Jolly Old England

This is my first e-mail from England...oh, the memories!


Hello Everyone!

I just wanted to let you know that I'm here and I'm fine.
England is great. The flight here was fine, but it was a
pain at the airport. I feel as if all I've been doing
lately is standing in lines. I didn't find out that I was
going to get on a flight until the last minute so we had to
rush up to O'Hare. I spent about four hours in line
checking in and paying $100 for excess baggage because they
failed to let me know that my carry on was too heavy until
I got up to the counter. I had about five minutes to say
goodbye to my family and then I was off. There was a lot of
security, but that's fine by me. I was a little sick on
the plane at first, but once we got moving and I started
watching movies and playing with all the free stuff they
give you I was fine. When we finally landed in England the
real adventure began. I had not slept on the flight at all
and then we were trying to get off and they couldn't get
the airplane doors open! So there we are standing and
waiting to get off for a half and hour.

We made if off and cleared customs. We then met up with
the UKC people, but it turns out that we were not on the
list to get a coach to Canterbury. So, here we are; tired
and with 500 pounds of luggage and no way to get to our
school. We ended up taking a taxi (for£150) with this
Nigerian guy who was also going to school with us. He went
here last year so he was really helpful and made sure we
got to the University safely.

My flat is nice, but nothing fancy. It's very
institutional. Right now I only have four roommates (Liz
(American), Emma ( a first year British student) and Agnes
(She's from Mauritias which is an Island in the Indian
Ocean). We are still waiting on two more flat mates.

Here are some of the observations I've made about England:

-It really is cold and rainy here. That is no joke and I
don't think I've seen the sun in days. I probably didn't
need to bring any T-shirts. My umbrella is my constant
companion. Everything is ten times more green then at home
and now I know why...it never stops raining!
-English Directions are not like American Directions.
Nothing is easy to find. For example, when we were trying
to find the city of Canterbury a lady gave us directions
that said: turn right at the roundabout and then left and
take Whitstable Road to the city. To this day I do not
know where Whitstable Road is or what roundabout she was
talking about. It took us about three hours to find the
city and I'm sure we took the long way. It's a bit of a
jaunt, but I need the exercise.
-The city of Canterbury is beautiful. It has old
cobblestone streets and a cute little river. There's so
much to take in. I went to the Cathedral yesterday and it
was amazing. As a UKC student I get in for free. So, I
plan to go back and explore more.
-I'm going through total culture shock. I feel like an
idiot because I can't work anything. For example, in our
bathroom there are two taps, one for hot and one for cold,
this doesn't make sense to me. I couldn't figure out how
to wash my face for a day. I'd burn my left hand with hot
water. Finally, I realized that you plug the basin and
fill it with a mixture of both.
-English food is good. I don't know what the other people
mean when they put down the food here. Our first night we
ate at this place called the Weavers INN and I had Lamb and
Rosemary pie and a pint of cider. It was the best meal
ever. I've also had tea at a little French cafe.

I'm sorry this is so long, but there's so much to say.
I'll send more e-mails when I get a chance.

Cheers,
MadGirl