There and back again…

Just a quick list this time because I am in a hurry!

 10am orientation at FIE Foundation House. Larry is one of the coolest most lax professors I’ve ever had.

-Left FOundation House, walked off in search of food. Chris Maltby and I wander and find a small local deli. Cheap turkey sandwich. Not much meat & cheese and bread is slightly stale, but it didn’t cost very much.

-Get pay as you go phone set up at “Carphone Warehouse”. Chris goes off to get plums and bananas. Getting close to the time we need to meet the group for bus tour. I don’t see Chris, and am forced to leave him behind.

-2:00pm meet for coach tour. We drive past all major landmarks and famous buildings. Big Ben, Tower of London, MI6, Ministry of Defense, Westminste Abbey, etc. Want to go back and see these places on foot! Near Tower Bridge I see Fuller’s Ale and Pie House. *note to self, return to find it! Parliament, London Eye…

Nap for a bit, the meet whole group at Foundation House for a walkto the…

-Anglesea Arms, a pub. Had dinner with the program coordinators, Larry, Maria Hawks, Student Life Coordinator, Emma, Elizabeth? I had steak and potatoes au gratin. The steak was very tasty! I tasted a Guiness since everyone says its better over here. It was pretty good, very smooth, drinkable. Whilst conversing with Maria Hawks, Larry Stains and fellow students I tried my first London Pride-very good. Ordered a second. Someone made a comment about my unfinished beer sitting on the table, so I sucked down the remaining third with a large gulp. I think Maria was surprised, haha.

Had a little dessert. Leigh ordered and I had most of her apple cumble. It was served with custard, very delicious!

-Party moved to outside and I spent the next several hours (on into the night) talking outside withe the group.

-Met a troup of “Morris Dancers”, men who do traditional English fertility dance in costume. They were really cool, and let me wear their fancy hats, hahah. We spoke to them for a good bit and snapped some pictures. One of the Morris Dancers did a jig at the request of the girls in our group.

-Stood outside Anglesea Arms until the moon rose. Talked to Professor and the crew about everything from sports, politics, language. What to do and how to get around London, even about the origins of the Union Jack.

-I got congratulations from staff for not panicking about my lost luggage. I didn’t panic, I made several attempts to contact Air Canada, but they just delivered it. When the dinner group split up, I left Anglesea Arms and and headed toward Metrogate to claim my luggage. Changing my mind I turned around and went after the group. Rest of group went to Kavenaughs. I went to the bouncers and asked, “Did you see a shoddy looking group of Americans come through here?” The bouncer said yes, but asked me for ID. I got carded in a country where the drinking age is 18! I didn’t have anything with me, so I gave up and went back to Metrogate to claim my luggage.  I came to enjoy myself anyway, not to drink myself stupid.

The beer’s good here, though!

Zack

    It begins! My first international journey got off to a late start. After my 3:20pm flight to Toronto was pushed back to 4:00, we finally boarded, though I wish I could say we were then on our way. Philadelphia International Airport beinga clotted, congested mess, our Air Canada regional jet sat on the runway for over an hour and a half. The French Canadian flight attendant offered his apologies and customary emergency spiel in two languages. Unfortunately the elderly woman in the row next to mine spoke neither of these languages. So each time the pilot made an announcement about the reasons for the delay, I attempted to calm Angela with what little Spanish I remembered from freshman year. This was a challenge, as my Spanish vocab lacks the words for “taxiing”, “runway” and “backup”, much less “flight plan”, or “departure”.

We finally got underway. I made it to Toronto and I sit writing this in a cafe at the airport. The attendant at the Air Canada ticket counter was friendly and helpful, not at all like the impatient inattentive asses working at Philadelphia airport ticketing. The woman rebooked me hassle free, chatted amicably as she solved my problem. She printed my boarding pass and even walked me to the correct terminal as her shift was ending. My only other experience in Canada was the 8th grade trip to Niagara falls. Both have been great experiences, under the circumstances, and I’ve found the Canadian airport personnel to be very friendly and helpful.

I’m anxious to get to London, but its a shame my layover delay wasn’t longer. I would have liked to have stayed to see more of Toronto.

Sitting, sitting, waiting. I would have been one of the first to get to FIE, now I’ll be one of the last. So much for getting the good bed or establishing my dorm territory.

Canada has a large population of Indians. If I was to guess, I would say they are  this nations largest minority. This airport is really poorly designed. I had to hike back and forth and up and down a hallway the size of a football field. I had to trek up escalators, down stairs, around corners, To the delayed disoriented traveler, this place is a maze.

I’m calm, knowing that after all this craziness is over, I’ll be in London!

Remember: keep all personal belongings with you at all times, 

Zack