First Days in London

Well I have been in London 5 days now and things are going swimmingly. The weather, up until today, has even be good (somehow London manages to be charming even when it is pouring rain- I suppose it has to be). I’ve been out and around my old neighborhood, eaten at my favorite pizza place and stocked up on British snack food. I was worried about knowing nobody but I’ve also managed to meet a few cool people and have some fun out on the town.

My hostel is crowded and kind of dirty, but incredibly safe and full of very friendly people. Last night we had a movie marathon and I introduced everyone to the classics known as Four Weddings and a Funeral and When Harry Met Sally. Cultures coming together- that's what it's all about (ha). Some people have been living in the hostel for almost six months! I'll be there for at least two weeks but after that hopefully I can find a place to move to. I'm not crazy about the whole sharing a room, living with mice, communal bathroom thing.

I spend my days running around London interviewing, setting up bank accounts etc. Most of my downtime during the day is spent at the BUNAC offices conducting a massive job search and fraternizing with the other desperate unemployed people.

On Saturday I waundered around Covent Garden, which is this cute shopping area which was all decked out for Christmas already and quite beautiful. There was a street performance going on involving some shirtless men in tutus, on unicycles, juggling. It was impressive. I snapped a few shots and made sure to give the fitter one of the two a pound.

I’ve also started the first book in my challenge; Ann Veronica by HG Wells. Amazon describes the novel:

At twenty-one, the passionate and headstrong Ann Veronica Stanley is determined to rule her own life. When her autocratic father forbids her, via formal letter, from attending a fashionable art-school ball, and even further refuses to allow her advanced study of science, she decides she has no choice but to leave her family home and make a fresh start alone. She escapes the stodgy suburbs to London, enrolling as a student of biology and immersing herself in a world of intellectuals, socialists, and suffragettes. Soon, however, she finds that freedom comes at a price, when she meets the brilliant Capes, a married academic, and falls hopelessly in love.

Seemed like a fitting place to begin, no?

It's almost 5 pm so it's quitting time at BUNAC headquarters. I'm going out for a pint or two with some new friends. I'll try to write something more substantial once I have something substantial to say...