Student Bloggers
I Made It!
Date
January 23, 2015
Well, I made it! The total count is:
- A massive checked bag with way too many t shirts
- An over-stuffed carry on bag full of cameras, a drone, board games, and some underwear
- A backpack full of snacks, an endless amount of chargers, and some papers that are supposedly really important
- A penny board (aka mini longboard) with a bright American flag on the bottom
The flight wasn’t too bad. I sat in a window seat, in an exit row, with extra-legroom (overloaded all possible legroom combinations) next to a southern British man who was on the better side of 60. After watching some Louis C.K. stand up, eating what I think was pasta, “sleeping”, and a seemingly endless amount of re-adjusting I finally touched down in London. It was a beautiful sight, watching the sunrise at around 7am and then descending into a thick network of rainy clouds as the rubber wheels, that we can’t even conceive how they put air in them (Louis C.K. plug), made contact with the ground. I made it through immigration in a matter of minutes and finally met up with my good friends from Brandeis. We then met up with the rest of our Arcadia group and then began the fun process of “making friends’. “Where are you from?” “Oh do you know Jim Bluesquare?” “Oh okay”. This was the extent of all of my initial conversations, but eventually everyone came out of their shells and friend groups began to form! After spending a few nights in St. Giles, gambling for the first time, almost getting hit by a double-decker bus (going down the wrong side of the road, I think), touring all over central London (see pictures), and slipping in and out of jet lag, we finally made it to Queen Mary. Arcadia did a great job and I highly recommend them for any other students who are stuck trying to choose which program sponsor to study abroad through. I’ve been at Queen Mary for two weeks now and am having a very nice time. I’ve made some great friends, classes are going well and are very interesting, and exploring London has become a hobby of mine. It’s very interesting how I had to travel halfway around the world to become friends with people who are just hours away from me at home, but I guess that’s just the way the cookie crumbles! Stay tuned folks!