For the record, traveling is a lot easier with familiar faces and no desire to be perfect.
After jetlag had me up at 5:30am editing my blog format and during breakfast at a cafe on Edgeware Rd., I decided the reason it was so hard for me to get used to the city was because I wanted to do everything right in the city. I did not want to fail, I didn't want to be wrong, and I absolutely did not want to be seen for what I actually am: a tourist and an American. Well, in the middle of my latte I decided that was stupid. From here on out, it's ok not to know things, and it's ok to ask questions, though I hate how ugly my accent is among all these beautiful people.
I turned on BBC for a while before deciding it was late enough in the morning to check out of my hotel and get myself to BADA to check in. Once again, the cab driver was awesome, and he taught me a lot about the city. For instance, did you know that cab drivers in London spend up to 4 years on motorcycles, learning London streets by heart before they can drive a taxi?
BADA itself is located in a beautiful little corner of the Outer Circle in Regents Park, though it's easy to miss if you're not looking specifically for it. I was warmly welcomed at the door by 3 of the faculty/staff, though I don't remember their names. They checked me in, gave me an information packet, and sent me upstairs to say hello again to Ian. Ian is the head of the school, but he runs the auditions for the program, so I've met him before. He's a very kindly man, but I can tell he's got a sharp eye and a passion for theatre that is going to make this program challenging. While waiting for the bus to come pick me up and take me to the Landward, the building I'll be living in, Hannah, from USC, and Alexa and Olivia, two of my good friends and AGD sisters (also from USC) all arrived. By the time the bus came to take us, there were also three girls from Sarah Lawrence College in New York who were joining us on the way over.
It's so nice to see familiar faces. Having Alexa and Olivia here, and staying in the same flat as me, has helped spike up my energy and made me feel a lot more confident about being in such a new city. Together, we got our keys and dragged all our luggage into the lift (aka elevator) to our new home, Number 7.
Our apartment certainly isn't big, and it's not state-of-the-art or anything, but it is very comfortable, and for the most part clean. It feels cozy and homey, and the windows are spectacular. The view isn't anything to gawk at, but there are so many windows that the living room and bedrooms feel five times more spacious and bright and open than they would otherwise. It may be smaller than USC housing, but I'd prefer it any day. Alexa and I are sharing one of the bedrooms, while Olivia is sharing the other with Bryn. Bryn arrived later than us, but we three spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon unpacking and making trips back to Edgware Rd (same road as the hotel!) to the shops for supplies. Here's what we found:
Waitrose is the nearest grocery shop, though people say Tesco's may be cheaper. No matter- it's still very nice and definitely not as expensive as you'd expect. It's set up like any other store back home would be, but there is far less of a frozen section in the store and a few less household items that you can pick up there. You can still get the essentials, though.
Then, we crossed the road and found Boots, a pharmacy. There, we can get medicines, beauty care products, and more of the basic hair and skin products that we might need or need replenishing of. For example, Olivia got a hair brush.
We were in desperate need of hangers, and the Internet said the best place to do that was a shop called Argo's. Argo's, from the outside, looks like a technology store. Through the windows, you see a group of 15-20 people all at counters with attached iPads, looking at them intently. We were confused, but went in to find that Argo's is basically online shopping in real life. On the iPad, you can see everything the store has to offer in it's back warehouse. You click through and make a shopping cart, right there, online, save it under a reservation, and then stand in a queue. At the end of it, a cashier will bring up the reservation, have people run into the warehouse (right behind him/her) to grab your things and bring them forward, and you pay. It's remarkable. You can get anything there except groceries- we got hangers, apartment storage, and sheets, but there's more in stock. It's a great find, though I personally don't think it would do well in the US. People would likely go a bit too crazy.
When Bryn arrived, we gave her time to go pick up things for herself that we had already gotten, and finished unpacking the bedrooms. We got some time to relax before deciding it was time to go grocery shopping and put together our kitchen. I made a grocery list, but to no avail. All I actually ended up doing in Waitrose was wander up and down the aisles, looking for things that I would eat on a regular basis and shoving them into my basket. Not as many frozen things as normal, and I'm still not brave enough to buy myself uncooked meat, but by the end of the semester, I'll get there. Olivia said she'd help me, so here's hoping. The rest of the night was spent putting together our kitchen.
All four of us are really tired and are having a hard time keeping the coins straight (some are pounds but some are pence and all of them are odd sizes for their proper amounts). I'm still having a small bit of trouble wrapping my head around the opposite driving of the cars, though I have more trouble now with how my voice sounds compared to the British, Irish, and Cockney cacophony I hear in shops and stores. I wish I could pull out my own British accent, but if I get anything wrong it's going to be super rude and I'd rather not risk it.
No matter what, we're all really glad to be here- in the Landward, in London. I'm happy with today, long as it's been, and I think I'm finally feeling tired at the right time of day... I'll get used to it eventually. It's starting to feel like home.
Fight on, friends.
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