Zora in London 004: I'M IN LONDON!!!

living up to the name of my newsletter

I’m hauling my 23kg (50 lbs) suitcase down the ricketiest street known to man, sweating profusely under the uncharacteristically sunny sky, trying to work out if I’m almost to the apartment or if I’ve just walked 10 minutes in the wrong direction. If I can manage to ignore the pain in my shoulders, I notice the quaintly packed-in buildings lining the street. Some look to be hundreds of years old. Ancient, gabled residential buildings butt up against brightly lit modern shops, pubs, tiny Indian restaurants, and the occasional Tesco Express. As I’m struggling along, I pass Spitalfields Market — a lively outdoor mall which, while beautiful, throws an absolute wrench into my sense of navigation. Eventually, Casey and I make it to our accommodations. Once inside, we meet Branna (our friend and flatmate), shower, and try not to collapse of exhaustion while unpacking.

While this branch of my journey was slightly trying, my plane ride was an absolute delight. Please do yourself a favor and go look up the British Air safety video. Words cannot do it justice. I was booked in an aisle seat, and I ended up having the whole row to myself! I got to actually lay down to sleep (!!!) and they had my favorite airplane movie on in-flight entertainment. The flight attendants were very lovely (and very British). Once I landed, I learned I needed to take a train to a different terminal to find Casey, which was a whole adventure, but once we were reunited I felt wonderful and much of my mounting anxiety dissipated.

Our apartment is bigger than expected! It has a great kitchen/living area, and the bedrooms are pretty decent as well. The shower is super nice, which always makes a big difference. A good shower can turn my whole week around, honestly. I was very sad and anxious during my first night, but that’s to be expected of a big transition like this one. I’ll be ok, don’t you fret.

Today was orientation day one which was a) very exciting and b) a liiiiiiitle bit boring because it was fully 6 hours of PowerPoint lecture. We did get street food for lunch in Leather Lane (I had some FIRE chicken Tikka Masala), and taking the bus home was fun because we got to see a lot of London out the window. Tomorrow’s orientation will (hopefully) be a little more on our feet. We’re going down to the London Eye! Hopefully lots of pictures from that outing.

In other news, I love our program coordinators. Mary especially, she’s so cool. She loves women’s history and thrifting, so you can see what might have given me that impression. I also love the tube, and I might love busses even more. Public transit here is so much better than in Portland. It’s not even comparable.

I’m going to have to wrap up because I’m very sleepy and I need to go on a second grocery run (I have neither toothpaste nor paper towels), so you’ll hear from me again in a week!

Cheers from London (aaahh!!!)
Zora

PICTURES (I need more of me lol):