A Sojourner's Tale: The Journey
So here I am in London! I just got in to my homestay. Here are some things of note about my trip:
I'm even more strapped for cash. I had to pay a $50 fee because my baggage was 10 lbs over the limit.
Any airport that doesn't offer free wireless internet can go choke on their bloated wallets. I'm talkin to you, O'haire.
Here's another interesting thing about Chicago's airport. Their toilets are infamous for having automatically changing sanitary covers. But what's even weirder than those mechanical monuments of bathroom efficiency are the weird, unlabeled $1 vending machines in the stalls. They're large, metallic, and contain zero description of what you get for a dollar. Apparently you slip in a few quarters and just...wait for a prize.
I didn't sleep at all on the flight. But they did have these cool personalized television touch screens on the back of every seat. There was a wide selection of movies and tv episodes that i was able to choose from at my leisure. I was impressed. Good job, American Airlines. Oh, and I also got to drink a free bottle of wine. I had a headache and wanted something to ease the pain. I asked the stewardess for a bottle of chardonay, which I was fully willing to pay for, and she just gave it to me without any charge because she couldn't be bothered to figure out how to work the portable debit machine.
England is very green. But not in the sense that any snapshot of America could probably give you. The countryside is a deep seeded green and covers the landscape like a light carpet of pillowy moss. It looks and feels deep and rich. There is also a sharp contrast between the green of the trees and grass and the rustic brick and mortar houses that can be seen strewn about the countryside. Everything appears to pop slightly, as if surrounded by a thin black outline. Combined with what seems to be a complete lack of smog, it's like somebody wrote the world in bold.
My taxi ride from the airport cost me 40 pounds. That's $80. Crap.
My homestay family seems nice enough. I have a cup of steaming hot tea on my windowsill right now but it tastes...blech. Not my cup of...well, you know. I've been here 10 minutes and I've already managed to fix their router problems. Apparently they've been battling with it for about a year now to find out what their network key is. Finding it was simple enough. I guess that means I'm off to a good start.
Those bastards at radioshack assured me that the power converter I bought would plug in to their outlets. Poor Josh, played the fool again, and out $35 as a result.
My room is small, but not that small. It's about the size of a dorm single, which is just what I was expecting. The house I'm living in turned out to be a little farther from London than I was expecting, but that's ok. They have a big dog. A mastiff. It nearly ate me when I walked in.
Well, that's all I have to say for now. I'm pretty tired, but I doubt I'll be able to get any sleep before nightfall. It's only about 10:30 am here. I haven't slept for about 20 hours....blech.
Ciao for now, chums. I'll be posting pictures soon.
I'm even more strapped for cash. I had to pay a $50 fee because my baggage was 10 lbs over the limit.
Any airport that doesn't offer free wireless internet can go choke on their bloated wallets. I'm talkin to you, O'haire.
Here's another interesting thing about Chicago's airport. Their toilets are infamous for having automatically changing sanitary covers. But what's even weirder than those mechanical monuments of bathroom efficiency are the weird, unlabeled $1 vending machines in the stalls. They're large, metallic, and contain zero description of what you get for a dollar. Apparently you slip in a few quarters and just...wait for a prize.
I didn't sleep at all on the flight. But they did have these cool personalized television touch screens on the back of every seat. There was a wide selection of movies and tv episodes that i was able to choose from at my leisure. I was impressed. Good job, American Airlines. Oh, and I also got to drink a free bottle of wine. I had a headache and wanted something to ease the pain. I asked the stewardess for a bottle of chardonay, which I was fully willing to pay for, and she just gave it to me without any charge because she couldn't be bothered to figure out how to work the portable debit machine.
England is very green. But not in the sense that any snapshot of America could probably give you. The countryside is a deep seeded green and covers the landscape like a light carpet of pillowy moss. It looks and feels deep and rich. There is also a sharp contrast between the green of the trees and grass and the rustic brick and mortar houses that can be seen strewn about the countryside. Everything appears to pop slightly, as if surrounded by a thin black outline. Combined with what seems to be a complete lack of smog, it's like somebody wrote the world in bold.
My taxi ride from the airport cost me 40 pounds. That's $80. Crap.
My homestay family seems nice enough. I have a cup of steaming hot tea on my windowsill right now but it tastes...blech. Not my cup of...well, you know. I've been here 10 minutes and I've already managed to fix their router problems. Apparently they've been battling with it for about a year now to find out what their network key is. Finding it was simple enough. I guess that means I'm off to a good start.
Those bastards at radioshack assured me that the power converter I bought would plug in to their outlets. Poor Josh, played the fool again, and out $35 as a result.
My room is small, but not that small. It's about the size of a dorm single, which is just what I was expecting. The house I'm living in turned out to be a little farther from London than I was expecting, but that's ok. They have a big dog. A mastiff. It nearly ate me when I walked in.
Well, that's all I have to say for now. I'm pretty tired, but I doubt I'll be able to get any sleep before nightfall. It's only about 10:30 am here. I haven't slept for about 20 hours....blech.
Ciao for now, chums. I'll be posting pictures soon.