Bedtime in Britain

Our second day in London is coming to a close and I (this post is from just Debbie) have far more to say than I have time to say it. We arrived in the London airport yesterday morning around 7:30 and enjoyed getting to know the London taxi driver who drove us to our flats, which iSarah has already described smashingly well. I'll try not to repeat what she's already explained.

Yesterday we mostly just walked around the street we're living on, which I think is Hyde Street, although I'm not really sure because street signs don't really work the same way here. I'm also having a bit of difficulty looking the proper way before crossing the street, but at least they have instructions conveniently painted on the streets for you. (LOOK RIGHT -->) Sarah mentioned we live around the corner from Winston Churchill's house, and we can actually see the back of it from our kitchen window. Which will be cool to think about while doing dishes, I suppose. Speaking of that, we still don't have any sponges or dish soap. Those of you who have lived around me for the past few months might know the pain this causes me.

A few logistic details: as Sarah said, love is watching someone die. Or, as Sarah said more recently, we're on a floor with six rooms, meaning we have about 16 people on our floor. Most of the rooms have private bathrooms, including ours, so we just have to share between the three people in our room. (Sarah and I are sharing with a fun girl named Britt, who grew up in China and Venezuela). The kitchen is shared between the whole floor. The nearest grocery store is Whole Foods, about a 10 minute walk away, but we'll probably be going to a less expensive store that's about five minutes further down the road. The building we go to get mail and do laundry is about a 7-10 minute walk in the other direction, on the way to the building we have classes, which is about a 10-12 minute walk. Pretty convenient.

I have already learned lots on this trip. Like that the Tube is pretty much just like BART in the bay area, except the trains occasionally stop in the middle of tunnels when all the lights go off. And that there are lots of Thai and other Asian restaurants all around. And that cigarette smoke smells worse here than back home...except Sarah thinks it's actually more tolerable here. And that the "London eye," which I thought was a giant ferris wheel but is actually an "observation wheel" or something, was originally called the "London eyesore." And that London has trolleys selling pancakes just like Hawaii has malasada carts and California has taco stands. And that it will be really interesting to take a Shakespeare class with a bunch of theater majors. And that the worst thing about London rain is the same thing as American rain: everyone else's umbrellas in your face.

And like the fact that happiness has nothing to do with where you are or how many famous people once walked where you're walking. I'm not saying I'm unhappy here, because so far it's been quite a fun adventure, but I know I could be enjoying myself just as much or more if I was back home, sitting in a tree in the leaf-shadow-flecked sunlight, a book in hand. Maybe I'll do that in Hyde Park tomorrow. Or maybe I'll go back to Westminster Abbey for evensong instead. Or maybe both.

Well I'll leave you with a quick shot of the day's experiences: I entered my first London pub! It seemed quite high-class, and had a three hour wait time to be seated. We didn't eat there. It was a Sherlock Holmes themed pub and was quite expensive. I also waited outside a sports pub, which was noticeably less full of business-suit-clad men and more full of smoke, beer, and young men with neon wigs. I also got lost for the first time, and took the Tube at night against the advice of a well-meaning person from back home whose identity I have forgotten. But don't worry, I've never been alone in the city (and probably never will be) and I've never yet felt unsafe. I watched Phantom of the Opera for just over 20 pounds, which is a pretty good deal. And for those of you who are particular, the Phantom had an AMAZING voice, with all the harshness and rawness that Gerard Butler fans enjoy and all the gentleness and soothing vibrato that Michael Crawford fans crave.

And on that reassuring note, I will leave you all to enjoy your evening and I will hit the sack. Make someone happy today!