First Impressions

So here is a short entry I wrote on my plane ride to Europe and also a few notes I jotted down on my laptop JUST after arriving in London on June 18. It is interesting to see how things have changed.

Flying over Greenland, I am beginning to believe I am in the top percentile of the world’s lightest sleepers. Exhausted, I have tried everything I can think of to fall asleep in the past few hours. Nothing has worked. While I am excited, it is not even excitement keeping me up. my mind is overactive, and when I tell it to go on a hiatus, it will not listen. After numbering sheep one to a hundred for the fifth time, my mind was actually MORE alert.

Looks like I will be starting off my journey on two full days with no shut eye, yay!

Anyway, I am super excited about the journey that lies ahead. Maybe staying in hostels will force me to learn how to sleep normally.

June 19, 2007

15:44

I am sitting on a bus right now, riding across the incredible city of London. We are cruising on the left side of the road, and the driver is seated on the right side of the car. It is so strange!! We have been driving by row after row of brownstones and townhouses that all look like they have been around for centuries.

This city reminds me of Boston, except I think that Boston was modeled after London, and London is a lot older…so I think by the time I leave I might like it even more… It is just incredible. And oh, so green!! I see signs for the grocery store Tesco, and old churches. Everything is incredible.

The flight went very well, save for the fact that there was a medical emergency while we were flying over Greenland. I saw this guy on the ground when I excused myself to use the toilet, and I thought we might have to make an emergency landing. Thankfully, we did not. And even more thankfully, he seemed to be alright. Immediately upon landing, some paramedics boarded the plane and took him off. We had to sit on the ground for quite awhile, and then we were shuttled to the main terminal.

So far the greatest similarity between London and the United States is that there are Starbucks and McDonald’s everywhere…but especially Starbucks. Yumm. I could really use one right now, considering I have been up for twenty-four hours and will be for quite possibly another thirty, unless I can manage to somehow slip out of a state of full consciousness on the bus to Edinburgh tonight.

Right now we are driving through what must be an incredibly nice part of London. These places of residence are extravagant, and it feels very safe.

Oh, and I can also already tell what a diverse city London is—something that definitely excites me!!

Haha, I just saw a porky little fellow (probably about 14), walking in a prep school uniform, looking like he was about to pass out from the heat, on the street outside. Okay, this must be an expensive neighborhood.

When we landed it was about 75. It feels like it’s in the 100s. The humidity is extreme, but the clouds do not look too threatening right now. According to the ten-day forecast, my plane decided to fly in on the warmest day of the next ten. I really hope that the weather will be in the forties and fifties in Scotland, like the meteorologists from both weather.com and weather.msn.com have predicted.

Well, I am now riding alongside the River Thames, and some incredibly modern looking structure (I think it is residential, but I am not sure). I better go soak up these views. I will try to right before too long, although these posts will not be up until my return to London. I feel like I should be taking pictures. It is so beautiful. But my camera is under the bus and I will have several more days here to take pictures in July and August.

I am leaving my laptop at the Wigram House, where I will be staying for the four weeks I am in London, and I will only be able to update my blog at internet cafes, Julia’s student apartment, and the like. I am STOKED right now!!!!!!!!

After writing this, I looked to a park in the right and saw many young men immersed in some sport that is definitely not popular in America.

Next thing I knew we turned onto Buckingham Palace Road, and I thought that was just about the coolest thing ever!!