UKAmericana

So at hour 25 - I finally got my Internet up and running in my room - so here I go!

My flight was easy over here and people have been SUPER helpful... I swear being that lost girl with way too many bags really calls out for help!

I got in late last night into this rainy city that I love already. I threw off my bags, washed up and headed down one flight of stairs to my nearest bar - yes - in my hall - grabbed a Guinness and introduced myself to the first friendly face I saw. Turns out he's another American (Connecticut), so we had lots to talk about. Within a few hours, I had many new friends from Argentina, Jordon, Russia and Germany. I also befriended a bloke from Virginia and answered questions about both Hollywood and 2Pac - both of which I was the resident expert - ha! The night ended shortly after 2am and a marathon ping-pong match with the North Easterner.

The hall is comfortable and has lots to offer - including cheap food downstairs (veggie scramble for dinner - surprise, surprise) and people are still in the 'introduce themselves to everybody they see' phase. It's funny to feel like the new girl at school though; walking into the cafeteria by myself and choosing which table of foreigners to sit with. I'm getting good at it... (I know you were all worried)

My room leaves much to be desired and let's just say the first word that came to mind last night was - "shoddy". It has orangeish walls, light green linens, dark green carpet, curtains that try to tie all these colors together... but aside from the major decorating I want to do... it's clean and comfortable. Comfortable enough to spend about 12 hours sleeping today :)

Then I decided to grab a diet coke and power bar (thank you Connells!) for breakfast (it was about 3pm) and headed off to where every sensible person goes on their first day in Europe - IKEA. I went on a kind-of wild goose chase around the city by bus and asked just about everybody I saw for directions. Got there, bought as much as I could carry and made the trek back - at this point people were REALLY friendly!

So all in all - I think I will love this city and my time here. I still have LOTS to learn and am by no means a local, but at least am having a good time getting around so far...