and the beat goes on...

I'd say it's time for an update, wouldn't you?

This week has been/is going to be a busy one; I'm not sure how often I'll get around to blogging about it, to be honest, so let me just give you the important bits now:


-Meet the Church of England! Josh and I attended St. Paul's for church Sunday; Angie recommended them and they turned out to be very friendly. A very nice man named Alan befriended us and, I think, did his best to make us feel welcome. The liturgical style still seems a bit rote to me, but they made up for it by having so many little kids running around that I felt like I was in a nursery. Or back at Abiding Branch (tiny shoutout for whoever knows what I'm talking about).

-Enrolment (yes, they only spell it with one 'L'). Several hours today were devoted to standing in queues (lines) up at the campus, having our visas verified (well, sort of...apparently our passport agent was a bit sloppy. That took awhile to sort out), pictures taken,  credentials checked, and finally receiving student IDs. Despite this, Kingston's website will still not let me reserve books. Outrage! (Only not. At least, not yet.)

ALSO! I rode a double-decker red bus to campus today! There was no space on the top deck, which was sad, but I can now add this to my list of fulfilled touristy fantasies, only marginally less exciting than making a call from a red phone booth.

-Welcome/Orientation. This is going to be tomorrow at 9:30, and we've been warned it's an all-day affair, including a seminar on adjusting to Teaching and Learning in the UK at 15:00 (3pm) and a reception at the King's Tun pub (oh, how droll) at 18:00 (6pm). Also, I should get my class schedule at some point tomorrow...hopefully?

-We're going to Brighton! That is, the British Life and Culture class is going to Brighton; it's our first field trip of the semester. This, too, is meant to be an all-day affair, and I'm not too sure what to expect, as I've heard from various sources that Brighton is a) a slightly garish tourist trap, and b) a delightful little seaside town. We'll see.

-London for REAL. One of the orientation outings is a walking tour of central London, which is Friday at 13:00. Expect many pictures; I'm really looking forward to this one.

-Some semi-familiar faces: on Sunday, I get to brunch with some friends of my uncle's, also up in London proper. They seem like great people, judging from a few Facebook interactions, and it'll be nice to hang out with some not-quite-total-strangers. 

Like I said...busy week coming up. But it's going to be fun! To conclude, I give you a picture of the highly confusing contents of my change purse.

I didn't think about this before, but I need to familiarize myself with the money around here quickly...it's that or keep little-old-ladying my way about all the places I need to count money, and nobody wants that. Stay tuned, friends.