The Tejas Traveler

I'm Kelly and this blog will be a collection of my experiences, stories, pictures and tips from my 6 month study abroad journey in London, U.K.

[tejastraveler]

The "Flatmates"

Now, let me introduce you to my flatmates, plus one. My four flatmates are Laura, Emily, Natassia, and Adele.  Angelica is our “sixth roommate”.  She is Laura’s friend from back home and is so blunt and quirky and an absolute laugh. She is the best person to go to a bar or an adventure with. She always listens to me when I vent and because, we often meet up with her to go exploring London, we’ve given her the title of “sixth roommate”. 

Laura and I share a room and due to the close quarters in which we live, we’ve grown really close and have shared a lot with each other. We’ve also discovered that we are both Catholic and Lebanese. And as luck would have it we have the same class schedule. #studybuddy Despite her slight obsession with Leonardo DiCaprio, Laura is one of the nicest, most considerate people you will ever meet, and I’m not just saying that because she’s sitting next to me as I’m writing this. She is constantly looking out for all of us and sincerely wants to know how we’re all doing.

Emily’s humor mixed with her easy going nature has made her a wonderful travel buddy as well as a fantastic flatmate. She and I have similar musical interests and we’ve been able to bond over that as well as our love for Disney/Pixar’s Frozen. She also, darn her, has the most gorgeous singing voice. When she and Laura sing in the kitchen, I am compelled to pause what I’m doing, just to take it all in. That or I glare at them and tell them to stop singing so well, because it’s just not fair to the rest of us.

Natassia has been in London since last semester and has been my limitless supply of knowledge about all things London and travel. She’s been able to tell me all about how to register at UCL, given me advice on classes, as well as given me directions to different places around town. She’s shared her experiences from the last semester. I probably would’ve gone nuts had she not helped me through the confusing education system of the UK. We also discuss to no end our love for TV shows like Sleepy Hollow and Sherlock and several of the book series we have read. We definitely have accepted our inner fangirl and are proud of it.

Adele is the last of my flatmates. She is my London connection to Texas. Despite having lived all over the US, she presently resides in Dallas. There’s a comfort that only a southerners will take with hearing the word “y’all” in a very foreign country. I am constantly surprised at the amount of information from a wide-range of topics she has in her head. There is no one better to have on your pub quiz team.

I think that my journey here would’ve been completely different if it weren’t for these five girls. I couldn’t be more grateful for their kindness and generosity and willingness to support me through this six-month journey. 

[tejastraveler]

My flat (as the natives call it).

[tejastraveler]

Day One Continued: No Sleep Tonight

A few seconds later, I enter the Heathrow Terminal 5 with my two cumbersome suitcases, a heavy backpack and a purse packed to the brim. I must’ve been quite a sight to my flatmates/API students as I walked up to our meeting place. “I think that’s Kelly”, I hear Emily, my flatmate, say.  I smiled and headed over to the five girls sitting in the terminal. After all the shenanigans with the terminals were finished, it makes sense that I would be the last of the group to arrive. 

The group consisted of three of my flatmates and two API students. We’d all agreed to meet up early to make it easier when we had to meet with the larger group. As we talked and shared our different travel horror stories, I instantly felt at ease with all of them.  We all seemed to have that same chemistry as many of my relationships with close friends from home. Looking back, this instantaneous connection made the transition into a new atmosphere much easier and much more enjoyable, than had I been thrust into this entirely on my own.

Lack of sleep had made us not only exhausted, but also a bit loopy and hungry. We walked over to the little Market they had in the airport and grabbed some sandwiches and I bought a cup of coffee from the coffee shop across from there. With my first purchase I used a 5-pound note and received, for change, a few 1-pound coins. Initially, I was a bit confused by this, as I am used to receiving 1-dollar bills not coins. When I went across the way to the coffee shop and bought my coffee, I paid with a few of my 1-pound coins and received these octagonal coins in return. Hand still outstretched from collecting the change, I looked at the barista and asked, with a laugh, what these were. He kindly, with a smile, showed me what each coin meant. Never having dealt with currency other than American currency, I knew I would have a bit to get used to.  

  We spent about an hour or so chatting and eating and then upon checking the time realized that we had fifteen minutes until we were supposed to meet up with our study abroad directors. So, we all collected our things and headed over to another coffee place called Costa Coffee. Within minutes we were introduced to the program directors and were on our way to the Coach bus. We separated into groups based on our living spaces. Because my group would be the last to get settled in we were the first ones on the bus.

I have to add another thing to my weird experiences list. I’ve been on my fair share of Coach buses for field trips and such, but I’ve never had to buckle my seat belt on one. Frankly, I don’t think there have ever been seat belts available on the buses I’ve ridden in the past. And then on top of this interesting occurrence, my seat belt was broken and I had to hold the buckle into the clip for the entire ride into London. 

It was around twelve in the afternoon, and I’d only slept an hour or so on the plane and we had an hour drive from the airport to London. I was fading fast, not to be helped by the lulling rocking of bus, as we made our journey. I tried to keep awake by looking out at the window at all the unique architecture or singing “I feel it in my fingers” from Love Actually with Emily. I must’ve been more tired than I’d originally perceived because I took this very artistic picture of a building somewhere along our journey. Beautiful, I know.

 Finally we arrived in London. It took us a few trips between each apartment building to the main apartment office, before we were able to move into our apartment. We were told that we could settle in for a bit, but then we would be expected at the front of our building to head out for a safety tour led by our program directors.

After hauling our numerous suitcases up the flight of steps, we proceeded to unpack in our individual rooms. Laura and I civilly decided who would get the window bed with a coin toss. She won. Darn her. We delegated drawers and shelves and hangers and cupboards. When all that was done, as much as we wanted to sleep we resisted the urge, and went into the living room to meet our final roommate.

Natassia had already been living in London since last year, but was, like us, new to the apartment building. She was telling us what UCL was like how the excursions went with API and all this other insider information to give us a feel for what was to come. In addition to our discussion of London, we also continued our conversation from before further allowing us to get to know everyone and giving a chance for Natassia to get to know us. In what seemed like no time at all we were hustled out of our apartment and onto the streets of London to do our quick safety tour.

Our large group led by the three program directors traveled quickly from site to site. We were shown where the local post office was, where the main office was, where we could go to eat on the cheap, and other landmarks along the way. There isn’t a whole lot to say about this mini adventure, as at the time I was too tired to take anything in and all I wanted to do was sleep. I was getting rather pissy at this point and I apologize to anyone that had to deal with me during that period. I understood why they made us go on the tour, not only just to give us a bit of knowledge about our surroundings, but also too keep us from sleeping thus beating jet lag. My rational self understands that, but that side wasn't present with under two hours of sleep. 

On our way back to the apartment we stopped into the local grocery store, Tescos, to grab some grub. I figured that I would get more groceries later so I only bought a box of cereal, milk, and two packages of grapes. One thing that was immediately evident to me with the cashiers here is that they are very honest with how they’re feeling. If they’re unhappy they don’t pretend they’re happy. They will frown and won’t be talkative. It left me with a bit of discomfort, because I’m used to receiving good customer service. At the same time, though, I wish I could’ve had that philosophy while I was working retail.

We made it back to the apartment around 7:30 pm and after a few hours spent unpacking, talking, and trying to connect to Facebook I fell asleep.  

[tejastraveler]

Day One

[tejastraveler]

Day One: The Airports From Hell

Austin, Texas:

Strangely, the one airport I would've condemned the most was the easiest, on the entire journey, to navigate through. I'd always thought that the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport was less technologically advanced than other airports  and therefore less efficient. While this is true, the lack of a technologically acted as more of a help than a hindrance. I was able to get checked in in a snap. I had a little hitch in the plan with one of my suitcases being four pounds over weight. Thankfully, the attendant was kind enough to not charge me $200 and let it slide.

I waved goodbye to my mother. Well, we said goodbye a few times, as I inched towards the line for security. We'd say, "well, this is it." hug and then walk a few feet and repeat the process. My mother seemed very reluctant to let me leave and I felt somewhat the same. I don't think that it had hit me yet that I wouldn't be seeing her face-to-face for another six months. So, I left her side and walked through security. 

After a brief pat down for having a few ones rolled up in my pocket (I am a danger to society), I meandered on over to my gate. I had heard about the snowstorms on the east coast and my mother urged me to check in and see if there were any delays in flights from Newark to London. I checked with the attendants and was assured that there shouldn't be any alterations to my flight. 

I picked a spot near the window in the waiting area and pulled out a book and awaited the plane's arrival at the gate. I hadn't even begun to become immersed in my book when I began to pick up the conversation of couple sitting across from me. They were quintessentially what you'd think of as an "old british couple." The man was willowy with fading, grey hair slicked back and yellowing teeth. His wife was plump and had light mustard yellow hair daintily cut in a bob. The man's mind was clearly elsewhere as his wife prattled on about different topics in her gossip magazine. It was at this point, oddly enough, where I began to realize what I was getting myself into.

It was culmination of seeing people who were obviously english and having a half an hour before boarding that caused my heart to race and my anxiety to spring forward. I texted my friend from university, desperately seeking encouragement, but at the same time she'd stepped away from her phone and didn't respond. I then texted my best friend from home and pleaded for a pep talk. She responded almost immediately with words that instantly calmed me and brought tears to my eyes.

Instantly rejuvenated, I boarded with courage for what was to come.

Newark, New Jersey: 

"This place is hell!" were my initial thoughts upon landing. We landed at around 4ish, but we were stuck on the tarmac for a half an hour because workers were plowing snow out of our gate. It was kind of amazing at the same time to see so much snow. This may not be quite as thrilling to someone who has to deal with snow on a daily, but for a girl from Texas this was kind of wonderful. Sure, waiting sucked, but seeing snowplows toss snow into the air as they cleared a path was beautiful. They created a mist of snow and ice everywhere they trekked. I wished I'd taken a picture.

After the 30 minutes of waiting, we were set free from the flying metal contraption and sent into the gate's walkway. It was the first time I'd ever seen my breath fog up as I exited a plane. I was chilly, but excited. That all changed when I actually entered the terminal.

First off, it was crowded. Packed to the maximum capacity. Moving through the bustling crowd was torture. I had on a backpack and purse and kept turning to peer up at a sign or direction only to find that I'd accidentally hit someone behind me. At last, I found a Departures/Arrival board and looked for my flight to London. Let me just tell you something about that god awful board, it changes so quickly with useless information that I had to stand there for a good five minutes before I got all the details about my flight.I checked behind me to see what gate I had exited the plane from and headed from Gate 88 to Gate 128.

"Oh Lordy." I thought to myself as I turned around for the third time. The signs at the Newark airport are crap, just to let you know. They tell you to go straight and then you do only to find that you needed to turn left and then go straight. I could feel my enthusiasm slowly slipping away as I looked from sign to sign in confusion. Unfortunately, I'm also the personality type that doesn't like to ask for help. So, there I was lost in the airport too stubborn to ask for help and pacing in front of the terminal signs.

I groaned internally and headed to the help desk to ask for directions. They lady was kind enough to point me in the right direction and within ten minutes I was standing in front of my gate, in desperate need to sit and relax. I looked at my phone and saw that I had 45% battery life left. My sitting would have to wait because charging my battery was the highest priority on my agenda, then food, and then rest.

I noticed that my gate had an outlet station. I quickly walked over to it only to observe that all four plugs were being used, much to my dismay. I had three hours until I was needed at my gate, so I decided to journey about in search of an outlet. I walked in a circle around all the gates, but alas there were no open plugs. I grabbed a Jamba Juice on the way and sat at my gate. I was texting my mom complaining about this latest dilemma and she informed me that on the plane itself they had outlets within each row. Welp, that was a waste of time. I pulled out my book and waited for my boarding time. 

6:25 had come and gone by the time we heard an announcement over the broken and crackly loudspeaker. "The plane that you see outside at our gate is not in fact the plane that you will be taking into London. Our plane is coming in from Shanghai and is set to arrive shortly. Then our staff will have to clean out the plane and deal with the catering. We thank you for your patience." At that point, I didn't care if the plane was from Mars, dirty as hell, and foodless. I just wanted to board it and go to sleep. 

Obviously, my patience was running thin, but there wasn't anything I could do. So, I sat and I continued to read my book. A half an hour passed and the person next to me and I shared a look of camaraderie as we both were beyond ready to board the plane. Sighing we resigned ourselves to wait. 

...

...

...

"We'll be boarding shortly, we thank you for your patience and above all thank you for flying United." Patience? What patience? I was damn near seething by this point. I had worked myself up to such a point that there was no way I was getting any sleep on that plane. 

Finally got my seat and put my luggage away and sat. I was on the aisle side. Thank you, Lord! My two "row-mates" were already fast asleep and I was ready to follow suit. Unfortunately, I was immediately drawn to the TV screen on the seat in front of me. It promised thousands of movies and televisions as well as music channels and a flight map. Yeah, ain't no way I was getting sleep tonight. I started my marathon with a silly comedy called "Austenland" and wrapped it up with dinner and "Crazy, Stupid, Love". 

Looking at the clock and realizing that I would be landing in a few hours I attempted to sleep, but managed only to doze off and on. When I awoke, we were flying over England, with fifteen minutes to London. I clicked on the flight map, only to see that the plane was doing loops around London. This was confusing. I joked with my neighbors that the pilot had just got drunk a bit it'd be fine. They didn't seem to think my joke was very humorous. I'm obviously a confident comedy god, so I didn't take it personally. Finally we landed and were off within minutes, heading towards customs. 

London, United Kingdom:

I make it to customs and I'm directed by a harsh little woman towards a station to get my passport stamped. Apparently, on the plane they'd given out cards on which you were supposed to put details about yourself, where you were staying and for what purpose, but I had not received such a paper and was directed my the small angry woman to do fill one out. I have never been so intimidated by such a minuscule person in all my life, I'd have been impressed if I wasn't so intimidated by her. I filled out my forms got my passport stamped and was able to get my bags and head out. 

I had messaged one of my flatmates, Emily, about meeting up and she told me that everyone in our flat was meeting in Terminal 5 at the local coffee shop Costa Coffee. Initially, I walked out and found the Costa Coffee shop and looked for her. I wasn't able to use my phone service or I'd face a large fee, so I had to rely on the 45 minutes of internet access the Heathrow Airport allowed me. So I messaged her on Facebook asking her where she was and she said Costa Coffee. I peered around for the girl I'd only seen in profile pictures, but again didn't see her. Through a few messages we determined that I was in the wrong terminal altogether. 

Pride to the wind, I walked over to a woman at the information desk and asked for help in getting to Terminal 5. She politely told me that buses ran for free between terminals and gave me the number of the station that I should wait at for my bus. I walked outside with my two cumbersome suitcases and waited for my bus.

Now, let me tell you that I have never used a bus a day in my life. Talk about being in London fifteen minutes and already being challenged by a new experience. The bus came to the stop and I got on. I asked the bus driver if he was going to Terminal 5 and he replied that he was not and that I should wait for bus number 382. I got off, embarrassed completely. 

I decided to take a brief break from this stress and walked into the terminal again. I sat down. And thought about my options. I texted Emily again, but she wasn't anymore knowledgeable about the situation than I was. I mentally prepared myself and found two information workers and asked again how to get to Terminal 5. 

The lady started her directions with, "To be honest" and I thought to myself "Yes, that would be nice as opposed to lying to me." If you couldn't tell I was stressed before you would've known by that point. She graciously, told me the directions for getting out to the stations and her male counterpart told me the bus number. He also advised me to make sure that the bus said that it was going to Terminal 5. 

I followed their instructions and within minutes was relieved to be sitting on a bus bound for Terminal 5. It was on this bus ride that I was able to really delve into my thoughts of the journey thus far. During this stressful incident, I began to really realize how nerve-wrecking it was to be in a place that was so foreign to me. I realized how welcome a dollar sign would be or a McDonald's. I'm so accustomed to traveling with my parents and not so utterly alone. My heart was beating fast and I was discovering how alone and scared and ignorant I was towards this place. I could understand how relevant it was for me to have this experience and to truly gain understanding and knowledge on how to navigate independently.

"Arriving at Terminal 5"