Natch.luvz

It should only be obvious that I was the last person to arrive at the IES residence hall today; it might even solicit a “natch” from my friends and family who are more than familiar with the phrase—and my chronic lateness for that matter.
Regardless, I AM IN LONDON! I am actually here spending time in the city with people that get to love and embrace the same place as I do for the next four months.

I won’t lie, the initial trip to the residence hall was a tad scary. I felt unsure about every single thing I was doing. It was so nerve wracking that I couldn’t even project my voice loud enough for the cabby to hear my destination request. Ugh, how pitiful!

Steps: Arrive in London and go through Customs. Customs takes approximately 400,000 hours to get through. The queue is very long and will be full of people that do not give a shit about what your name is, who you are, or where you come from. Then, at the end of it all, the only person you’re talking to wants to know what the hell you’re doing in their country and how you intend to hurt it. After you’re finished being emotionally and mentally manhandled, you will be happy to not that all you need to do is find and reclaim your luggage. Of course, you were too excited on the plane to listen to the pilot or head attendant and you have no idea where the carousal containing your suitcase is. Eventually, the bag will be found and the Heathrow Express, a very simple to navigate bullet train, takes you to Paddington Station. Perf. Then it’s a simple, yet terrifying, trip to Manresa Road and the building.

Mieke: “You must be Josh! GOOO GUSTIES! IjustloveminnesotabecauseIgrewuptherewithgreatfriendsandIevenworkedatMcAllisterforthreeyearssoIamveryfamiliarwiththeareabecauseIhadafriendthatlivedinHermantowwhichisrightbyWalkerohhowfun!”

Josh: “Yeah. Cool. (HE collapses with exhaustion) I’m last aren’t I?”

Mieke: “well that’s better than not all, woo!” She seems pretty great.

I managed to arrive with just thirteen minutes to unpack and leave for the guided tour. This meant that NO ONE received a safety call from me until about 5 o’clock my time. Woops! Guess what? I am safe so let’s all be thankful.

I am on the 8th floor and the view from my window is disgustingly awesome. In addition to my reflection, I can see the buildings of London City glowing across the river and dwarfing the Frasier logo by tenfold.

Roommate: Drew Tharp. He seems pretty chill. Easy to get along with. Thank. God.

Also met this guy named Ben tonight who did theater with Miles Duffey, an old speech competitor, all summer. It was not all that surprising to find out because they actually appear somewhat alike. Which one do you think is the heartless/nobody?? (I am not insulting either of them. This is a VERY NERDY reference which I do believe no one will understand.)

Had dinner with five other people this evening, more on that later and my first experience with dining in London.

I think I am really gonna like it here. I really, really do.