Wine, a moment of slight panic, and 3 hours worth of arriving

The first time it really hit me (smacked me in the face really) that I was on a plane to a different country was when the flight attendant leaned over and asked, "Would you like some wine with your dinner, love?"  Honestly, I looked at her like, "WHAT?  Isn't that illeg-- wait a minute..." Then, of course, I informed her that I'd love some of the white wine please, and I gleefully sipped said wine feeling super classy.

My creative juices just ran out, and I was meaning to write a lot more, but my brain decided that it is done.  Basically, it took me and 3 friends 3 damn hours to finally get out into real live London air; we spent all of that time in lines, on trains, and walking through an unreasonable amount of airport.  Also, when I was about to board my plane to London, I realized that I had forgotten my brand new (super awesome) trench coat at the terminal where my flight to Chicago got off.  I also forgot my orange fleece .  So I talked to some people and nothing happened, but I also was told to email someone so HOPEFULLY I'll get my stuff mailed home.  

I have a roommate.  My room is the NICEST dorm room I've ever seen- it has its own minuscule bathroom, microwave, and fridge, not to mention the 2 flatscreen TVs attached to the ends of the beds so we each can watch shows (I guess).  It took me roughly 20 minutes to figure out how to open the drawers (you push in, then it pops out- who would've guessed that?).

So, I'm here! YAY!

Yours Truly,

The Management

7 days left, and no I'm NOT counting

Hello friends and family, Lawrentians, Blue Lakers, UUs, Moms and Dads, sisters and bros!  The purpose of this blog is to keep you all updated on my adventures in London, so enjoy!  If you want to send me mail (YAY!), my address is:

Elise Massicotte
c/o Metrogate
3-7 Queen's Gate Terrace
London SW7 5PE
United Kingdom

I will have access to email, Facebook, and Skype, but those are pretty much the only ways to keep in touch with me unless you want to spend like a bajillion dollars phoning me.

So...LondonLondonLondon.  LONDON.  Maybe if I say it in my head enough I'll get used to the idea that in a week (and roughly 3 hours) I will be sitting and freaking out on a plane taking me to a different country.  I looked it up on Google and it told me "We could not calculate directions from Indianapolis, IN to London, England"; you know it's some serious shit when GOOGLE can't tell you how to get there because it's too far away.  I can't really say just how excited this makes me, going beyond the boundaries of Google's driving directions (ha), but let's just say I'm thrilled to be getting this opportunity to study in such a fantastic place.  What else can I say?  A few months ago I was telling people that I MIGHT get to go to London and I was really worried that my application wouldn't be accepted and that I would be on campus AGAIN for the first term of my junior year.

Just some goals for the term so that I have them down (I almost said "down on paper" then I realized I'm on the internet...).
1. Get to London without dying or crashing or dying
2. Um...live in London?

The point is, I'm not really setting any huge expectations for myself.  Yes, I do want to explore something new every day, and yes, I want to see all the touristy stuff and try not to spend all my money in the first 2 weeks, and I totally want to geek out about Doctor Who and Harry Potter, but I also learned something from an old friend a while ago (Ruth, this means you): don't imagine your experience before you have it because you'll just limit yourself and your experience when you actually get there.  If I have an image in my head of what London is going to be, I forget that my expectations are not what this adventure is all about; I want my beliefs to be shaken, and I want all my predetermined norms to be screwed to hell, because otherwise what would be the point?

So...

Yeah.

Yours Truly,
The Management

Elise Massicotte
Cellist Extraordinaire
CEO of Her Life, and Her Life ONLY