To The Motherland For Realsies

Yes, I'm in England! Today has been just nonstop craziness. Well, the past day and a half. I don't know what day it is, really.

It started in Chicago with my parents and I staying with my cousins Karin, Pat and Liam. That was so much fun -- Liam is so smart and funny. Anywho, Thursday morning I walked around downtown Chicago with my mom and dad. I went to the American Girl store and had a mini meltdown because I wanted Kirsten's entire collection. Needless to say my parents had to peel me out of there.

Then--the flight. Okay, I don't know why I had to be there at 4:30pm when my flight was at 8:30pm. It was so boring. And I'm a loner so I just sat there and read "Me Talk Pretty One Day" while everyone who knew each other already congregated around me playing euchre on the floor.

The flight was . . . kinda horrible. Not for any particular reason, I mean, I watched The Hangover which is always awesome, and I watched an episode of "The Office" and one of "How I Met Your Mother", but it was overnight and I was uncomfortable and I couldn't sleep and I was just altogether out of sorts. My flight departed at 8:30pm Chicago time and landed at 9:45am London time. British customs was a breeze, though. Then the bus ride--OHHHHHH THE BUS RIDE! I dozed off maybe twice but it was almost 2pm before we pulled up to Harlaxton.

HOLY COW this place is amazing. No pictures can do it justice. I didn't get any good ones today because it was raining when I got here, but I will definitely post some soon. This place is crazy, let's leave it at that.

My dorm is in the Carriage House which is separate from the main Manor House, and to be honest I'm kind of glad. It gives me a chance to get out of the manor. My roommate's name is Mary and she likes Harry Potter, Gilmore Girls and musicals so we are good to go! Our room is pretty cool. I've never shared community bathrooms before, though, so this will be a challenge.

Today, once we got settled, we had orientation stuff which was dumb, but then me, Mary, and some other students walked about two miles up to Gregory's, which is a pub at the end of our driveway. It was pretty cool, but I'm 21 and they're all like 19 so it was way cooler for them!

By far the best part of the night was talking to a middle-aged English couple outside the pub. They were telling us everything about how they feel about the NHS, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, national identity, etc. so it was awesome!

Then we walked back to the manor in the dark, which was funny because it's a lot harder when you've had a beer. Now I'm just getting ready to go to bed, because I am freaking exhausted.

More to come! Keep reading!