My travels started off a tad rocky when my mom and I attempted to use the online check-in option for my flights. After being told that Iberia (a section of British Airways) does not fly out of Philadelphia (MAJOR PANIC) and being locked out from the log-in for typing the code wrong too many times (MORE PANIC), we finally resorted to calling the airlines and the mess was cleared up. As is the Ervin tradition, we arrived way too early at the airport, causing me to wait by myself in the terminal for two straight hours. No big deal, though.
My flight to London-Heathrow was crazy. Well, the plane itself was. Definitely the biggest plane I've ever been on. 39 rows of approximately 9 seats per row. (Except mine of course. I was in the very last row and apparently on a date with a guy who was also going to be studying abroad at Edinburgh.) Also, not only were there coach and first class passengers, there were "club world" members who had even cooler chairs and the weirdest set-up I've ever seen on a plane. They had remote-controlled panels that would raise up to block themselves from being seen. The flight went well though. They served us dinner around 11:00 PM. I was served salmon with pasta, salad, a roll and a piece of banana cake. Sadly enough, this dinner was actually much better than some of the DC dinners I've eaten before. The salad was definitely more fresh, that's for sure. Seeing as the flight was from 10 pm to 10 am, I mainly just slept. Or tried to. I made sure I found myself some caffeine as soon as I got to London.
The flight to Edinburgh was pleasant. Sonia (another Haverford junior) and I met up at the terminal and flew together to Scotland; it was nice seeing a familiar face. The flight itself was about an hour and a half, which felt so short compared to the last one. There was a delay to be taxied to the runway, so we were sitting there for quite some time. I can't tell you how long because I wound up falling asleep during that time. It was only until we got onto the runway that I woke up. Whoops. Guess I was tired.
Immediately from the airport, Sonia and I picked up our bags (We waited under 10 minutes for them; how efficient!) and were helped to get a taxi to pick up our flat keys. Our taxi driver was THE BEST. The nicest, friendliest, most helpful. Couldn't have gotten to my flat without him. But seriously, I couldn't. He made sure I got into the building from the street before he left and thank goodness he did, because I couldn't get my key to work. (It works now.) I had two suitcases which provided my lift workout for the day, seeing as my flat is on the third floor. My flatmates seem nice. I have three, but I've only met two. My roommate is a fashion major from Hungary named Veronika, but not pronounced Veronica like you'd think. The other one is Amanda, a senior from UCLA who is spending her last year here. The last flatmate who I haven't met yet is Africa, who is from Canada. That's all I know about her. Africa and Amanda are here for the whole year, so I feel a little more comfortable knowing that they can help me around the city.
Hm, ok well I guess I could show you the basics of my room and my flat. I'm still in the process of making it look like home. I'm all unpacked but something is still missing. Also, the girls who went to Edinburgh last year recommended not buying linens from the school. I should have listened. They're horrible; I'm definitely going to go buy myself something warmer and less... stiff/scratchy.
Another angle of the room
I don't have any fun pictures of the city or anything because I got here around dinner time, unpacked, then quickly went to a "Meet and Mingle" with other international students. However, being incredibly tired, Sonia and I decided to call it a night super early and well, here I am. It's 9:32 PM and I'm ready to crash. But really, its only 4:32 for you guys. Which makes me being so tired even more absurd. Tomorrow is our orientation, so I'm sure I'll take some nice pictures for you. Sonia and I saw glimpses of Edinburgh Castle on our way in. OH. MY. GOD. The coolest. Edinburgh (the city) is AWESOME.
Fun facts I've learned:
-The London airport is insane. It's basically a mall. It's that full of shopping and nonsense. But also annoying (especially with 4 hour layovers like the one I had) because they don't let you know which gate your flight is leaving from until ~40 minutes before it boards.
-When an address, like my own, says '5/2 Street Name', the 5 is the actual number on the street and the 2 is the apartment you live in. Maybe that's obvious, but it wasn't to me. Also, you say 5/2 as "5 stroke 2".
-Starbucks are everywhere here. Really, Starbucks?
-You can still set off a metal detector even though you don't have any metal on you. Thanks, airport security. I loved the pat-down.
-Each student has a phone in their room and its free to call any other student (who is part of the university). Hello prank calls?
I think that's enough for now. I can't think of any fun facts right now. My brain is fried. I hope this post makes sense.
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