Begin at the Beginning

How can I recount the events of the day?  Has it only been a day since I left the US?  All these time zone changes, new sights, people, and experiences have me at (almost) a loss for words.  As the King said to the White Rabbit in Lewis Carrol's Alice's Adventures Wonderland, "Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop", I too will try my best to recap the day.

I meandered out of the gate at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and was pleasantly surpised at how easily I was able to navigate myself to my assigned gate.  The Atlanta airport is massive; however, six different concourses and thousands of travellers does nothing to eliminate the eifficiency of this beautiful airport.  Awesome sinage, moving walkways, and underground transportation all add up to a new airport experience for me.  The major plus for me was the awesome recycling bins strategically placed around the terminals and walkways (Hawai'i could learn something from this gesture).  I was so enthralled by the new sights (and not wanting to look too much like a tourist), I didn't take any pictures, but I will make it a point on the way home. 

Despite the fact that half of my flight consisted of what appeared to be fifth or sixth graders enroute to London, I had a very pleasant trip.  Another lovely passenger, good meals, decently comfotable chairs, free beer or wine, and a touch-screen movie monitor took my mind off of my surroundings - making the flight feel a little shorter than it was.

Arriving in London was something else.  Here is what I first saw:

 Exactly what I was expecting.  Thankfully, a ray of sunshine (also known as Katy - new flatmate) met up with me and we began our journey to the FSU study center in London.

I wish I had some pictures to accompany the entertaining stories to follow, but things were too hectic to whip out the camera.

After buying our first train tickets (and missing a couple of them), Katy and I found ourselves duking it out with the locals for room on the crowded train, with a huge suitcase and carry-on each.  Oh did we feel bad when we noticed that we really didn't fit ... after some glares from the Londoners, a couple of really nice people came to our rescue - showing us where we could've stowed our luggage, and offering us seats.  Needless to say, the ride was less than comfortable.  We arrived at Victoria Station, where we cabbed it to the study center.  Nothing very interesting - other than the fact that it gave me a lot of time to people-watch.  For as crowded as the station was (with a huge line waiting for taxis), the noise level was quite low.  I guess that's my first impression of Londoners - very calm (when they aren't late for an appointment ... or ticked off).

At the study center, we got our keys and were pointed in the direction of our flat (or apartment where we come from).  We were notified that we would have to climb some stairs - but we should be thankful that we would only have to do it once with luggage.  There are no words for the size of these stairs - I will upload a picture of them shortly.  Katy and I struggled to lug our suitcases up, up, up, up four stories (each set of stairs a little steeper than the next).  We both agreed that it was the best cardio workout we've had in a while.

The rest of the day zoomed by just as fast as those London trains do.  We met our other flatmates - Alesha and Elizabeth.  The girls who last lived in this flat left a note on the coffee maker saying that the awesomest people live here (I don't doubt it) [insert picture soon].  We had lunch at a deli, met everyone else (who are also too cool for school), hopped online, took a much needed nap, had some dinner, and went grocery shopping.

Here's us at dinner ... decent Japanese food if I do say so myself:

All in all, it's been a pretty wonderful day.  Tomorrow we will get some of the formalities out of the way, eat some breakfast, take a practical walking tour of the area, and have some 'ono grinds at a local pub.  I'm sure I'll be a little more conscious in tommorow's blog ... and will definitely have more pictures to share. 

I'll leave you with this one, a view from the street while I was waiting to look for an adapter (because the lady at Radio Shack at Kaahumanu sold me the wrong one):

Toodles and goodnight!