This week has been a little insane and by a little I mean a lot. My going away party was great and packing on sunday was slightly easier than I expected, however, Monday was definitely a challenge.

After fighting with the financial aid people as well as the people at the cashier's office, I managed to figure out my loan check. At this point I had already missed the train and I was starting to get stressed out about missing my flight so my parents drove me up to LAX. We made really good time and even had time to go get lunch. Then they dropped me off at the airport and began the drive back to San Diego.

After splitting up my carry on bag (because it was too heavy) and going through security, I finally made it to the gate where I sat down to wait. It was at that moment that it hit me. I was really doing this, I was seriously getting on a plane and heading to the other side of the world. I would be leaving my parents, my sisters, my friends and Gene behind for a whole year. The following hour was an emotional roller coaster. I would start crying then follow it up with laughing and then more crying. By the time I got on the plane I was emotionally drained.

The flight was not eventful, the food was ok and I watched a couple of good movies. I was starting to get nervous about what my roommate was going to be like and whether I would make new friends. Before I knew it we were in London.

We were met at the airport and then squeezeed 5 people plus a ton of luggage into a tiny car. Finally at 2:35pm I walked into what is going to be home for at least the next 4 months (on the ground floor of the building!). When I was introduced to my roomie I gave a giant sigh of relief! We started chatting and getting to know each other and we instantly clicked!

The entire week has been a variety of activities, some organised by the Res Life staff while others have been mandatory orientations. Classes start on Monday but since I am an intern, I started classes this past Thursday. The class is Introduction to British Culture and it is very interesting. The professor is super funny and it is a very interactive class. I think I've managed to piss off some of the students in my class already but I don't really care.

Some of the activities that the Res Life Staff planned for us were a pub quiz (which my team won!), walking tours of the neighborhood, a bus tour of Central London and a boat party cruise on the Thames River.

If feels that most of the students are here to party and they seem to want to shout to the world that they are proud to be Americans. Now please don't get me wrong, I have no problem with people being proud of who they are but stumbling down the street completely trashed yelling loudly "If we don't find a bathroom soon I swear to God I'm going to piss all over myself" or throwing empty wine bottles into the Thames followed by "this is how we do it in America!". Those people are the reason why many countries don't like Americans. Lucky for me, I have found a few girls who came to London to learn about a new culture and not just get trashed. Today we had a mini party with Chinese food and a movie in the common room.

There's another girl here also doing the internship program who is a fellow stage manager. She's really nice and we have a whole lot of things in common. Tomorrow we are going to a FREE Theatre Festival and I'm super excited. However it is now past midnight and I am very sleepy.

More updates to come...