random observations

I've learned a lot about the British culture since I've been in London but two things in particular have stuck out. The first is that you should never ask anyone here how something compares to the way it is in the US. I was getting my hair cut and when the lady asked how long I wanted it on the sides I asked if the units are the same here as they are back home. I thought this was a valid question because I don't even know what the units are (I always just ask for a 5) and I just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to end up with a shaved head. Her witty response was "yeah, they're the same, and we even have running water!" One of our tech guys from Chicago elicited the exact same response when he asked a guy here if they have FedEx. The exact same response, word for word!

The second thing I've learned is that Christmas must be a huge deal here since I've already seen at least ten bars advertising for parties. I thought that Thanksgiving was early in the US! It almost seems like Christmas here is an equivalent party holiday to New Years for us. I guess I probably shouldn't ask them about it though, becuase who knows what reaction I'll get.

good day, bad day, great day

Today felt like a roller coaster. It started alright- I found my groove in the morning and actually felt like I was getting a lot done, but right around lunch everything started piling up. I have about eight different projects I'm working on and I've managed to stay fairly organized, but the woman I've been mostly working with kept coming to me with about ten issues for each of my eight projects, so by mid-afternoon I felt like I was drowning. It was like the book "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day." I figured things my day was totally ruined but it actually improved quite drastically after I left work.

The nice part about really tough days like today is that when you finally leave it feels like you're being let out of jail, or class on the last day before summer. I decided to treat myself tonight and go to an actual restaurant. I've sort of been trying to stay away from them because I don't really want to be the single person sitting in the corner, but I couldn't face eating another prawn mayonnaise sandwich or some bland Indian wrap, so I found a restaurant online that looked pretty good and made a reservation. I've been trying to spend as little money as possible but since everything here seems to be at least twice as expensive, that hasn't been working out so well. Even a pre-packaged sandwich, 7-Eleven style, costs around $6, and I've realized you can't live on those for long!

The place that I picked served Mediterranean food that wasn't fantastic by any means, but I was happy to eat anything that wasn't between sandwiched between two slices of bread or stuffed in some sort of wrap. The restaurant was really nice inside and it was so relaxing to sit there in the dim light and listen to the piano music in the background. I picked and houmous and falafel appetizer from their prix-fixe menu that included a glass of champagne, and added a glass of wine with my seafood risotto. I said it wasn't anything special but I guess it was decent since my mouth is watering just thinking about it again! The pianist played all sorts of classics like Steve Wonder, the Beatles, Billy Joel, and even Bob Marley, but I knew my night was complete when she started playing Phil Collins.

I'm definitely getting used to living in London and sometimes I start to take it for granted, but as I was enjoying the music and sipping my wine, it hit me again how amazingly lucky I am to have an opportunity like this. Even though I'm here to work and sometimes it can be really stressful, I can count the times like this morning on one hand and the rest of my time here has been pretty much perfect. I enjoy my work the cast majority of the time, but I really couldn't have asked for a better job straight out of school, whether because of the millions of opportunities within our company, the invaluable experience I'm gaining in the business world, or the traveling. I just need to keep that in mind when I feel like everything is crumbling, like this morning.

Back from Paris

I wrote this on Tuesday the 18th so basically I'm really lazy....
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I was going to be responsible and do my expenses but it turns out I don't yet have java installed on my computer and my internet connection cuts out about every minute and a half so downloading it right now is not an option. I guess I could try to watch some tv but out of my 20 channels about 10 of them are home shopping networks so that's usually a fruitless endeavor. I've realized that my blogs are all pages long and I don't think anyone but my mom wants to read it all so I'll try to shorten them somewhat. We'll see how that works....

I've been pretty busy since I got back from Paris. I had a couple deadlines at work towards the beginning of the week so I stayed later a couple of nights to get things done but the end of the week was a different story. Long story short, I think I've been out every night since Wednesday. That night after work I went out with a bunch of people that I work with at the client site and we went to a bar across the street and then to a restaurant where I had my first taste of Persian cuisine. As I said before it seems like most of the people I've met so far have been from outside the UK. One of them is Persian by heritage, grew up in Germany, went to school in the US, then worked in Amsterdam and now London and he recommended this place to us. I had no idea what I was ordering but it had lamb as a main ingredient so I knew it couldn't possibly be bad, and I wasn't disappointed. I like going out with them because we never really have a chance to talk or get to know each other at work.

My parents have a few friends in London from their days in the Peace Corps and whatnot and I went out with one of their daughters and her boyfriend for some drinks on Thursday night. She works right by my flat so we went to some bars just north of me. I guess one of them is one of the oldest bars in London and then the second one was more of a typically relaxed hang out place. We all somehow ended up having a discussion about American politics and how it relates to the British. Not your normal bar conversation but interesting nonetheless. Her boyfriend does film editing for a company that makes a lot of the documentaries for the History Channel so it was fun talking to him about that.

I woke up on Friday feeling like crap and after I thought about it for a while I realized it's probably because the beers here are all 20 ounces. I had four which would have been fine if they'd been 12 or 16 like in the US but I guess that extra amount makes a big difference. Steve's theory is that they never wash the taps here so that might be part of it. Anyway I had to do a training session for 25 people at Thomson that afternoon so I was a little worried in the morning but by the time the afternoon rolled around I was feeling fine. I was a little nervous anyway but after I thought about it for a little while I realized that I've already done so many training sessions that I really had nothing to worry about. I actually prefer doing them in person rather than over the phone because it's easier to guage the people and determine how fast or slow to go. Anyway it went well and I had some time after to meet with Romain and Steve and go over some of their questions.

Friday night I went out with Romain and Steve to some bars that Steve recommended. It was fun because they were a little more upscale from your regular old pub. The second one we went to was an old bank or something with huge ceilings and giant pillars and the like so that was pretty cool. Steve left with his girlfriend and Romain and I went to a little club/bar in Soho that had breakdancing and funk music and stuff. It was a nice change because it felt like the people there were actually there to have a good time and not just to pick up girls and look pretty. Afterwards I had the best burger/baguette ever from Burger King, believe it or not. It was weird because the bread actually was a baguette and the patties were next to each other instead of stacked like the normally are. Crazy foreigners.

I was going to take it easy on Saturday and I guess I did for the most part. I woke up around noon and meandered down to the Camden market which is apparently the place to see the entire goth population of London. However it was also the biggest market I've ever seen. I had read about it before and pictured it being in the middle of a big square but it literally filled every single street and alley in the neighborhood. Right when I thought I was getting to the end, it would turn a corner and keep going.

After about three hours of exploring I had to leave because Romain invited me to a dinner party that his cousin was putting on at his place. She was a little older, as were her friends, but we all had a good time. She actually works for Thomson also so most of her friends were from there too. It seemed like they were relatively high up and I figured it would be a relatively laid back party... until they broke out the hundreds of bottles of fine French wine. I stayed relatively sober and it was hilarious watching everyone else. Is this where I'll be in ten years? Partying in a nice ass flat on the balcony of a house overlooking the city of London with a bunch of my friends? I don't think I would object.

After Saturday I was really planning on taking it easy on Sunday by going to the Tate Modern museum, but as usual I got sidetracked. This time it was by a giant end-of-summer festival going on along the river. The thing must have stretched two miles along the south bank of the Thames and it was full of street performers, food vendors, stalls selling all sorts of artwork and random stuff, live music, and an assortment of pretty much every type of person you could think of. It was perfect weather so I really couldn't have asked for anything more. Later there was a crazy Mardi Gras style parade with just about every culture you could think of represented. One of the cool things was that they didn't really have floats, but everyone was wearing these giant peacock-like contraptions with sequins and lights and feathers and stuff all over them. There was tons of music and everyone was dancing and having a blast. Hopefully my pictures will give you at least an idea of the party! The parade was followed by fireworks, but I must say, after seeing Chicago's Fourth of July show this year, not many fireworks shows will impress me. That being said, they only lasted five minutes and they weren't even that big. The rest of the day made up for it though.

Today was work as usual but when I was done I went straight down to the National Theater to see one of the free concerts that they put on every night. It was an Argentinian duo playing tango music on some sort of accordion thing and guitar. I was expecting it to be on one of the stages but it turned out it was in one of the common areas by a bar and coffee shop, which was nice because it made it more informal. It was fun to go out and relax somewhere other than my flat after work.

I swear, every day I spend in this city I love it more and more! Everyone here keeps telling me that I probably know the city better than they do because I'm doing all of the tourist stuff, and I guess that makes sense. I know I'm only going to be here for a couple months so I'm trying to do everything at once whereas they all figure they'll have time to do it later. I need to remember this when I get back to Chicago so that I go out and do everything that I've been missing out on. Even so, I feel like this city feels way bigger (kind of like New York) and I would never run out of different things to do. Anyway, I have a mile-long list of things to do so for anyone that comes to visit.

This was definitely not any shorter than my other posts but hopefully I'll start writing a little every couple of days so it doesn't all pile up and I've already added some of the pictures from the parade.

Thames Festival 9.17.2006

Sep 12, 2006 - 16 Photos

Mes voyages à Paris!

Yeah, so I almost missed my train to Paris on Friday night. I figured an hour and a half would be plenty of time for me to get home from work, throw a few final things in my backpack, and take a cab to the train station but I ended up getting there only 15 minutes before the train was supposed to leave. Luckily security is pretty much non-existent on the trains and I had just enough time to throw my bag through the scanner, tell the French gendarme that I was just visiting for the weekend, and flop into my seat before the train left the station. I was kind of surprised that most of the other people on the train were French. Maybe they all work in London during the week and head home to party on the weekends? Either way I almost felt like I was traveling again like last summer even though for some reason Paris never really felt as foreign as it had the last few times I'd traveled there. Maybe it was because I was only going for two days or because it's only two and a half hours away from where I live but I definitely didn't expect that.

Once I stepped off the train though it was as if I had never left. The station looked exactly as it had when I was there last summer and everything even smelled familiar. I walked around the station for 45 minutes trying to find an ATM or even remember the word for ATM in French but I didn't care- I was just happy to be back. I think the American woman behind me in line for the ticket machine was about to have a panic attack and I probably would have as well if I hadn't known at least a little French. I say “a little” because even though I took French for 5 years it's been a while since I heard or spoke it and the real French people don't actually speak in simple sentences like my teachers led me to believe. Once I was on the Metro and on the way to my hotel I finally had a chance to relax and it hit me that I was actually in Paris again.

Climbing out of the Metro station in the the Place de St Michel in the heart of the Latin quarter made me feel even more as if I had never left. The Gibert Jaune book shops were still there, the crepe stands and gyros shops hadn't left, and the crowds were exactly as I had remembered them. My hotel was right in the heart of all of this mayhem (as you can see from my pictures) which I guess could be good or bad, depending on how you look at it. If you're there with your family or you have a hard time sleeping with any noise then you might hate it but this place couldn't get any more perfect for me. Late into the night you can hear the crowds, the guitar players singing Greek ballads in the Mediterranean restaurants, and the breaking plates in the Greek tradition. Even if I ever did start to get annoyed all I would have had to do was think about the restaurants selling gyros right outside my hotel door. Gyros are a little different here but mostly because they add French fries inside the pita, which obviously couldn't make anything worse.

Saturday and Sunday I spent walking around the city, exploring places I'd never been before and revisiting the ones I loved the most. Saturday I probably walked about 10 miles from my hotel by Notre Dame to the Arc de Triomphe, back down to the Pont des Invalides, across the Seine to la Tour d'Eiffel, back up to the Arc and down the Champs Elysees again, and finally back to my hotel. For lunch I had a four cheese pizza which might sound no different than any pizza in the US except that this one had mozzarella, Roquefort, chevre, and camembert. They must have just thrown huge chunks of cheese on top because it still had the melted skins from each different type of cheese on top. So good!

For dinner I bought some tomato herb bread, a slab of goat cheese “avec plus de goute”, and a bottle of white wine and had a picnic in the shadows of the Eiffel Tower. Last time I visited I did the same and I think I will every time I return. There's no better way to people-watch and see the Parisians at their best. Somehow they all hang out with their friends or do their own thing but in a really unselfconscious and nonexclusive way where I felt like I could have gone up and talked to anyone. Also it truly is the city of romance and it seemed like everyone was there with their significant other. I had my wine and cheese and dreams of gyros later so I was mostly content but it was kind of sad because when I visited last summer I was with Julia and being on my own felt kind of empty. I miss my travel buddy....

Sunday was much the same although I mostly explored more places I'd never been before. After a breakfast of crepes I went to the Pompidou Museum of modern art, as my dad suggested, and hung out there for a while. I'm glad I went even though modern art ends up disturbing me pretty much most of the time. I really liked the photography and video parts of it though. One room was entirely lit with a deep pink glow with flapping curtains on either side flanking a giant red boot. I think I like the minimalist stuff like that the most. After that I walked around the neighborhood for a while and made my way over to the Parc Monceau, as my aunt suggested, close to l'Arc de Triomph. She described it as a quintessential Parisian park and she was absolutely right. I couldn't believe how many people were out and about and I feel like that's something you'll rarely find in the US. The grassy areas were packed with people sunbathing and playing soccer and having picnics. As I said before, somehow everyone seems to do their own thing but in a sort of inviting way were you feel like you'd be welcomed in any group. Even walking around by myself I didn't feel alone. After that I walked down the Champs Elysees one last time before heading back to my hotel to pick up my backpack and have a final croque monsieur.

This time I got to the train station with enough time to enjoy the duty free shops and restaurants and rest for a little bit before boarding. The ride back was sort of relaxing because I'd been doing stuff the entire weekend and it was weird because I felt like I was coming home when I stepped off the train in London. It was even a relief to hear the English accent after struggling to not look like an American fool in France the entire weekend! However, even though being in Paris is never easy, I have the time of my life when I'm there. There are many cities I'd like to live- Chicago, New York, Rome, and now London to name a few- but Paris more than any, even if it's only for a year or two. My goal is to be there within ten years. I guess I'd better start taking French again.

I wrote last time about how I was talking to Romain about the French attitude towards everyone in general. I know I was there on a weekend and mostly hanging out in the most social areas but I talked to more random people this weekend than I have during my entire time in London. I think the key is to try to blend in and make as much of an effort as you can to be a part of their culture and they'll happily accept you. There were a few people who definitely were not pleased to repeat themselves when I asked them to speak “doucement” but the fact that I was even trying (and failing miserably) made most of them at least smile. Also maybe I looked a little French because at least five people asked me in French for directions or where to find the best bars or to borrow a pen or whatever. It felt pretty good those few times when I could actually respond to them in complete sentences without asking them to repeat themselves.

I had a blast and now I'm back to work but I'm not sad in the slightest because I know I have much ahead of me. I still have tons of places to explore in London, forget about the rest of the UK. I'll put up some of my pictures from Paris tomorrow (only a few of the 150) and I promise I'll put up pictures of my flat one of these days!

Mes voyages a Paris

Sep 5, 2006 - 30 Photos

London Waterloon to Paris Nord

I can't believe I'm going to Paris tonight! How cool is it that it's close enough to do a weekend trip? I'm also really excited about riding the Eurostar and going 180 mph. (Random thought: I was watching the geovision speedometer on my plane when we landed and we were only going about 120 mph. That's a lot slower than I would have thought! I guess that just shows how important the wings on race cars are to provide down force. Anyway, back to Paris...) I already have a short list of things to do while I'm there but does anyone have anything in particular? I've been to most of the big monuments but I'll probably go back to the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees as well as the Eiffel Tower. I think I'll also probably go to the museum of modern art since I've never been. Actually now that I think about it, maybe I won't have time for anything else!

The last few days have been a lot of fun. Wednesday I went into the Thomson office again for a meeting to compare the quality of our old data sets with the new Thomson ones that we'll be integrating. They wanted me there to write up queries on the fly and at first I was nervous because there were about 15 people watching me intently and I thought my knowledge of MarketQA might crack under the pressure but I quickly realized I had nothing to worry about. It's nice being the only person over here who really knows the program because everyone's always impressed and I get to feel important (basically they just love me for my sweet computer hacking skills!). Anyway I'm loving the responsibility at both the client site and Thomson and it's awesome being able to contribute something that nobody else can. Sometimes I still feel like I'm just pretending to be a real person with a real job but that's happening less and less the longer I'm here.

Last night I went with Steve the Australian and Romain the new support guy to a bar close to the main Thomson office here and had a blast. It was the first time that I went out with anyone else and it felt good not to be wandering around on my own (although that's fun too). Everyone's been saying that I should just go out to the pubs by myself and meet people but I've noticed (and Steve and Romain said the same) that people here are fairly cliquey and it's hard to break into their groups. For example when all of the pubs are spilling into the streets after work, you can see distinct groups of people huddled together and it seems like there's never really any mingling going on. I'd have a hard time meeting people at the bars in the US where people actually mix so I feel like it would be impossible here. I figure I'll start my own clique with Steve and Romain because who really needs anyone else anyway?? Steve had some pretty hilarious stories about his shenanigans in Australia and London and I talked to Romain for a while about the American and French attitudes towards each other and the rest of the world. I said that Americans have the impression that the French don't like them and are unfriendly and he said that that's just a cultural difference. Apparently the French act the same way towards their own but they just expect it to be that way so it doesn't bother them. His example was service in a restaurant- he said in America waiters are more friendly than the ones in France because waiting tables is generally a summer job or something temporary in America while in France its full time and more permanent. Americans interpret the French attitude as rudeness towards them in particular but really they're like that to everyone. Interesting stuff- I never thought about it that way. Anyway both of them are fun to hang out with and they both said they'd they're always looking for stuff to do also so I'm sure we'll all be spending some time together.

I haven't yet taken any pictures of the inside of my flat because it's basically looked like a tornado hit it since I moved in. I finally put my clothes away though so I'm making some progress. I'll try to post some pictures next week sometime along with the ones from Paris. Also if anyone wants a post card, send me your address because I don't have any of them here with me.

Settling in.

So yesterday and today have been a little busier and more stresseful than the rest but it just shows that nothing's perfect. Yesterday I went in to the Thomson office here and met with my bosses in London and several people from another team who's data I need to integrate into my client's database. It was nice because I actually got to meet the people I've been talking to on the phone and through email for the last month. I also met the new guy who they've hired to essentially recreate our support team over here as well as several other people who work in the office.

I commented in my last post on how many different countries are represented over here and you can even see that in the offices I've visited. Out of the 8 people I deal with directly at the client site only one is British, and it's the same way at Thomson. The new guy is French, the guy who's cubical is next to mine is Spanish, the new sales guy Steve is Australian, and so on. It's nice becuase I may feel totally foreign right now but most everyone else has gone through the same experience fairly recently so they all jump at the chance to recommend a pub or festival or fun or unique to do. Eduardo, the Spanish guy, actually told me about the festival that I had planned on going to on Sunday before I could even mention it! Still, most of the people I've met are a little older or live further from the center of the city so I doubt I'll have many chances to hang out with them. Steve the Australian is one I'm excited about though since he's already mentioned how he almost got arrested multiple times in the US for drinking outside bars and how Thursday nights are basically the beginning of the weekend around here. It was cool seeing him becuase I met him and trained him on our software while he was in Chicago right before I came out here.

On another note I just made my reservation on a Eurostar train from London to Paris for this Friday! I'll be staying at L'Hotel Les Argonautes, the same hotel I was at last summer, right in the Latin Quarter a block from the Seine and two blocks from Notre Dame. On top of all that it's above a greek restaurant and it's only $60! Seriously if any of you ever visit Paris and stay somewhere else without a damn good reason I might not be your friend anymore. You'll definitely be seeing pictures of this place soon!

While the rest of you might be about to leave work or eat dinner, I'm about to pass out. I have another meeting at the Thomson office tomorow and then a project I need to finish for my client so it'll be another long day. I'll try and take some pictures of the area around my office building tomorrow if I get a chance.

tourist in my own city

8/30 - 9/3/2006

So I just put some of my laundry in my washer/dryer and I have no idea what any of the settings that I made mean so we'll see how it turns out. I probably should have tested it on some socks first or something but oh well.... It seems like the outfit to go out in on Friday or Saturday night consists of expensive-looking jeans, a nice jacket of some sort, and a nice shirt and shoes, of which I only have the shirt and shoes so I should probably go shopping anyway.

It's almost the start of my second week here and things have been going pretty well so far, although never as planned. I've been trying to think ahead about things to do so that I don't get bored during the time before I find people to hang out with, but so far it looks like I won't have to worry. Every time I have a few things thought out I end up getting sidetracked and doing 10 others. For example, my plan on Friday night was to get out of work, come back to my apartment, go to this Turkish restaurant that I read about in my guidebook, rent a movie, and go to bed. However rather than coming straight home and going to dinner I ended up exploring the area around my apartment for a while and never made it to the Turkish restaurant. My eventual cuisine? Indian- not because I couldn't find the Turkish place, but because I found this other place first. (On a side note, I'm watching the news right now and it turns out that the Tube stop where I got off for the restaurant was the same one where the terrorist bombings occurred last year and the memorial was Saturday. I was wondering why there was so much construction going on....)

After dinner I was going to look for this movie rental place that I saw online but I couldn't find it so I decided to wander around downtown London for a while instead. I'm glad I did because I stumbled on the West End which is the happening place at night and ended up walking around for 4 hours just taking everything in. I had already explored a little after work during the week but not this area and I was amazed by how many people were out. It was just as crowded as Michigan Avenue in Chicago, only it was midnight and this was every street in the neighborhood! While exploring I found a Virgin Megastore where I bought a movie I'd been meaning to see for a while which I watched later when I got home. I'm not going to lie, I was worried about being lonely and feeling useless here since I don't know anyone to hang out with yet but I really couldn't be happier. There's so much to do in this city that I know I won't run out of things to do or places to explore even if I don't end up meeting and going out with people, so I'm not worried in the slightest.

Saturday and Sunday were also good examples of my planning gone awry. Saturday I had planned on taking a bus tour around London, walking around the South Bank of the Thames (because I had heard from various people that this was a fun area), and possibly finding some live music to listen to. I bought a ticket for the bus tour and was going to do the whole thing in it's entirety and then backtrack to the places I found interesting, but the Tower of London was too much to pass up so spent a couple hours there before completing the tour. I'll be honest- I was expecting to be impressed by the crown jewels but they still blew me away. I've seen lots of diamonds before never any so huge or so many in one place! I also did an audio tour and I must say, people might look dumb wearing them and walking around in their own little worlds but the two that I've done so far (Chambord in France was the other) have been amazing! I could have read about the history from a guidebook but it wouldn't have been the same. In the end I decided that taking the bus tour was a great decision even though it seems like an über touristy thing to do because it really helped me get my bearings in the city and pinpoint the places I'd like to revisit.

After dinner and an authentic English Stella I walked around the West End some more and ventured a little further out than I had on Friday. Although I had a blast I probably should have bought a more detailed map because it seems like no street in London goes in a straight line for more than a few hundred feet and I definitely walked past the same place a couple times trying to find my way back home. I was amazed again by how many people were out and also by the fact that it seems like at least a third of the people I overhear on the streets are from other countries. I guess I really shouldn't be surprised though since the UK is such a relatively small country compared to the US and is so close to so many hundreds of other cultures.

My three activities for Sunday that I had decided on during the bus tour were to watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, go to a Latin music street festival that I had read about in my Time Out magazine, and go to the evensong service at Westminster Abbey. None of these things happened and I wasn't the least bit disappointed. I set my alarm for 8:30 but forgot to turn it on so I missed the changing of the guard and decided to try taking one of the other bus tour routes with the rest of my 24 hour pass instead. After breakfast and a coffee I walked to one of the bus stops but remembered that my pass included a river boat tour so I scrapped the bus tour and did that instead. Like Saturday I planned on doing the tour in it's entirety and continuing to the festival and Westminster Abbey, but Greenwich looked like fun from the boat so I decided to explore there for a while. I'm really glad I did because I had a blast wandering around the town, exploring their little market, and straddling the Prime Meridian at the Royal Observatory. The weather was beautiful and I really couldn't have asked for a better day. I even stumbled on a full-blown bike race! I was wondering why the police suddenly cleared the streets until the pace cars with their bikes on top flew passed, followed by the bikers themselves. On the news tonight everyone was making a big deal about it because it's a sort of practice run for the London Olympics in a few years

After the boat tour ended I had planned on finding some dinner and heading home but there turned out to be a semi rave going on underneath one of the bridges across the Thames right downtown. What??? And this is only the coolest example of the random crap that I keep running across. Who would have expected to find a rave complete with the quintessential grungy crowd and random drunks and pill poppers right underneath the shadows of the parliament and Big Ben??

My experience in London prior to this was right after high school when I came here with my family at the end of our European vacation, and I really wasn't that impressed. It seemed too similar to the US and not exotic enough and although I was really excited about returning here to work for a couple months I wasn't expecting that perception to change. I was wrong, and even though it may be true that London's culture is the most similar to the US out of any international city, it's not the US and believe it or not, I'm even having a little bit of culture shock (the electrical outlets that you have to individually turn on had me and my TV and stereo stumped for two days, not to mention the washing machine that I'll soon discover if I understood enough not to ruin my clothes). I had expected to travel through the rest of Europe on most of my weekends here and I definitely will somwhat, but now that I know there is so much to do here I want to stick around and experience the place that I live.

My main plans for the coming weeks are to pick up my visa in either Paris or Amsterdam, rent a motorcycle and ride around London, visit Devon in western England, and possibly my friend Dennis from work who's in Sweden with his wife's family. Judging from how well I've stuck with my plans so far however who knows what will actually happen. The one plan that I intend to follow through with is to keep documenting my journey so you'll find out the outcome soon enough. Let me know how things are going back in the US!

Here are some of the pictures from my first week.

Sep 5, 2006 - 19 Photos

and no snakes!

8/28-29/2006

so my journey has gotten off to a good start so far. i got my luggage checked and went through security with only about 45 minutes to spare which was nice because i didn't have a lot of waiting to do. i had been planning on getting some stuff done before boarding the plane but at least i had time to get a bottle of water and a sandwich. i've never traveled with this many bags but so far it hasn't been much of a hassle. i was kind of worried that they wouldn't let me take both my laptop and suit bag on the plane but no one even commented on it.

i was also extremely lucky on two other accounts. the first was that my seat ended up being broken so that it wouldn't recline and the second was that the weather in chicago was horrible. why would this make me lucky you might ask? well i wasn't lucky enough to snag a business class seat and the coach seats are tiny and even though i was in a row with only two seats there was a guy sitting next to me and hardly any room to move. the fact that my seat was broken meant that the flight attendant volunteered to look for another seat for me, and (so she explained) the bad weather meant that a bunch of the connecting flights were delayed and there were a bunch of extra seats on the plane. long story short, she moved me to a window seat further up the plane to a row where i was the only person and had room to stretch out. not so bad!

now i'm sitting on the plane watching "the inside man" and typing on my laptop until i get tired enough fall asleep or the battery dies. even though i have to go straight to work when i arrive i've accepted the fact that i'll be tired as hell and it couldn't possible be that bad could it? anyway it looks like i'll just be copying files from the hard drive and dvds that i'm bringing along and all i have to do after work is meet the leasing agent to pick up my keys. i'm excited about the whole thing so no matter what i go through i don't think it will be that bad. how can i complain when i'm being sent to london for two months?