My name is The Feet / Induction, Pubs & Planned Travel

So I've been told by my roommate that my nickname on his blog is The Feet. This is because when he arrived, I was predictably in bed, with just my feet sticking out of the covers. Predictably because it was the day after the Irish had lost, again, to the Spartans. In any event, before I came to, he had sent off an email detailing my state to his friends and folks, who responded "Have you met The Feet?"

We had induction today, which is what the Brits call orientation. As with most orientations, it was pretty lame, though there was definitely an orient flavor to this orientation. One of the profs rose to tell us about the various areas we were living. Of one area, Mile End, he said, and I paraphrase "There are many Asians in this area. The Asians are largely a non-violent people, but there are also other facets. So that can be [inaudible] if you like that." At this point, I think each of us from UT was thinking "well, I guess we're not in America anymore." The funny part about it was about 5 of the 25 students in the room were of Asian descent. Oh, and while lunch was free it wasn't very good. But it was free, which is worth more over here.

I met up with Kristen Peterson and got my phone today, which means now I can accumulate more bills, send text messages to people that I shouldn't when inebriated, and perhaps coordinate legitimate meetings with friends. Wandered around the area (Covet Garden) for a while today, then headed out to Mile End with a couple of the boys for some cheap pints and grub. Enjoyably we met two Finnish girls who were quite pleasant to chat with. One of them had quite good English. Predictably the evening devolved into one of the boys (Zenter, go figure) giving me a hard time about Notre Dame, and bringing up the tired mantra of ND is racist for not wanting to fire Weis after firing Willingham. C'est la vie.

Tomorrow we go to Windsor Castle. Expect a picture-heavy post soonish from that venture (full albums will be posted on facebook). Then on Thursday we depart for Oktoberfest. The following weekend to Oslo, and the weekend after to Porto. I have secured a spot on the floor in Munich for 10 Euros a night. I'm excited.

Sunshine, Restrooms & Electricity

So today is proof that the sun does in fact occasionally visit London. It is the perfect day for football. Sadly, even were I to go to an American sports bar, I'd have to wait until 6 just to see whatever bottom-tier Big 10 game is on ESPN2. Haven't decided yet if I'll go watch the Irish against MSU. If I do though, I'll probably have to take cash, since it seems like almost no bars even take credit cards here, and just about every store has at least a 5 GBP minimum. Not that I really care, since I'm not getting any rewards points on my credit card over here anyway, but dealing with coins is a bit of a hassel. Speaking of which, its tough adjusting to the mentality that coins actually have value. I mean, we like quarters in the US to some extent because you can use them at laundry machines, parking meters, and to a lesser extent out of state toll booths. Of course here, I could easily be carrying around the equivalent of $10 in coins before I could get paper currency for it.


I now bring you to the complain about my dorm room section for today, complete with picture to explain the ridiculousness of it all. This morning, when I went to the restroom to *ahem* take care of some business, I almost burned my leg on some piping. I'm quite sure I don't have an unusually wide stance, so this has got to be a problem for just about everybody. I'm not really sure what the purpose of this piping is. It doesn't give off any heat, so its not a radiator (or at least not a very good one). It's merely hot to the touch. Perhaps it is a towel rack? You'd think they could put some insulation on it or something. On the other hand, usually I'm a fan of smoking hot exposed racks. Perhaps we can come to an agreement of sorts. Negotiations are under way.

Now, the bathroom isn't a complete loss. They have provided us with the only American sized and voltaged electrical outlet in the bathroom. However, if they are going to provide us with an outlet that will take American electronics, why oh why would it be an outlet labeled shavers only? I mean, that's about the one item I have that doesn't even need electricity. My computer, my camera battery, my iPod charger -- all of these have American outlets. My shaver would probably electrocute me if I found a way to put it in an electrical socket.

Move-In

So today I moved into my dorm. I took pictures and was planning to post them, but I can't find my connection cable. This could spell trouble. Update: Found the connection cable.


Anyway, the room is small, but nice enough as these things go. Location is excellent. The fun part was lugging my baggage the couple miles from my hostel to here; my shoulders are sore.

Couple more observations:

• Big Brother is always watching over here. Everything is on camera all the time.
  
• What's with water out of sinks not being drinkable?
• I still haven't gotten used to the backwards traffic.
• Guinness is about the only thing that is the same price over here in $.
  

Arrival

So the trip began with a lovely encounter with the American Airlines rep in Austin. As per standard airline baggage allowances, I had my two checked bags, a carryon, and my personal item (a backpack). Upon checking in, the lady informed me that I could only have one item total carried on when flying into London, so she made me check my carryon at a charge of $80, despite the fact that there was no mention of this on their website. Oh, and the fact that she was WRONG. AA, you owe me $80.

Other than that, the trip was pleasant. At the airport in Austin I ran into an old friend, and we happened to be one seat apart on the flight up to Chicago. The flight from Chicago to London was almost empty, and I had both the aisle and window seat to myself, which was quite pleasant. Thankfully, it also got in about 35 minutes early. Customs on the other hand was a bit of a hassle. My letter from the university indicated that I had been accepted to study for the 2007/08 class year, which was different than the semester I had indicated I would be studying here. About 15 minutes later I finally received my clearance and entered the UK. I would have taken a picture, but photographs are forbidden there. Security?

So far today I've just been wandering around the city stopping at various points to sit on park benches and peoplewatch. Upon arriving in France a few years ago for my first transatlantic trip, my first impression was how similar things are despite the language barrier. Well, my first impressions here are how different things are despite sharing a language. I've caught myself several times when initiating a conversation speaking slowly or haltingly, as if I wasn't sure if they would understand English.

Other observations:

• not having a cell phone, even for just a few days, is very weird.
• Finances could not be any easier. Picked up cash at the airport from the first ATM I saw, with no ATM surcharge -- good job Capital One.
• I'm hesitant to make purchases for fear of overpaying. Lack of familiarity with what is or is not a good deal applies even to regional differences in the states I suppose as well.
• I was a bit miffed that I couldn't get a drink after checking into my hostel. Their bar is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and no other pubs are open that late. Lame.

The British version of Hyde Park, where I've been spending much of the day relaxing and watching people pass by. Amazing how many professionals have time for a midday jog.








Tomorrow I move into the dorms.