This is the message I wrote 2 weeks ago and sent out over email. I will post it here for you to enjoy. Check back for more updates on my adventure!
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Cheers from London!
I just completed the longest leg of my journey to Milan! According to my watch it’s been about 18 hours since I took off from Seattle... but, because of the time difference it’s actually been about 10 hours since take off. Before I left my parents kept reminding me that it wouldn’t be too bad of a flight since it's actually not that long.... Well, it’s the longest flight I have ever been on and they know how fidgety I get on car trips. I guess it’s easy for them to say it’s an easy flight because when they come to visit me in 3 months they will be sitting in business class. I guess I will find out how they feel later on.
Taking long flights with considerable time changes is much more disorienting than I thought. I closed my little window to fall asleep about 2 hours into the flight. I wasn't tired but it was already dark and I knew I needed to get some sleep so I can keep up with European time. I was flying over the great state of North Dakota when I finally fell asleep. According to my IPod it was around 9:00pm Seattle time. That was the earliest I've gone to bed in a longggg time. I was in and out of sleep over the next few hours. To my astonishment when I decided to wake up it was 8:30am…London time. For those of you know don't know better that correlates to about midnight Seattle time. Initially, I was so proud of myself for sleeping through the night but I soon came to realize that was definitely not the case. So, all in all, I maybe slept 2 and a half hours.
My lovely smelly seatmates were fast asleep just as I needed to get up to stretch out and begin some much needed work. Needless to say, neither of those things happened. I may or may not have bedsores from not standing up for 10 hours. Also, it was about 120 degrees in my cabin (obviously super conducive to a good night sleep). British Air was nice enough to provide me with a pillow, blanket, eye mask and toothbrush/toothpaste combo pack. One thing that they forgot was to provide some air. In that kind of heat I expect to get a tan. That didn’t happen either.
Now, no more complaining. How could I complain when I am about to start an incredible adventure? I can’t! That’s why even the long and smelly parts of this travel so far have been tolerable. Also, my mom assures me that I will smell much worse on my first metro ride when I have a large smelly Milanese man standing next to me with his armpit in my face. She loves to keep things in perspective.
I was hoping for an internet connection here in London but, I have had no such luck. I have a mini Italian dictionary with me so I am planning out all of my dialogue for the next 24 hours. There is no way I will be able to sting sentences together but I am hoping to get by with a few random words. I pray that they meet me halfway with this whole conversation thing. I am not sure what to expect in terms of conversing with the Italians when the extent of my Italian knowledge is what I have learned from Gilly sketches on Saturday Night Live. (http://www.hulu.com/watch/101509/saturday-night-live-gilly---art-class). At least you can laugh from home when I post about these lovely first encounters. I hope you will find it extremely entertaining and considerably less frustrating than I will. I hope a smile and a simple “Ciao” will win over the Italians I meet the first few days. If not, I will have to stick to what I know. Spaghetti, vino, and gelato.
As for London, I am enjoying the accents. This whole metric system is a little confusing but all I am learning is that Americans are obnoxious because we have to do everything different. I have a feeling this is just the beginning of that.
This airport is like a shopping mall. Imagine your gate in the middle of a very upscale shopping center. People are buying their purses, clothes and electronics right at their gate. I am currently sitting across from a Prada and a Chanel. Guess what I saw as soon as I stepped off the plane?....Starbucks. I am not really surprised.
Unlike what I was hoping for, not all the men in London are as handsome as I thought they would be. I was expecting David Beckham to walk by every few seconds but at this point I have realized this is wishful thinking. I should have realized this would be the case when one of the British Airlines flight attendants (who is British) was considerably less good looking and humorous than his American twin, Dwight Schrute…and we all know that Dwight is no hottie in America.( http://www.google.it/images?rlz=1C1GGGE_enIT396IT396&q=dwight%20schrute&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=it&tab=wi&biw=1280&bih=656)
Here is a preview of what’s ahead. After my 4 hour layover in London, I board my 3 hour flight to Milano. As soon as I land, per my friend Chad’s request, I will eat a Milano cookie in Milano. I will post the picture as soon as possible for your enjoyment. When I land it will be about 6:45pm local time in Milan on Sunday August 29th. That will conclude my 24 hour voyage. (It was actually about 18 hours of travel but because of the time change it is 24 hours from the time I left.) When I arrive in Milan I go through customs then find the Malpensa express train. Malpensa airport is about 50km from downtown Milan. For those of you who struggle as I do with the metric system, that’s about 30 miles. The train will drop me off at the main train station in Milan. From there, I am taking a taxi to a hotel for the night. The hotel is located just a few minutes’ walk from my university and the apartment I move into tomorrow. If all goes well I should be settled in my hotel by 9pm. If I feel safe and I plan what I will say, I plan to venture out to find Spaghetti, vino and gelato. Congrats to me for my first real alcohol purchase. I feel like I cheated the system since I don’t turn 21 until October.
Lastly, feel free to email me and ask me about my time abroad! I will me more than willing to tell you all about it and I know my parents will be happy with me if I keep in touch with family the next few months. I will post pictures on facebook as much as possible. I don’t have all of the aunts/uncles/cousins/grandparents emails to please pass this along to whoever cares enough to listen. I hope all is well! Send me your address if you want a postcard!
Toodaloo,
Lauren
29/08/2010
12:30pm
London, England
