London

So I had intended on detailing every day of my trip here in London, however that has not nor will it happen. So I will attempt to document every few days or so.

Anyhow, I am in London studying abroad for a month with the UT Maymester program. The course is a Social Work course that focuses on Social Justice and diversity in London. I don't need it to graduate but it's an interesting course and a good reason to come to London on UT's dime.

So for starters....

The plane ride to London was hell. I mean torturous. I must say that if you ever intend on traveling abroad or plan on hopping aboard a plane for 9 hours, do yourself a favor and just save up to pay more for a business class seat. When I say that there was no leg room, I mean there was no leg room . I'm only 5'2" and I felt like I was smushed into my seat and I was even sitting on the aisle. Also, I'm pretty sure the seats reclined even less than they do on domestic flights. So it was 9 hours trying to sleep upright. But in any case I made it safely.

The first day we just went to our homestay and met our homestay parents. They have five kids ages 8-22 all living in the house, plus the three of us (my roomies and I) and the parents. Surprisingly, with 10 people in one house it's not crazy at all.

On Day 2....

Today we got to take a bus tour of London. It wasn't a red double decker bus (although that is what their city buses look like) but it was good enough. We got to see the London Eye, Tower Bridge (which most people think is London Bridge, it's not), Big Ben (which isn't as big as I thought it would be), Westminster, St. James Palace, a bunch of status, lots of churches, pubs, churches converted into pubs, and lots of other very historical buildings. London also has a number of parks which people actually use, it's quite nice. We even got to see a changing of some of the Queens guards.