Completed update for Day 1

Well, I've had a few hours to settle in now, and I got an adapter, so here's a completed update for my first day in London:

My flight arrived at LHR (London Heathrow) at 7:00 this morning. I rode the Heathrow express train from its stop inside the airport to Paddington station, where I caught a cab and rode the remaining 15 minutes or so to my flat. I'm living at 37 Hyde Park Gate, flat 2F. The flats are unlike anything I've experienced in the states: they are most similar to what I imagine some dorms are like. Essentially, my floor consists of one long hallway with rooms A-G off of it. Also off of the hallway is a communal kitchen, and one or two communal toilets. Each room has beds and a bathroom with a shower. The rooms have different numbers of beds, which definitely sets them apart from American dorms. My room has a bunk and two twins - I share it with Miriam, a graduated student of Theatre Ed; Courtney, a pre-Acting major like me; and Melissa, who's major I don't know yet. I knew Miriam and Courtney before, and Melissa seems like a sweetheart! I love the whole flat! It's so cute and quaint :) I promise I'll take pictures and show you when I get the chance.

I'm starting to feel the exhaustion hit me...jet lag and I are too close of friends for my liking. To put it into perspective (and make me feel ok for being tired), here's what my schedule was for the last day and a half or so, according to home time:
Monday night, 12:30am - finally fall asleep
Tuesday morning, 5:00am - wake up, begin traveling
Tuesday at noon - take a 2 hour nap en route to NYC
Tuesday afternoon, 2:30pm - wake up from nap, transfer flights, etc.
Tuesday evening, 9:00pm - take a fitful 2 1/2 hour nap en route to LHR
Tuesday night, midnight - get off plane travel to flats, unpack, get settled, etc.
Wednesday morning, 9:30am - now. (4:30 London time)
Wow...that's messed up. :P No wonder jet lag exists. Haha...

So, after I unpacked, I ventured out on foot for the first time. After all, I needed FOOD!! (Note to self: next time you travel and you have extra weight-room available in your suitcase, FILL it with food. That way you won't have to stress about your next meal when you're in a foreign country with food sensitivities.) I especially began to regret not packing food when I went to the local grocery store and wanted to die at the food prices. First, everything is in £/kg, which means I have next to no idea what I was spending in $/lb. I did a lot of really rough calculations in my head and kept regretting doing them because it revealed to me that chicken breasts were $4/lb, vegetables were all more than $1/lb, etc. The bargain shopper in me did a lot of balking. I ended up with a 4 Kg bag of rice, a 1 Kg bag of oats for oatmeal, 1Kg of hamburger, and some carrots and bananas, along with a couple basic spices and some spaghetti sauce. Oh boy...my inner chef is going to be very sad for the next 6 weeks. But really, who cares? Because everything else inside of me is positively BURSTING with excitement!!!

I still need to buy my Tube pass, so I can get around. I let you all know how that goes when I figure it out tomorrow or later today.

You know what's really funny? How HARD it is to not speak in a British accent when everyone around you is! I have to keep stopping myself, because I know if I start, I'll probably sound silly and fake, and I'll never be able to stop! ;)

All those semi-stereotypical images of London I've had in my head for years? They're pretty much all here! Cute red telephone booths, black taxis, cobblestones, ivy, even people riding horses in the park. Not even joking - I saw a girl riding when I was in the taxi on the way to my flat this morning. :D It's amazing. The weather is lovely - slightly overcast and about 60 degrees Farenheit. Love it!

Anyway, we've got our first official Study Abroad group meeting in a few minutes, so I'm signing off for now. I'll update you again soon!