Mandy: Has it really only been 3 days?

I am in London! What a crazy ride it’s been so far!

My flights were smooth, but I didn’t get much sleep, which has made the past few days exhausting. I landed and was greeted by the King’s College “Meet and Greet” team where they paired me with another American student who was catching a cab to my residence hall. It was an excellent deal to split a cab, so that worked out well.

My residence hall (Great Dover Street) is in the style of Flats, so I have my own room and tiny bathroom in a hallway with 5 other people. We all share a kitchen and living area. My flatmates are really great! One is an American girl on study abroad (from St. Augustine, what a small world!) and the others are all British guys. It doesn’t feel much different than normal dorms; my flatmates are pretty chill, extremely nice, and I like that we have our own space too.

I am very blessed to have a friend from GW living in the flat above me. He and his flatmates welcomed me with open arms, and it’s been great to get to know them! (Shoutout to Silvario for also setting up my British phone for me!)

There was a welcome reception for the residence hall on the first night. It is primarily freshmen that live here and more specifically, they are science and health majors. The British school system is so different! These freshmen aren’t just doing pre-med, they are diving right into med-school here, since they chose their focus in high school. Most students are fascinated by the fact that I have to take gen-ed classes and that my major (Human Services) is such a mix of fields. It’s a bit intimidating that most students know exactly what they want to do, because the school requires them to choose.

The next day I braved the buses and the Underground all by myself and didn’t get lost! I went to a welcome picnic that the Christian Union held. It was encouraging to talk to Christians from all over the world! The Christian Union has lots of upcoming events, so I’m planning on getting involved!

There are tons of freshmen welcome events that study abroad students are also invited to. Last night was a dance night at London’s Ministry of Sound club. I had such a good time with my new friends! I felt like it was much different than American clubs, where so much of the culture is about “hooking up”, whereas last night, it was just about dancing to your favorite songs with your new friends.

Today was study abroad orientation, registration, enrollment and tomorrow (fingers crossed) I will have my class schedule.

It’s been a little difficult to wrap my head around the fact that I’m in London and not just another big city. It wasn’t until I saw this, that it truly sank in. 

I’m exhausted, excited, and overwhelmingly thankful for my experiences so far. I’ll keep you posted on everything!