Things have been so hectic that I've barely had time to sleep, let alone update this blog! I'll do better, though, I promise.

Well ... I'm here, and it's wonderful. It didn't start out that way, though. When we arrived at Heathrow, it was misty and gusting wind. We ended up doing a pub crawl that night, which meant frequenting a few pubs in the area. Being that I don't drink and it seemed like everyone else did and also that I was beyond exhausted (I slept for maybe an hour on the plane ride over), I just kind of lost it. I got back to the flat and burst into tears. I'm so close to my family anyway, and being so far away for so long just seemed terrifying. I think it hit me then that I wouldn't see them for three and a half months. It kind of hit me when I had to leave my dad at the airport, but it DEFINITELY hit me then. I thought I was going to die.

However, sleep and sun can do wonders to you. The next day (Sunday) was very nice and we took a tour bus around London. We were set free at two to roam in Piccadilly Circus, so I went off with three girls from Tennessee, Lara, Melissa and Charity. Car, just for you there was a Spanish festival, where we saw a four-story human pyramid and dancing horses.

Yesterday we had orientation for our British Life and Cultures class at 8:30 and then we also met with our International Issues class led by our Mizzou professor, Clyde Bentley. He seemed really nice and laidback. Things are looking very positive in the journalism direction. :) After that, we had a few travel people come in and talk to us about weekend trips. There are just so many opportunities that it was overwhelming. I think next weekend I might head off to a lodge by the sea in Wales to do cliff-jumping and surfing.

Today, Katie (my roommate) and I headed back to Piccadilly Circus to wander. Before she left, her friends gave her a present that had 50 London cards with different things to do on each of them. Her goal is to do all of the activities on the cards, so we got Card #1 out of the way today. We found some old record shops and browsed for shoes. At 2 o'clock, we find out what our internships are, so Katie and I will be heading over to the school in a bit for that. I'M SO SCARED! The internship will be such a huge part of this trip. I hope I get a good one.

My flatmates are wonderful. I couldn't ask for any better ones. Katie and I share a room on the bottom floor that's probably half the size of my room at home. Katie is from Mizzou and is actually the one I'll be sharing a house with when I go back in January. She's really sweet and quiet. We get along great. The other two girls are Diana and Nichole. They go to a small private college in Naperville, Ill., and are both into theater. Diana's boyfriend Jon is also on this trip and he spends most of the evenings with us in our living room. Again, very nice kid.

The flat is nice, if not a bit dirty and small. Nichole described our bathroom to her parents like this: If you sit on the toilet, you can wash your hands in the sink and stretch out your legs and wash your feet in the shower at the same time. You're hard pressed to fit two people in the kitchen, too. We have a mini fridge which is hard for 4 people to share, plus there were bits of mold growing on the egg cases and drawers. Ick. The living room is really big and has two armchairs, a couch, a TV and TV stand (that doesn't work.. yet), and a computer table and chair. Diana and Nichole's room is upstairs, and the staircase is right by our door. They call their new abode "the midget room" because once you walk up the stairs, the ceiling goes up to your shoulders. You have to duck down to walk across the room. They thought it was the coolest thing until they figured out that it's very difficult to pull on a pair of jeans while hunched over. By far, the greatest part of our flat is the balcony. Katie and I can access it from our room and we can also access it from the living room. At night, when we're all sitting in the living room talking, we'll open the doors and get a nice breeze. Lawn chairs are also sitting on the deck, so Jon has fallen asleep there a few times.

We live in one of the poshest areas of London, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Apparently Elton John lives right up the street, and if I see him, I might just die. I still need to find out Jude Law's place of residence, so don't worry, Ames - I'm right on that.

I got ahold of Dickon last night on the phone and we made tentative plans to have dinner together on Thursday night. I'm so excited! For those of you who don't know, I met Dickon via facebook about a year and a half ago and we've been good friends ever since. He lives and works in London, too. It will be nice to finally meet him! I also have plans to meet Perry for afternoon tea on Thursday. I can't wait!! Thursday should just be wonderful in general.

Katie and I are about to head off to our internship meeting. Wish me luck! I'll update soon. Love and miss you all.