Day 1 of Week 1

Well today was your typical Bad First Day. Some highlights include:

-showing up to an English seminar where you are the only one who hasn't read the book everyone else has and gets shit for it from your intimidating professor (seriously, dude, I got this class two days ago and the library wasn't even open until today. What do you want from me?), and then finding out you have to give a fifteen min presentation of a close reading next week because that's the only slot left.

-Coming home from that terrible class to find a note from facilities telling me I have bed bugs and they've treated my mattress yet provide no helpful hints about where I'm supposed to sleep while the chemicals dry.

-Trying to figure out how these European laundromats work so I can scrub my bed bug-infested sheets and accidentally turning my beautiful white scarf brown despite my 7 years of laundry experience. Then locking myself in the laundromat. (You think I'm kidding. Ask the dude who let me out.)

-Queuing for 45 min to get a new ID card, then finding out I need to print a form before I can get a new one and still have no clue how to print anything. Ditto for purchasing my course packet. Sidebar: I've come to the conclusion that Brits get their politeness from the sheer amount of time they spend standing in line. I wish I knew exactly what percentage of an Englishman's life is spent queuing. It's like the constant waiting has beaten them into gentility.

But on the bright side I spent a lovely, touristy day on Saturday with fellow jumbo Mitch (hi Mitch!). We hit up Trafalgar Square, Westminster and Millenium Bridges, a slightly sketchy arcade by the London Eye, and the tesco express next to Big Ben. At the National Gallery we played a rousing game of "find the Jesus."

Some were easy...

Others were more difficult .

Tomorrow I'm being touristy again with Claire (yay!), but for now I'm off to play catch up with the reading. As they say here in the East End, ta ra, lads!