day count: 2

so yes, i have been in london for two days

sunday i left sfo at 4:30 pm and arrived at 10:30 monday morning. and then i hit the ground running. as i walked out of customs i saw a large group of college students with lots of luggage leaving, so i assumed they were the group i was with and i caught up with them (luckily i was right) we all got on a bus and went to our hotel in kensington. the hotel is practically right in front of kensington gardens (which i was able to have a picnic lunch in and walk around with my new found friends). at 4 we had a brief orientation where they gave us binders full of papers and other useful items. after that a group of us wandered around the park again (we saw the italian fountains, the palace where princess diana used to live, and the royal albert hall), then cailin (from cu actually) and i met up with a few other people from arcadia at a pub down the street and had a pint. i thought it would be more exciting to be able to get a beer and not be carded, however i was so incredibly jet lagged and exhausted i didnt really take much notice. after that i called my mom (after a few problems with my calling card, i think the receptionist doesnt like me because i kept calling and having problems) and went to bed around 11.

this morning we all met up in front of the hotel at 9:45 and walked to one of the colleges in london that is nearby (i forget the name of it right now). there we met the team in charge of running operations for the arcadia london office and a few other british folk. the guy in charge of arcadia here talked to us about culture shock, then we had a policeman from notting hill talk with us about safety. he was hilarious because he pretty much made fun of americans - so all 60 of us. then we had lunch in the cafeteria (which was definitely different then colorado dining halls)(im still not sure how i feel about it). our final session included two people from parliament leading a discussion about the current political sistuation here in the uk and they answered some of our questions. the woman was from the house of commons, she is part of the labor party, and she has been in office for 19 years. the older gentleman (who spoke the 'queens english' quite nicely) used to be in the house of commons for x amount of years, and now he is currently in the house of lords. he let us know that he could say whatever he wants because he cant be taken out of office. they were both entertaining (since we cant vote for them, they could speak freely) and quite intelligent. after orientation ended we all went on a boat tour of the thames, then went off to high tea at the hotel. my friends and i just went shopping for cell phones (we'll be getting phones tomorrow) and now we're in an internet cafe (yay internet!).

and now im off to get dinner, peace out.