El primero
September 7, 2007
Well then…
Its the close of my third day here in London, and Im still exhausted. Not sleeping the night before my flight was possibly not a very good idea, as I didnt end up with the greatest amount of peaceful relaxation space on any of my three flights over. So far my time here has gone something like this:
11:00 AM PAC – Left Tacoma. Waited for 30 minutes on the runway as some incompetent crew attempted to fix a broken valve in the engine, which btw means no airconditioning (!?). Already sweaty by this point. Airport
Next stop, Chicago. Arrival – 45 minutes late. If you have ever been to the Chitown airport, I pity you. It is quite possibly the worst laidout airport I have ever been to. All terminals are connected by this ridiculously slow train that leaves every 15 minutes from each stop. This means, if you (like myself) are sprinting across 2 miles of airport crowdedness to catch your trans-atlantic flight, you most likely wont catch it. Luckily, it took me exactly 30 minutes to run from the terminal I was dropped off at to the Manchester flight (30 minutes!!) and they hurried me on just in time for take-off and a wonderfully uncomfortable bath in my own sweat until the seatbelt sign blinked off. Sigh…. At least United served a veggie dinner plus Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. Almost made up for everything.
Manchester: What an introduction to England. Got off the plane thirsty, hungary and ungodly worn out. After meandering through customs (they really dont check anything in the UK), past numerous ATMs that bespoke in big bold letters “Exchange Euros Here”, and ultimately to my Heathrow gate, I came to 3 conclusions: Manchester is full of people who are either fat, depressed, or dressed in business suits (or, as was often the case, a combination of these three), the English dont have drinking fountains, and airport food courts are for British people only (or people with British currency…). In the end I stuck it out, thirsty, hungry, and delirious, and read some Nova while munching on my lower lip and contemplating the lack of eye contact I was recieving from just about every passerby.
LONDON: Ill make this short, or as short as I can. The flight from Manchester was only an hour, so again, no sleep for David. I arrived in a cloud of deprivation to find my bags missing and the British ATM mysteriously absent. The kind man at the BMI counter assured me that my bags would be sent to the IES building that evening, and so I left feeling a little better considering I wouldnt need to drag them across London from the airport. Took the Heathrow Express to Paddington, which I later realized is the most expensive way to reach my final destination considering the only people on it were pin-striped businessmen and Japanese tourists (note: when in London, do NOT do as the Japanese do). Grabbed a sandwich (I dont remember tasting it) and a taxi (after much confusion as to how one hails a taxi on a road less than 2 inches wide) while at Paddington station, landed at the IES doorstep smelling something close to a gym bag and ready to fall over. Instead, I was hurried through numerous peices of paper and signatures, a new phone, a floor meeting, and finally allowed some downtime at 6:30 PM (I arrived at the center around 1 PM London time). Having no food, walked down to the lovely overpriced Organic foods market and bought something I dont remember eating, walked back and passed out. Woke up the next morning at 7:30 AM. 12 hours of sleep has never felt better, EVER.
My roommate’s name is Michael. Mike is from Indiana, via Indiana University, likes to watch football and is into business. He is applying for one of two business internships, either with the British Green Party (though he doesnt even want to work there…) and the BBC. We have very little in common, but he was kind enough to lend me a shirt, socks, and a towel for Thursday, for which I am very grateful.
Thursday was Orientation hell, AKA 5 hours in a hot lecture room listening to various annoying high-pitched British accents and drawing pictures on my “Knowledge” packet. Lunch was interesting though – experienced my very first English pub, complete with deep fried fish nuggets, slightly dry peas, and generic chips (or fries for you Americanos). Also had a pint o’ Fosters, which in retrospect was a very bad idea for after lunch, it was back to the lecture hall for another rousing 2.5 hours of things nobody would remember during which I tried very hard to stay awake. Thursday evening I spent grocery shopping (EXPENSIVE!!!!) and (low and behold!) unpacking – so far the best moment of this trip was stepping into the lobby and seeing my bags near the front desk. Shaving never felt so good.
Today was yet another day with the IES crew – 82 of us to be exact, 18 men, 64 women. I took some melatonin last night and ended up sleeping another 11 hours – till 11:45. Rushing to eat and get dressed (in my own clothing!), I ventured onto the Tube for my first time alone. This was fun, if not a little bit stressful as I got on the train going the opposite direction and had to switch and retrace two stops. Found the IES center building just fine and in time for the “guided bus tour”. This was, just as I expected. Saw 20+ sights in just under and hour and ended up in front of the British Museum where we saw 6 sights in another hour on yet another guided tour. Luckily, the BM is less than 3 blocks away from the center, is free, and full of absolutely stunning greek, roman, egyptian, and other ancient medditerranean artifacts. In a couple months, a decent chunk of the famous Chinese terra cotta army will be shown here – though they make you pay for that sort of thing. Other attractions within a short distance of the IES center: Buckingham Palace, Picadilly Circus, Blackfriar’s, Big Ben, the London Eye, and London Bridge. Its pretty amazing just how jampacked this city is with history, and yet how modern it feels in the same instance. In one 3 block area, you might see buildings that range from the 1400’s all the way through Foster’s weird, glass futurist buildings (one of which, the London Authority HQ, has been described as “a great glass testicle”).
London Bridge & Foster Building
The Great Glass Roof at the British Museum
Things I have learned so far: Chelsea is rich. VERY rich. About 95% of the vehicle matter that makes so much noise against my dorm room at night are high-end Euro cars (i.e. Mercedes, BMW, Range Rover, the like) and everyone on the side walk looks like a slightly pudgier version of some Vogue or Men’s Health model. The food here is also super-pricey, though that goes for most of London. I bought food for myself, including a few kitchen necessities, and the total bill came to 70 pounds, about 140 dollars. Yeah. And I bought frugally as well, only Dinner and breakfast meals, plus cheese and PB&J for quick lunches. New: the British do not understand Mexican food. By far the staple of my diet back home, the burritos are small and stale, the salsa hidden and terrible, but the beans, oh my! SO many beans, beans, beans….. Lots of Indian food as well, which almost makes up for the lack of Mexican. Other interesting observations thus far: the Tube rocks, though Tube escalators are frighteningly steep; IES kids like to drink; IES kids are mostly Juniors who have never legally drunk before; there are 8 kids from UPS on this trip – they all stick together; driving on the left side of the street is disconcerting; do not walk near the curb when a bus is coming – it will take off your head with its mirror; there are a lot of fat people in Britain; South African accents are tight.
Tonight I had the option of seeing a one James Livesey spin at a bar called “Dogstar” in Brixton. Though I cant stop thinking about why I didnt end up going, in the end I think it was for the best as they (the fools here at IES) have us up and going, once again, at 10 AM tomorrow. I met James at Shambhala Music Festival (Canada) this summer and via a series of emails and Facebookings, decided to meet at some point, sooner rather than later, during my stay here. I am really sad that this night (his birthday nonetheless) had to come so early on in my stay. It is only 11:30 and I can barely keep my eyes open, let alone venture halfway across London on my ownsome (nobody in this program listens to techno) and take the night buses back at 2 AM. James kindly offered his floor for the morning until the Tube starts back up (8 AM), but I knew that this would only hinder my ability to survive the coming week’s worth of adrenaline fused newness. Hopefully tomorrow night I will make it out to one of the 15 clubs I have mapped….! Wish me luck! For now though it is bedtime. We are off to Greenwich village in the morning for yet another round of American tourist-ness and guides with annoying voices. But who knows, I might just LOVE it…. 
G’night.
