So... London is phenomenal. It is quickly becoming one of those places that I'm shocked hasn't been an essential part of my life for years. So much has happened in the last few days that it's almost impossible to think about all at once, but I'll try for nostalgia sake.
Saturday was my last full day at Chez Mogilner - the wonderful house I'd been staying at since my arrival. We started the day off in Richmond, another town in the west of London (in fact, the most west stop on the blue District Tube line - In case anyone was wondering...) There was a lot of drama with getting my American phone to work with and English SIM card and so that was the place to work it all out, and also for another Boots run (like CVS, but better - I know, SUCH a shonda to say so, but it's true). Post Richmond, their youngest daughter Daniella took me for my first tube ride to South Kensington station, where we checked out my dorm in the very posh neighborhood of Chelsea, and then got on the top layer of a double decker bus to head home- it was a very British way to travel. That night for dinner we went to a Mexican place in the West End, and on the way, they gave me the car tour of London in the day time, and on the way back - the same thing, but lit up! It was BEAUTIFUL and they dutifully pointed out all of the obvious tourist attractions for me (Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace - the queen was even in!). I was drooling all over myself to start exploring, but I had one more night before I really started out on my own.
Flash forward to Saturday; move-in to IES London Residence Hall on Manresa Road. There is literally nothing else on Manresa but us, so there isn't even a number to the address - just the street. It is in the heart of Chelsea, right off of King's Road, and I could not have asked for a better location, even if I had the slightest clue about London geography! Anything I could possibly want is no more than a 15 minute walk - including the tube, which will take me anywhere else I'd ever want to go! A bit of grocery shopping, a bit of shmoozing with the people on my floor from my program, and a lot of unpacking!
Cut to today (or, I guess, yesterday at this point) - Intro to LAMDA. It was an easy tube ride and we went with a pretty big group so we didn't run the risk of losing someone along the way. We got there 15 minutes early and were showed into a big common room with every other student having their first day today - regardless of which program they were on. It was quite possibly one of the most intimidating crowds I had ever been in. There were artsy scarves, black panty-hose, and leather boots everywhere I looked, and when I checked the clock and realize that I still had 14 minutes I knew that I was in for an interesting morning.
By the end of our day at 6pm, all of my artsy-fartsy fears had been releived. The 3o people in my program all seem SO wonderful and the crude language of every professor that introduced him/herself today was one of the more entertaining moments I've ever had in a "professional" setting. After our day of introductions, actor name dropping and improv games (I know at this point some of you are probably wondering why I loved it so much) - they held a party for us in a room they affectionately call "Hogwarts". I died. Harry Potter references in a theatre school in London? There was nothing that could be better! Except, of course, heading home in the midst of a tube strike and realizing that our line was still running for a few more hours and we got to avoid a 45 minute walk home in the rain!
Well - that's all of my ranting for now. I could not have asked for a better intrdocution day, and to my (and many of your) surprise - my transition hasn't been all that bad! I'm starting to see myself here for the next 4 moths and all I can do is quote a pivotal movie of my yester-years and say "bring it on!"
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