Greetings from LONDON!

OK, I won't even say that this post is long, long overdue, but hey- better late than never, so here goes! This is the first message coming live from LONDON! I've been settled into my program for about 3 weeks now, so I'll give a little summary of some of the things I've experienced so far.

WEEK 1:

After 1 cancelled flight/bonus night in a random hotel at the Newark Airport, I arrived 1/2 day late to my program, but got caught right up into the swing of things. After depositing my bags and getting a feel for my apartment/flat (see right) I went on an "academic boat tour" which was a nice 3-hour ferry boat ride up and down the River Thames, led by one of our professors. We learned a lot about the history of the city, its geography, and were several of the major landmarks are. The rest of Week 1 was pretty similar- lots of lectures about what is expected of the students, different academic topics, how to survive and prosper in our new hometown, and how to make the most out of our time in this amazing city.

Throughout the first week, I also started to meet some of the other people on the program who lived in my building (which is called Sorbonne House!). At first I was nervous, because I am on a Boston University-led program, and the majority of students ARE from BU. Many of them came with entire sets of friends, and at first I was scared that I would be the odd-man out, but I was definitely wrong. I've found a group of really nice, friendly students, some of who go to BU and some of who go elsewhere. We're getting along great, and enjoying our new lives together!

Week 2:

After the week of orientation finished, we were launched right into the swing of things. Our classes officially started, and my two courses are in International Management and Theatre. The Theatre class is AWESOME- we watch all sorts of film/video clips, and have seen 3 live theatre performances so far, with more to come as the semester progresses! The Int'l Management class is interesting as well, and we've taken a recent field trip to Shell to learn about the difficulties in leading a Multinational Corporation.

Also, week 2 featured an amazing weekend trip to Dublin, Ireland with two of my friends, Deidre and Matt. We had an incredible time- we took tours of the city, some tours of the breathtaking countryside (see below), and did many things in between. The nightlife was also fun- lots of live musical performances at all the restaurants and clubs, and the locals were incredibly friendly. I survived my first official stay in a "hostel", which are semi-hotels designed for those student travellers on tight budgets. All in all, it was an amazing trip, which set us up for Week 3...

Week 3:

Another week of classes, and I have really been starting to get into the swing of things. I admit, I was definitely a little homesick at the start of this program, and I was missing the conveniences of home. However, it was during Week 3 that I really started to stand on my own two feet and get into the routine. While in London, we are in charge of all of our needs- from food, to laundry, to cleaning, to everything. Although I started off a little slow in the cooking department, I have progressed from frozen dinner meals to now making my own chicken, pasta, meatballs, rice, potatoes, sauteed veggies, and more. I'm actually excited that I am slowly learning to cook, especially since next year (my senior year) at Lehigh, I will be living off-campus and will again be providing my own food. As for laundry, I have mastered the art of hand washing the majority of my clothes, and will occasionally be hitting the laundromat when I need to wash my bigger items. I've also started to master the Tube, which is London's underground transportation network. My primary form of transportation is walking, but the Tube is great for getting around to some further away locations. Every time I get off at a new Tube station, it's like stepping out into a whole new town- there's just so much to see here!

For my 3rd weekend abroad, my friends and I took another adventure to a new city/country...Edinburgh, Scotland! Again, it was stunning! The first morning, we hiked Arthur's Seat, which is the dormant volcano that engulfs the town, and then we also did a walking tour through the main section of the city. Since we were super sore the next day, we did a bus tour of the Highlands, which is Scotland's scenic countryside..unbelievably beautiful! I've pretty much officially decided that I must live somewhere as beautiful as these places at some point in my life- I'd be missing out if I didn't give it a try! All of these weekend trips have gotten me beyond excited for more travelling, and I currently have a 5-day spring break trip to Barcelona booked, as well as a 3-day visit to Paris in early April! We're looking to book Berlin, Prague, Amsterdam and more!

Present:

I have survived another week of classes, lectures, field trips, outing to the grocery store and of course, a little shopping for fun (come on...everyone needs some souvenirs!) Unfortunately, I had the luck of mis-stepping off the curb onto the street last night, and have a swollen, rolled ankle to show for it. (I was going out to get some late-night Chinese food with some friends..not even a good story behind it!) So sadly, I am bed-bound for the weekend with lots of Rest Ice Compression and Elevation as I'm hoping I'll be back in working order for Monday, since walking IS my main form of transportation around town. More updates will follow, as well as more pictures of my time abroad in London! I hope all is well back in the States- to any East Coast readers, enjoy that snow!