Greetings from London!

I kicked off my semester abroad in London on Tuesday after landing just after 7am London time. The journey started at 5am Monday morning when I arrived at the Rochester airport for my 6am Jetblue flight to JFK. I was sent off by the Midtown Plaza clock that now sits just beyond the security checkpoint (It's a Rochester thing). Landed at JFK 15 at 7:05 (15 minutes early), and stayed there until checking in at 3:45 for the Virgin Atlantic flight to London's Heathrow Airport. Once checked in, we waited until 6:45 to start boarding, and finally took off around 8. The flight was long and cramped, but the British flight attendants were extremely polite. The Boeing 747 is a lot more cramped than the 767 I took to London in 2000.

Once we landed, we got through customs and baggage claim without problems, and we were met by guides from the Faraday House (SU's London Center). We put our baggage in cargo vans and got on buses that took us to either our pre-arranged flats or a hotel for those people choosing to find their own housing. We got settled in and had to all meet at the hotel for a welcome dinner at 5. Afterwords we stopped at a convenience store, got some wine and other supplies and headed back to our flat...only to return to the hotel about an hour later to get some drinks at the bar. Naturally, I chose a pint of Guinness for my first night drink.

Since then we (myself and my friends/roommates Jessica, Kevin, and Megan) have been getting settled in. We have been making trips to the local groceries and shops to stock up on food and supplies to make our flat into our home. There have also been several orientation events at the Faraday House as well. Last night we went out to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant and then went out to a Pub. Tonight we ate in after Jessica and Kevin went shopping and made beef stir-fry. There are so many other things to mention, but that is an overview of the first couple of days. More posts will follow this weekend...and I will be sure to include pictures too!