Hello from London!

From Wednesday, October 1, 2008:

Hello, all! I hope that everything is going well back in the States! I am having an INCREDIBLE time in London. Living here is definitely a big change from Jacksonville (understatement of the year), and I absolutely love taking the tube and walking around in the midst of so much history.

After I arrived on September 21st, I spent 3 days at the Thistle Euston Hotel for orientation. During that time, I went to the British Library where the Gutenberg Bible, Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks, the Magna Carta, and The Beatles' original lyrics were on display. Also, some of you may remember the time that I fell in love with Jane Austen's book Persuasion...I got to see the original manuscript!! I also went to see the show Billy Elliott at Victoria Palace...my program provided all of us with free tickets! This kid couldn't have been more than 12 years old, but he was an absolutely amazing dancer. I LOVED it.

After orientation, I spent 3 days living with a family in Swansea, Wales. The couple I stayed with was so friendly and hospitable, and they have an 8-year old daughter who I got along with very well. I went to Gower and Mumbles, which are absolutely gorgeous. Most of my photos are from my stay in Wales.

The bus ride back from Wales was quite an experience. What was supposed to be a 4 hour trip turned into a 10 hour disaster--it turns out that our bus driver was not from London and didn't know where anything was. We ended up completely lost in the outskirts of London, and when we finally made it back to central London, our bus got stuck when we tried to turn on a narrow road. One of our group members got out and directed traffic, and we eventually backed out of the turn and continued to drive down the street in reverse until we found somewhere that the bus could fit. When I finally made it to my dorm at 7:00 pm, I realized that I had no bedding and that the stores closed at 5:00. So, I bundled up some sweaters for a pillow and slept under my winter coat on the bare mattress...until the fire alarm went off at 3 am and our entire dorm had to go stand outside in the London drizzle for a half hour. Haha, it was QUITE a day!

Also, something interesting: out of the 19 students from across the US who are in my program, 1 of them is a student at Illinois College! He says he took your class, Karen Dean, and you're the reason that he's interested in politics. His name is Andrew Tepavchevich. Small world!

If you would like to look at all of my photos, go to this site: http://picasaweb.google.com/MariaKristineRoth/WelcomeToGreatBritain# I'll add photos as I have more incredible experiences!

I love you all very, very much, and I hope that you have a beautiful October! I'll continue to update you on what's happening with me! God bless!

Love,
Maria