I decided to do a travel blog. I need to buy a paper journal but this will do until then. I've been in London since Tuesday, so that's about five days. So far it's been really amazing.

The first day I was incredibly overwhelmed, but thankfully, one of the girls on our trip (named Dawn) was having a birthday, so we decided to celebrate. Almost everyone in our group was out in the back garden having drinks and telling crazy stories about ourselves. I didn't really have any stories, but I made do. At first I was worried about making friends, but I think I'm doing ok. At least at first. Right now I'm still in the middle of things. I don't have a solid group, but I'm also somewhat enjoying the alone time.

Yesterday, (Saturday) I went to Buckingham Palace (as seen above) by myself! Under normal circumstances, going anywhere alone is not my cup of tea, but here's the thing - the subway system is NOT easy. After getting an Oyster Pass (all you can ride for a month, depending on how much you pay) you have to figure out what stations are closest to your locations. Then you have to find the route there, and where you should switch to get to the next station. It's probably not as hard as I'm making it sound, but cut me some slack. I've only been here five days already.

Buckingham Palace was incredible though. It's hard to explain, but it has a way of conveying the power of patriotism. I'm not British, but I understood a little better the loyalty one might feel to this country, for whatever reason, after seeing such an enormous symbol of British past and tradition.

Last evening I went with a few girls to Hyde Park for the Nelson Mandela birthday concert. We caught Eric Clapton, which was fantastic. He's such an incredible guitarist. After that we visited a pub called the Duke of York. It's right around the corner from our dorm (called Nutford House.) For some weird reason they were playing Shania Twain and Christina Aguelera. Not what you'd expect in a pub full of men talking about football, but who am I to say?

Today I woke up late for breakfast, so I'm off to sample some new cuisine on Oxford Street (right off of where I am staying!)