hey everyone! we made it!

our flight was pretty uneventful. it was really really long, and pretty difficult to sleep during, but we tried. we got to london just as scheduled, around 11:15, and made it through customs just fine. there was a little confusion as to whether or not we needed a stamp to let us work, but neither bill nor i is planning on working anywhere, so we got the one that says we're prohibited. after customs we made our way to the baggage claim area. turns out toronto is redoing its transfer area, and our luggage was left behind during our layover. this happened to what looked like half the people on our plane, but it actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. we were the first ones in line to claim that it was lost, filled out some paperwork, and headed over to the bus station.

we got to the bus station at 12:50, the time when the next bus to winchester was leaving. with no luggage, only carry-ons, we were able to run outside and catch it! (blessing in disguise #1) if we hadn't made it to that one, we'd have ended up hanging out in heathrow for two hours until the next bus came by. and while we have had endless practice at hanging out and wasting time in airports thanks to boston, we wanted to just get to school. at this point the no sleep for 24 hours was getting to us, and we both napped a little on the way to the school.

it took about an hour to get from london to winchester, where we encountered blessing in disguise #2. we got off the bus and wandered through a little garden for a few minutes, getting our bearings and checking out the area. then we went to the information booth. the girl there asked us if we were walking to the university, and we shrugged and said "ya, i guess so". so she took out a map and drew the route we needed to take to get to the campus.

ugh.

the entire high street of winchester is one giant hill. and it was 50 degrees and sunny outside. and we were exhausted. and the map was wrong...

we wandered around the top of the hill, looking for the giant block of red on the map that was supposed to be the campus. we took turns, and re-turns, and walked for about an hour, before realizing that the map was completely wrong, and we needed to take a little side street to get to the campus. so we did, and made it to reception, where we had to check in. thank god we didn't each have two giant suitcases with us! we'd have never made it! (later we found out the other kid from plymouth was told to just hop on a bus and get off at the school. lucky.)

at reception they were extremely nice! we got our keys, and student buddies showed us to our dorms. the dorm rooms here are incredible! we both live in alwyn hall. i live in the east wing and bill lives in the west. we each have a giant single, easily the size of a double in a hall like blair at home. we get a dresser, bookshelf, closet, desk, bed, and another closet with sink inside. its a brilliant innovation for dorm life!

that night (saturday), we went downtown with all the other american students and the buddies. they showed us around all the shops and we bought a few things that we were going to need since we had no luggage. finally we came back and crashed at about 8 o'clock. that jet lag was catching up with us!

on sunday we woke up around 10:30 and finally showered and put on some clean clothes that we had bought downtown. it felt so good to be human again! we had been stinky and tired for over 24 hours. haha

we headed back downtown again on sunday to check things out and try to find our way around on our own. we discovered where the castle is (right near the school!) and saw beautiful fountains and things. there's this whole area that you can cut through between school and downtown that is just gorgeous! pictures will be coming soon! :) and our luggage came! so we unpacked and settled in.

yesterday (monday) was pretty long. we had orientation all day, full of registering, and lectures from different people on campus. we also had a campus tour, but its such a tiny place that it seemed silly. we had already figured out where everything was. at least the day gave us a chance to meet all the other american exchange students and hang out with them.

last night i went out with all the girls on my floor. this floor for some reason just ended up with tons of females, so all nine of us went out last night, with rich, the other kid from plymouth. oddly enough, bill and i didn't meet him until saturday by chance. we never knew him at home. haha. they took us to a pub, but we didn't stay there for long. after that we went to the "club" of winchester. it was tons of fun! big comfy leather couches everywhere, and really fun music! apparently it was "cheese" music night, which means all the cheesy stuff like boy bands and nineties pop. it was hilarious! we danced and had fun til late, then walked home and all crashed. i really lucked out with the floor i'm on. they're all super friendly and include me in their plans all the time. some of the other americans haven't had such friendly welcomes in their dorms. nothing bad, but no real interaction either.

i guess that's all for now. its tuesday morning, and i'm just getting ready for the day. bill and i have a lot of little things we have to get done this afternoon. he's in class right now. look for pictures soon! i'm bringing my camera out this afternoon! :)

-cassie