I hope it works out on both of our ends and it just broadens our possibilities of who we hang out with and where we go.

Other than that, life here has been crazy. The British are another species of human altogether, and I'm still learning their language and how to communicate. You definitely don't need to go to a country that speaks a different language to get a cultural immersion; being offered mushy peas instead of french fries with your burger is culture shock enough.

We've also done some sighsteeing. I went with Cassandra's and Jordan's group to a palace outside of London Sunday, and it was really cool. I'm getting anxious to see everything and do everything and start travelling to other places. I'm ready for the adventures to begin!

Here are the latest pictures:

The gardens outside the palace. Pretty, but very Nintendo/Super Mario Mushrooms, if you ask a group of American college kids to tell you what they think.

There was a maze that the 10-year old King would play in. That's me, lost in it. In the middle is our tour group with the tour guide/Emory contact person, Rachel, who was the smartest person I've ever met. And then a ridiculoulsy huge portrayal of Henry VIII hanging off the castle. Cool!

Partying and clubbing, apparently the same in all cultures. The first one is part of a group of hundreds of young people trying to get into clubs on Brick Lane. It was very Bleecker Street c. 1980s (if I had been around Bleecker St. c. 1980 to know what it was actually like). The next one is a bunch of college kids sitting around a college dorm playing college drinking games. And most of them are Brits. And the last ones: apparently the British dance and take silly pictures just the same as we do, too.

Cheerio!