Our New City!

The past 48 hours have been a complete whirlwind of activity, excitement and new places, but it's just starting to sink in that we are actually here! Our first experience upon our arrival at Heathrow turned out to be our first challenge...no luggage carts. So there we were, two girls, jetlagged to the extreme, and we had to lug our two large duffels (each) along with our two carry-ons (again, each); needless to say, it was quite painful. Once we got through the meeting point (it really is like in "Love Actually," with people excitedly embracing each other and holding up hand made signs..too cute!) we dropped our bags the first chance we could, ready to be greeted by our driver. Or so we thought. After numerous intercom pages, a call to the company who had apparently forgotten about our reservation and 45 minutes, we were greeted by a man holding a sign with the name "Lawrenc Casel." Close enough I guess?
After cramming our suitcases into our tiny car (one of my duffels got to ride shotgun), we were whisked away to Courtfield Gardens, our home for the next four months. As our RA's handed us our cards, they were saying "Oh, you're the ones in 104..." When we reached our room we knew right away why they were saying this...it is amazing! It's very roomy, each with our own beds, dressers, and armoires (a little small, but we admit we have too many clothes). The best feature of the room is undoubtedly our little balcony/breakfast nook (we're still deciding on what to call it). It's just a little elevated area with a nice table looking out onto the street. Bathroom is a little small, but after my ghetto of a bathroom last year, I'll take anything.

Courtfield Gardens - Our room is the five windows on the left!

After unpacking (or attempting to) we got to take a quick walking tour with our flatmates and RA. We got to see where we would be having our classes (right around the corner!) and some local sites. South Kensington is an amazing area; we live on a perfectly quaint residential street but only blocks away are amazing museums, cute shops and dozens of great restaurants. After returning from our tour, we had some time to continue unpacking, relax, and view our first London downpour!
Since we only had had about 1 hour of sleep the past two days, after our preliminary hall meetings we decided to have a very early dinner, stop by the grocery store for some essentials (go figure, our towels haven't arrived yet) and called it a night.
This morning started off how every morning should, with a fire drill (HA). It was quickly followed by a walk to the "Cine Lumiere" to listen to lectures until well into the afternoon. We heard from everyone involved in the program from the Student Affairs Office to some of the professors. Although most of it was very interesting and fun, when they started to discuss the structure of Parliament both our eyelids started to get heavy (can you blame us? we're still adjusting to the time and let's face it, politics are not our thing). After a long day at the Cine, we walked over to Kensington High Street, which is absolute heaven. Topshop, Zara, Urban Outfitters...what else could a girl want? We decided to skip these desinations (for now, at least) to get phones (I hate mine already...I'm an iPhone girl through and through) and make our first trip to Marks and Spencer. We also checked out the Whole Foods there; ever since reading about it in my marketing book I had been looking forward to seeing it,and it certainly did not let me down. 3 floors, beautiful glass stairs, and best of all, my favorite kind of Greek yogurt! After walking back and dropping off our things, we decided to go to wagamama for dinner. For anyone who has not been to this amazing restaurant, it's pretty much a whole menu of yummy noodle and rice dishes. I had heard about it for years and had always wanted to go, and tonight the dream came true! It was absolutely delicious! One thing we learned tonight, though, was how confusing the streets here are! Apparently there are three Courtfield Gardens, not to mention Courtfield Road, etc. We definitely got our exercise for the day before we found our destination, but it was absolutely worth it!
So here I am now, in my bed, anticipating the adventures we'll have tomorrow in our new city. Thanks so everyone who's reading this, we miss you all and can't wait to continue to keep you updated!!

~ Carolyn

Up In the Air

Carolyn and I had great plans to write our “pre-departure” blog post together; however, to no one’s surprise, time got away from us. Instead, I find myself in the last hour of our red-eye flight watching the sunrise while writing what is now my “pre-arrival” post (how’s that for last minute!?).
For the past week and a half, packing has been the cause of stress, anxiety, and concern in my life. But does that surprise anyone? The mission: pack two and a half seasons of clothes, including normal clothes, going-out clothes, and work clothes for my 9-week internship at JPMorgan, into two 23kg (51lb) duffels and one carry-on weighing 6kg (13lb). Fun fact: Did you know Hunters weight 3.5lb? These are the things you learn while trying to cram your life for almost four months into two duffels. My mom proved to be my best fashion editor, flat out telling me, “That’s a waste of space, “ or “That’s very London!”. As the packing progressed, intermittent weigh-ins proved as a wake-up call. Naturally, as the scale reached closer and closer to 50lb, I reached for more and more clothes, convinced they didn’t weigh “that much”. The two pairs of boots I ordered on Thursday and had over-nighted didn’t help much either. My carry-on was a different story. Thirteen pounds? I knew there was no way that would happen; my laptop alone weighs 9 pounds! Thankfully, they didn’t end up weighing it (I was prepared to give my sob-story if they did). As for my duffels weigh-in: 22.6kg and 23.0kg on the dot. All the check-in guy said to me was “Lucky.” Then, after a few seconds of silence looked at me amazed and asked, “How did you do that?” My response: “I have no idea.” Already I’m starting to stress about how I’m going to bring it all back home… in addition to my future purchases, of course! I also just remembered I left a bag of some things with Mrs. Toll to bring over in a couple of weeks… woops. 
After a smooth check-in (minus the major traffic on the Whitestone), we said our goodbyes and were well on our way for the adventure of a lifetime. We left JFK at 7:30PM and will arrive at Heathrow at 7:30AM. I didn’t sleep a single minute, so today should be interesting. Carolyn is five rows back in a middle seat (I am SO sorry), but at least she doesn’t have “that guy” in front of her who somehow manages to push his seat back farther than humanly possible. No worries, I have that good fortune. The flight attendant just announced we are in the last 45 minutes of our flight; I can’t believe this day is finally here! After over six months of coordinating, approvals, planning, and anticipation, it’s actually happening: 15 weeks in London with my best friend. It is sure to be an “emotional rollercoaster”, as Carolyn and I have both been debriefed by our advisors, but it is also sure to be a once in a lifetime experience. It only seems appropriate I end this in the words of Estelle and Kanye…”Just touched down in Londontown!”
- LC

Away We Go

Bags zipped, airline ticket printed, iPod fully charged.  After anticipating this day for months I cannot believe it is finally here!  Despite a couple apprehensions, (mainly if my monstrous duffel bags will be accepted without being labeled 'over capacity') I could not be more excited for this adventure and there's no one I would rather do it with than Lauren!  It seems like we've been talking about studying abroad together for years, and here we are about to jet off to Heathrow.

Of course I'm going to miss friends and family, but this is a once in a lifetime experience that I plan on taking full advantage of.  I can't wait to experience everything English, whether it be in the classroom, through working, or traveling.  I am so thankful to be able to have this unbelievable opportunity and an amazing friend to share it with.

The next time we'll be posting will be from across the pond!!

               ~ Carolyn