pinch me!

So here it is... my first blog post ever!! And it gets even better because I am officially in London now. I never thought this day would come. I am a temporary Brit. I am very jet-lagged and exhausted, but as of today I am an avid blogger (at least for the next four months), so obviously I couldn't miss the first day.

After hours of and packing and preparation, I was told at the airport that not one, but both of my bags were overweight (ideas like weighing your bags before hand don't occur at 2:30am). I gave some things to my mom, said goodbye, and headed on my way to Chicago for another surprise. As I walked off the plane, my dad was there! He was doing business in Chicago the day before, and his flight had been cancelled. I didn't think I would be able to see him before I left, so it was a great surprise. Funny how everything always works out better than you could imagine.

I arrived in the beautiful city of London, and we were greeted with harsh wind and snow. (apparently snow is very rare here- I thought I would be escaping the snow! boo) We unpacked all of our stuff into our new home- a cute, little flat right by Hyde Park.

Here are the fun facts for the day

1. Pedestrians DO NOT have the right away here... drivers are mean and they will hit you

2. Mice and rats often reside at the London Centre

3. You will be fined for leaving "rubbish" around the city

4. Today was the first time officially leaving my family and saying goodbye.

To top off my day of traveling, my room was on kitchen duty! So we got to do dishes for like two hours after dinner and orientation. Everything is crazy different here, and I can't believe I'll be here for the next 15 weeks. Wish me luck!

Much more to come soon (and pictures)!