After meeting our group at 10 we all walked to the nearest Underground stations at Russell Square (only a few blocks away) and all had to get Osyter Cards - basically a metrocard but you have to pay 5 pounds to get the card and then you add money or 'top up'. It took a long time for everyone to get them - there are 14 students in our history group- major tourist syndrome going on there.
When we got to KEW we all had to register to and learn about how to look at documents and all of that exciting history stuff. It was pretty amazing to think about all of the documents that are stored in that one building. We didn't spend much time there but I assume most of us will be headed back there on Tuesday to get started on our research.
In the afternoon we went out to find the Brunswick shopping center which is just a few blocks away. There, we got cell phones and some more grocery shopping. The phone plans here are much easier than in the US- for 20 pounds we got phones, 100 min and 300 text message for the month and then you can always 'top up' and add money for more if it runs out and then each month you get another 100 min and 300 text for 10 pounds. You also only pay for outgoing calls/text messages which is much easier than in the US with 10 cents for outgoing texts and 5 cents for received texts or whatever it is. It's nice to know that now if we get desperately lost we can call someone to help. A nice reassurance.
Last night we went out to a pub called O'Neills which was just a short walk away from our flat. It was really fun and thanks to Emily we managed to get there and back without getting lost!
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| Just a friendly reminder that we are in a big city now and not Hamilton, NY! |
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| Emily and I at O'Neills! |
Embarrassing Moment of the Day
So there's revolving door to get into KEW and on the way out I was pushing the door and it was super heavy (or so i thought) and wasn't really moving so I started to push it with a good deal of force and it finally moved forward but then the door sort of collapsed as I stepped out- I dont really know because I was facing the other direction walking out of the doorway as it came apart. Everyone was laughing and making fun of me obviously and our professor was absolutely mortified. Apparently, it's some safety feature and just pops back in but still- it was pretty bad.
Yes, isn't cell phone usage much more civilized in Europe than the US? Besides the ease of getting them and topping up, that phone and SIM card will work all over Europe.
ReplyDeleteWhat I like about how London prepares us Yanks for walking around the city is all the signs on the crosswalks warning you which way the cars are coming from. (Also the funny "Mind the Gap!" warnings in the Tube.)
I never dared to drive in the UK, though -- always too worried about misdirected reactions in a crisis moment, perhaps swerving INTO something instead of away from it.