Literally, the LONGEST Day of My Life...Part 2

Where did I leave off? Landing, that's right. So we landed an hour early. We had a very good tail wind going for most of the trip. The sky was filled with morning light coming through the overcast sky so England looked very sleepy, or maybe it was just a reflection of how I was feeling at the time. It was nearing my normal bed time, close to midnight in the states. As we flew in, the colors of pasture were very muted but I could tell in light they would appear very green like Ireland.

After landing, I had to go through immigration. It have been on the other side of the airport from our gate because we walked a long way. The line for immigration was long and I must have waited for at least 20 minutes until it was my turn. I called my parents while in line to let them know that I had landed. I could tell that they had been asleep and I envied them. I am amazed I made it through the line without passing out from exhaustion. There were other students in line and one had been detained because his letter from the school had been mistyped. I hoped this would not happen to me as I was supposed to be meeting someone at baggage check. It is nerve-racking to go through because they are so serious. I walked up and answered their questions directly and he stamped my passport. I was through!

Around the corner and past some random empty, under-construction hallways was baggage claim. All the baggage was off the carousel and stacked. A few airport workers were standing by it and I pointed mine out and they wheeled it around to me. I am glad I did not have to pull the luggage of the carousel myself. It is right on the edge of the limit of 50 lbs. Two down one to go. Customs was all that remained. But there was no one there so we walked right through. Before getting out there was a duty free shop to walk through but I was ready to get out of there.

Once out, I began to look for a fellow student whom I was meeting to split a taxi. She was supposed to arrive an hour before me and meet me at baggage claim. Since baggage was in the middle of customs I decided to go all the way out to the meeting area in case she came in a different terminal. I waited around for about an hour and finally decided to leave. It was nearing 10:30 by this point.

I walk outside and follow the signs to taxis. There were a number of them lined up, so I went to the front of the line and handed the driver a paper with the address on it. He said okay and off we went. Taxi drivers in London go through a two year test called The Knowledge. They have to learn where every street is, which can be difficult since some of the streets change name every few blocks and some are very similar that are right next to each other (like Queensgate Mews and Queensgate Terrace are right next to each other). Leaving the airport and driving in London traffic is crazy. First of all, the different side of the street is just bizarre and will take some getting used to. Also their traffic lights are awesome. When the light is about to turn green the yellow light is lit in addition to the red light. As a driver, I would find this useful as I frequently look to the other traffic to see when the light is going to change. This has also become useful to me as a pedestrian so I know when the cars are going to start moving again (so I don't get hit). I got my keys and arrived at my residence. It was only 11:30 and I knew there was only one other person who had picked up their key. I go into the building and look for my flat, no. 1. I thought I would be right by the front door, but the first door I see is marked 9 and then around the corner is 10. I leave my bags in the hall and walk up the stairs. The numbers keep going up. I walk outside and look to see if there is another door to enter. Nothing. I walk back in and notice the hall continues to the side of the staircase and leads to a set of stairs going down. I try this. I see number 6, so I must be going in the right direction. I find no. 1. It is in the basement at the end of the hall. I walk in and am happily surprised to find a kitchen and a bathroom in the room.

Upon entering you are in the common room. There are two couches, a table with chairs, and a tv. To the left is the kitchen with a full size fridge (more on that later), stove, oven and microwave. Through the common room is the bedroom with two beds and a bunk bed (4 in total). And off the bedroom is the bathroom. A nice set up. I decide to hold off on getting my stuff out until others show up. I pull out my computer and begin sending emails. Eventually one of my three roommates show up, Jessica. This is the person I was supposed to meet. Apparently my flight was moved to a different terminal so we missed each other. We decide to pick our beds (I choose the bottom bunk) and start unpacking. Eventually the other two roommates show up, Nicole and Stephanie. Not after long, all of our stuff was put away in our wardrobes and suitcases under beds and in corners. We met some of the others on our floor and compared rooms. They all have very different setups, but I like ours. It works for us. That was until man things were not turned on.

We had a meeting at 5 and demands were to be made.

To be continued...

Until we meet again,

-Maggie the traveler