Travelling overseas is no joke. The plane rides were pretty uneventful. Columbus to Newark was obviously no big deal, just a short hop away. For some reason there were pigeons running loose at the gate seating area in Newark.
Newark to London was something else altogether. I'm not the kind of guy who sleeps in vehicles, much less next to strangers (I'm weird, I know), so to put it simply I've been awake since 8 AM Sunday, Ohio time.
Upon arriving in Heathrow, I spent an hour trying to find a few girls from my traveling group, but to no avail. I then took the tube from Heathrow into London proper, and spent the next 2 hours wandering aimlessly over a small portion of the city, just trying to determine exactly where I was supposed to be heading.
Eventually I was able to find my way to the offices of our flats' landlord, and settled in to my new home nicely. The rest of the day was spent getting to know the parts of London I'll be visiting most: Our flats, our study center/classrooms, the grocery and drug stores, and of course, the pub.
Around 20:00, the entire group went with our three lovely professors to a pub called the College Arms. At first it seemed rather cramped, but the skinny nature of London architecture was betrayed by a comfortably-sized basement. As we ordered our drinks, several men moved about the bar, loudly advertising a free comedy show in the basement. Figuring we had nothing to lose, the group moved downstairs, and for the first time I really felt like I was experiencing some part of London culture.
With our entire group gathered at one side of the makeshift stage, the room was pretty evenly split into locals and, well, us. The host of the evening's events was a charismatic, boisterous figure, who made sure to incorporate jabs at our nationality -- as well as his own -- in between introducing the nine comedians of the night. Most of funnymen (and two women!) were good, several were truly great, and unfortunately a couple were awkward, sending a tangible discomfort throughout the crowd.
As one of our professors, Keith Newman, put it, "It was both surreal and great fun to see you all being harangued by a Brit comic in a pub - not bad for a first night." I couldn't put it better myself.
My first full day in London was a tiring one, but ultimately a rewarding and exciting experience.
P.S. I was too tired to attempt to take many pictures today. What I do have will be used in other posts in the future. I can't wait to show you our flats!
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