Living in London

With only six days until I depart for London, here is some background information about what I will be doing, where I will be and other odds and ends.

Living quarters

I will be living at 33/34 Leinster Gardens in Paddington, London, England. This is right off of Paddington Green Police Station and about two blocks from Hyde Park.

This is what the flat rooms will look like. All the buildings on the block are set in this style, as many international students will be living on Leinster Gardens.

School

I will be attending City of Westminster College which is currently under construction. They will be replacing the main building, where all of my classes will be, within the next 2 to 3 years.

Departure

I will departing Tuesday, Jan. 8 from Indianapolis International Airport, at 10:15 EST. I will be flying to Chicago, which takes only about 15 minutes. I will then sit until 4 p.m. EST at which time I will be boarding United Airlines flight for London, Heathrow Airport. The flight will take about seven hours and at the time of arrival it will be about 6 a.m. GMT (Greenwich Mean Time).

Arrival

After arriving and exiting customs Dr. Mark Popovich will meet us at the gate. We will then board buses and head to our flats. After settling into our flats, we will immediately board more buses taking us around "the capital" as many Londoners call their city. Popo, as we call him at school, is wanting us to stay awake to overcome jet lag faster by keeping us awake that first day as long as possible.

Travel within London

Once we settle in we will purchase public transportation passes that will be good for the entire three months we will be in London. Transport for London is the public transportation system within the city. The London Underground is the subway line and the method of transportation which we will be utilizing the most. It is commonly referred to as "the tube."

More to come later. . .