settle settle

Address:

kathleen adams
queen's wing
homerton college
hills road
cambridge, england
cb2 2ph

I bought a bike that works, which is super exciting, and hopefully, I can find someone who will buy the old (or shall we say "well loved") bike for parts or something. Other than spending mucho money on getting said bike though, I then had to ride it back home, which was pretty terrifying. People actually use them on the streets here (and not just the friendly neighborhood ones!) I'm currently trying to master the much needed "look behind the right shoulder to see oncoming traffic" move, so I don't have to stop and walk my bike across the street like the toddlers do, so wish me luck. 

Mom - don't worry: I have a helmet, and I bought it new.

In more good news - I hopefully will get internet in my room today (cheers!) and you know what that means - super photos of me and my fire warden vest.

jewellers - - -

You should read Trisha's article in the Hilltop Monitor - it sounds as though she will be preserving all of our adventures (and misadventures) here in print, and hopefully, she will praise my superb fire wardenness. (What that exactly entails, I am still unsure). 

Many thanks to all the previous JYA's - we appreciated going through all of your left-overs and left-behinds yesterday. The hangers were much needed, and the Halloween decorations and costumes were quite a surprise.

Bad news- my inherited bike lacks working brakes and has 2 flat tires. I'm also missing the  key to the lock box in my room, which I don't think I ever received. I'm going to sort that out Monday.

Mucho love.

Arrival!

Friends!

I am currently writing to you from the computer room of Homerton College, in Cambridge, England. Until they have the internet up and running on my computer (which might be a few days), I won't have any pictures, but the place is gorgeous (and quite cold, and a bit rainy - but really beautiful).

We avoided all any major travel mishaps - J. and I met up with everyone except Anna in DC, and then once we landed in London, we found her pretty quickly in the airport. The journey to Cambridge even went pretty smoothly, minus an hour and a half delay. But, we arrived with enough daylight to get settled and see a bit of the city, and hopefully, an early night in - it looks like there is a lot to do tomorrow!

As I said, so far, England is really pretty and the people have been very friendly and helpful. It is surprisingly cold here, but the porters of the college (who resemble charming security guards) have promised me it is only a cold snap and that Cambridge should warm up again before winter really starts. We have about a week before classes begin, which is useful since I don't think any of us have a real handle on what we are supposed to do yet. 

The best (and most humorous) part? I was appointed Fire Warden for the hall and have a fabulous bright yellow emergency vest. Garner is my Deputy Warden (seriously). It had to be given to me because of the alphabet, because I'm sure my skills have nothing to do with it - I can barely lock my door yet! Either way - I'm pretty excited to exercise my new authority, and hopefully I'll be able to share some related pictures with you soon! (I think it's pretty funny and amazing).

That's all for now, love!

Above: The cake from our going away party.

We leave Tuesday, and will arrive in England roughly around midnight, Tuesday night. Keep us (and our luggage) in your thoughts!

almost there

Countdown - 5 days.

First set of travel plans ...

Trick: For cheap travel prices - www.kayak.com. I think it's easier than studentuniverse.com, and loads quicker. You should use that information to come visit. :)

John and I booked our first travel arrangements for the winter break. Before I head home to the States for Christmas, we're going to hit Amsterdam, Prague and Munich. Then he's going on to Paris, and we'll meet back up in St. Louis to fly to ROME, Italy to ring in 2008. Right now, we're planning on investing in a rail pass for Italy, absorbing the wonders of country, and then heading back to London. Want to come? (It's ROME! of course you do!)

Also - the packing has begun. Two bags for 10 months? Yikes.

2 weeks

The exchange rate is murderous.

For 300 pounds, it cost me around $650. That includes some bank fees, and might be hiked up a bit because I'm still in the US, but its a bit discouraging.

Here's hoping that the federal reserve will pull through for me in the next two months.