I slept like the dead last night. I stayed up until 9:30pm and started reading my book, "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hossein (really good so far). I woke up at 7:15am because I had a Skype date with Marco and Bella. It's our first time using Skype, except for when we tried it out at home before I left. It was so cool. I know I am really far behind on this, but it was great to see them. I was talking to Bella and she kept trying to jump out of Marco's arms and run to the door. She was looking for me. Really cute, but kind of mean too...it was like I was teasing her.
We talked for about a half an hour, then I got in the tiniest shower in the world. It's a little stand up box and it's got pink tiles from floor to ceiling. The shower head has this one little hole that must be clogged because it shoots up and to the right. It's one of those removable heads, so when it is in the holder this little stream shoots onto the ceiling and over the shower door. Ha! So, it was quite interesting figuring out how to position the shower head so the water would stay inside. My room is nice. It's perfect for one person. There is a desk area and built in closet and shelves and drawers. The bed is...well it's lumpy and springy. I woke up in the same position I fell asleep in because I was so tired, but I woke up achy. It's a twin size bed which fits me just fine and the blanket is nice and fluffy. I think it's down. I am very glad I brought my own pillow and towels. Once I got out of the shower and put my makeup on, I was ready to use the hairdryer and flat iron that Sabrina lent me. I panicked for about 30 seconds because I thought they would fit in the outlet, but it turns out I need an adapter for them, too. I have two adapters (also from Sabrina) so I alternate them for charging my computer and cell phone to the hairdryer and flat iron. Oh, and apparently you need to turn the outlet on...ok.
I was checking my work email before I had to meet Jim and there was an email from one of my students. He is having passport trouble...what?!?! Apparently, he applied for it and expedited it so he'd have it in time. He went back to Alaska to visit his family during the time the passport was to arrive....instead he got a letter in the mail stating he needed to provide additional information. Holy crap, I flashed back to the week of my wedding and the disaster that was my passport. He was headed to the passport agency to get it same day. I haven't heard from him yet to see if everything worked out.
I meet Jim at his room and we set out for our morning adventure. We walk down to Covent Garden (the birth place of the flea market) and watch a street performer. He was pretty bad. We couldn't figure out why he had these people laying on the ground and didn't care enough to stick around and find out why. We walked around for a bit and checked out some of the shops. I was still on a mission to find a Barclay's ATM. Barclays is linked to B of A so I don't get charged a fee when making withdrawals. Finding this place was a mess. In Covent Garden there was an Apple store! Yay for wireless and nice people. Jim, being the manly man he is, does not stop to ask directions (his statement) so I said, "No problem, I'll ask." So we went into the Apple store and the nice girl looked it up on the Mac and gave us directions to Barclays. We planned to stop for lunch on the way. We took a wrong turn (the first of many) and ended up in Trafalger Square. We decided to stop for lunch and ended up at this little pub. The fish and chips I had last night were greasy and I didn't eat very much of them, so I decided to try them at a pub instead. Much better. I haven't had a beer here yet, but I am sure that is going to happen soon. I bought lunch because Jim has paid for our cab ride and my muffin. :) We both had fish and chip (Jim got the Cod Father platter) and two soda's (they serve Pepsi). The total was 31 pounds. After three more wrong turns, a cute little coffee shop with nice people who couldn't help us, we walked and walked and finally found a Barclays. I was so excited, I clapped. ATM withdrawal complete...thank you American dollar for sucking so badly.
Jim wanted to go see a movie, so we parted ways. I decided to take the Tube back by myself and Jim was nervous to have me go alone. If I can figure out the NY subway, I can handle to Tube. It was easy enough. Once I got off the Tube I had to find my way back to the University of London. It started pouring...like holy crap take cover pouring. Umbrella's sprouted up everywhere and then all of a sudden there was no one walking. Everyone took cover under the store awnings or went inside stores and waited for it to pass. I walked a bit further before I learned the duck for cover technique and my feet got wet. I stopped under an awning for about five minutes and it let up. Right now, it's sunny like it never happened. What bi-polar weather. I am very happy I got this raincoat and my little umbrella. It's windy here too, which is not my favorite.
So, now I am going to venture out on my own and check out the nearby shops. It should be a nice afternoon. I'm excited for the students to come tomorrow!
My solo adventure lead me back to Covent Garden. I left the residence hall and started walking near what looked familiar...and ended up there. It was fine though because it is so bog and there is so much to see along the way. I went into this little store called Accessorize, which Sabrina recommended. I left my black headband at home, so I bought a pack of four different colored ones for 5 pounds. What a cool store. They had lots of hats and this one lady was trying them all on while her husband took pictures of her from outside the store. I walked around for a bit, then came back to my room to relax a bit before dinner. I ready my book for about 30 minutes.
At dinner, I met up with Paul Thistle and his wife Mickey. Paul is the chair of the Finance Department at UNLV. I also met Marie, who is the interim dean at Truckee Meadows Community College. She flew in with Jasper, who is one of the students from UNR. They're dating...wait, what?! Yes, and they are lots of fun. After dinner we all went to the pub and I got my first beer in London. I wanted to get a Peroni, but it only came in a bottle and I thought it would really be a shame that my first beer in London didn't come in a glass. So I got a Stella Artois instead. :) Nice and cold! While taking a potty break with Marie, she filled me in on her and Jasper's relationship. Jasper is my age and Marie is a bit older. She has an 18 year old and a 14 year old who are cool with this whole thing. It's very Ashton and Demi but neither of them are as cute as those two.
Now, I am back in my room and it is about 10pm. I am going to get ready for bed. Jim and I are going to attend mass in the morning. A lot of it will be in Latin and I think that is kind of exciting. Also, Berto got his passport and will be here tomorrow. The students will be checking in around 3pm and orientation is at 7pm.
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