Longest. Trip. Ever.

This is gonna be a long one, so bear with me. Oh, and pictures will be on the way.

I had the longest trip to London I think ever experienced by anyone, ever. And I don't speak in hyperbole. It all started when I was told not to travel through Chicago [as per my original plans] since it was so backed up, but to instead travel through Dallas to London Gatwick [as opposed to London Heathrow airport where I was originally scheduled]. However, a freak storm hit Dallas right as we were about to land, so were diverted to the Austin, Texas airport, where we sat in the plane for six hours before we finally able to get to Dallas. Needless to say, I missed my flight to London, so American Airlines put me up in a hotel for the night.

The next available flight to London was 6 am from Dallas to Chicago, and then 9:10 am from there to London Heathrow. However, as previously mentioned, my bags were tagged to go to London Gatwick. Fortunately, the lady at the ticket counter was able to reroute my luggage to Heathrow with me (or so I thought...).

The flight went very smoothly. I even got my own row on the 777 airplane, which was awesome. When I got to London, things started to go wrong though. My baggage didn't show up. I was devestated. All my clothing was in my two bags. I was able to get to the flat at about Midnight Thursday night however, and got a decent's night rest.

I woke up at 6:30 Friday morning (remember, I said decent rest, not good sleep), and was able to watch the sun rise from the window in our flat. Gorgeous. I then took a shower and got dressed in clothes that I already worn for two days and went for a walk...on which I bought febreeze at the local grocery store. We then had meetings and orientation all day, and then were released on the town. I had a great dinner consisting of pork chops and pasta home cooked, and then started to loosen up.

I ended up going out tonight with a few friends...Bill, Chris, Zach, Liz, Ed, Belatti, and a girl Belatti had met who was from London, Hannah [side note: very cool girl, and helpful to travel the area with]. We went to a club and had a few drinks and danced a bit. However, at one point, Bill, Chris, and I asked three girls to dance. They refused, on the count that we Americans, and they don't like Americans. That was a bit unnerving and harsh, but it unforunately seems to be a bit of a sentiment of the area. It was a nice walk back though, wich wonderful political conversation, and after some light unpacking and conversations with the flatmates, I sit here typing furiously.

All in all, my London experience has been great so far. We have more meetings tomorrow morning, followed by a bus tour of the city. Classes also start on Monday (more on those as they progress). I'm hoping to meet more people and keep exploring the city. Cheers!