We were relieved to find our luggage had also made it to London. As I saw my green suitcase approaching, I also saw some man grab it off the belt. I bolted from my spot and politely (but also assertively) took it from him. Jennifer and I found a wall and stopped for a few minutes so I could put on tennis shoes (called "trainers" in the UK) before starting our public transportation journey. We found the Tube, or Underground, and stood in line to purchase Oyster cards. We either looked confused or were too slow (or both), and workers punched buttons and got our cards. We moved to the next line to put money on our Oyster cards and before we could even try it for ourselves a worker started doing it for us. These two workers weren't overly happy to help us; they looked me annoyed than anything.
We figured out our train, the Piccadilly line, and headed for our dorm. We didn't know it at the time, but our dorm, Commonwealth Hall, is located on the other side of the universe from the airport. It was a very long ride. We arrived at our station, battled a few more escalators and several flights of stairs - with a carry-on, purse and suitcase each - and made it to ground level. We were already exhausted. We grabbed a cab to take us the rest of the way to Commonwealth Hall. Little did we know that our dorm was a mere few blocks away, but it didn't matter. We were jetlagged, exhausted and a bit frazzled. We just wanted to find our Maryville peers.
We arrived at the hall, checked in and found our rooms wouldn't be ready until noon. It was about 10 a.m. (our flight had arrived a little before 8 a.m.), so we had time to kill. We plopped down on the floor in the lobby with a handful of other Maryville students and hung out.
Later, we signed for our room keys. Both Jennifer and I were listed as "Mr." We were assured it was a mistake, but I became more nervous when I saw my Regent's College e-mail address was "stephan.kiszczak." I silently cursed my parents for giving me a long first name in addition to a long and confusing last name. I laughed and joked that I apparently have an alter ego in London.
We took the elevator ("lift") to the eighth floor. Jennifer's room is at one end of the hall, the early 800's, and mine is down the hall, around a corner and down another hallway, 827. Aside from being in no man's land, my room couldn't be any farther from the only women's bathroom on the floor (which has a bathtub, two toilets and two showers). It looks like a typical college dorm room: small with a bed, desk, desk chair, closet, a few shelves and another chair. Not bad. The view from my room is neat. I have no idea what the other buildings are (either more dormitories or hotels), but it's pretty. Some two days/nights later, I'm used to it.
We were supposed to go to Regent's College, where we will be taking class, but plans changed since so many students had not yet made it to London because of flight problems. A small group of us ventured into London to find the college and stopped at a grocery store. We didn't actually make it to the college campus, though. The college is located inside a park and at the time the park was hosting a Taste of London event and was blocked off. (We are actually going there in less than a half hour for orientation.) We went to dinner at a local pub with the Maryville group. I had the traditional fish and chips (yum!) and went back to my dorm room and passed out. It was around 8 p.m. London time, so 2 p.m. St. Louis time. I was exhausted. I slept until 2 a.m. London time and woke up to someone talking very loudly on a cell phone. Like U.S. dorm rooms, the walls are very thin. I fumbled with the lock on my door and ran (literally) to the bathroom a million miles away. I went back to my room and slept until my alarm went off a little after 6 a.m.
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| Commonwealth Hall (Where I'm staying) |
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My dorm room  |
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