Day One: 38 hours and counting
After my short layover in Charlotte, I boarded the plane to LONDON. During the plane ride, I finished the textbook readings for my class, attempted and failed to take a nap, and watched multiple episodes of Entourage and the first part of the seventh Harry Potter movie. Sounds like a lot, right? Well, I landed about 16 hours ago and I STILL haven’t slept! (Don’t worry, Mom- I’m going to sleep right after this post :) )
We took a coach bus ride for a little over an hour from the London Gatwick airport to the beautiful Regent’s College grounds where I will be living in the dorms for the next three weeks. The hour ride flew by as I looked at all the cozy cottages and tiny roads that could not possibly fit two cars down them (they managed— even buses managed despite my doubts!). We arrived and I was immediately awed by the beautiful grounds. Regents College is housed inside Regent’s Park, which is complete with a multi-colored rose garden, a mini waterfall, an adorable cafe, and comfortable chairs for lounging in the sunshine.
Our dorms were much nicer than I anticipated, especially knowing that the college was older. The rooms appear to have been redone in the last few years, and our double room is complete with two beds, two desks, two large wardrobes, and four containers for storage under our beds. The rooms are also a fairly substantial size, and the bathrooms are too. (Aside from the fact that the bathroom only has one shower, located in a creepy claustrophobic room…)
We had a short orientation from the dorm staff and my classes professor, and ate lunch at the school’s cafeteria-type place, called the Refectory. Regent’s College’s campus reminds me a lot of a high school because all the different buildings are interconnected and not very large. The main difference from a high school is the spacious and well-groomed courtyard located in the center of the campus. It has tables with umbrellas and many benches where students sit outside and study and enjoy a cup of coffee.
After unpacking and exploring the campus (and a slight battle with the ITC over the wireless internet connection on my computer), I was ready to explore. My roommate Amy and I went with Jaime, a girl from UNC Chapel Hill, to explore Regents Park. We took lots of pictures, and just took in the beautiful scenery. We also enjoyed people watching, which quickly turned into concern as we watched a man feeding birds and allowing them to perch all over his body. Ew.
Our PR class was scheduled to take a trip to the London Eye at night, but we still had a little time to kill so we decided to explore the surrounding area. We walked up and down the streets, stopping in little stores or shops that caught our eye. After a few wrong turns, we made it to Oxford Ave, where the good shopping is. No one bought anything, but we stopped in a store that our guide at our dorm called, “Walmart on Black Friday… every day of the year.” The store was chaotic and completely overwhelming, but did have great prices on fashionable clothing. I was too overwhelmed by the store’s layout (it filled one entire block) to even consider buying anything.
We headed back to Regent’s College, where we ate dinner and met up with the rest of the students in our program and our professor. After dinner, we took The Tube for the first time, and went to the London Eye. We got off the Tube and right at the exit was Big Ben! It was so tall and the architecture is ancient and fascinating. We took a few pictures in front of it, then headed to the London Eye. First, we watched a short 3-D movie about it, and then our entire group went on the London Eye. It’s like a large Ferris Wheel, but each carriage-type thing is completely enclosed in glass and can fit about 25 people. The view is amazing, you can see for miles and the buildings have so much variety in architectural style, size, and color. It’s so amazing to be in a city with such great history. I’m really looking forward to exploring more of the city today
After the London Eye, a group of us went to try fish and chips (London’s specialty). I was a little nervous, because I can be picky about fish, but I loved it! I’m glad I tried it on the first night so I can keep eating it the rest of the trip!
