Finally, a post from the UK

Believe me when I say that I simply have not had time to make a post from this part of the world yet. Since I arrived on Saturday morning I've had to completely set up my room, buy everything I'll need for nine months that I couldn't fit in the three bags I brought, explore the campus, explore downtown, check out as many of the on campus pubs as I could, meet...everyone. I've been a busy guy. Anyway, I'll do my best to summarize the last fourish days.
I hopped a tiny tin can from Rochester to Dulles then, after a two hour layover, upgraded to a Boeing 767 which was slightly more imposing, what with its 245 seats (I was somewhere near seat 243).

The flight was long - somewhere in the area of six and a half hours, and took me over Newfoundland, through five time zones and past a whole lot of water and darkness. My neighbor - a grizzled looking, middle aged Englishman - wasn't much of a talker (though he had no problem burping continuously and rather disgustingly throughout the flight) and I wasn't in the mood to watch Shrek 3, so I did my best to rest my eyes and pass the time by watching the people around me try and do the same.
Dawn began to peak over Ireland and by the time we were above Wales the sun was up in full and the clouds were indiscernible from the sky, everything being red and orange and beautiful. This picture doesn't entirely convey it, but the sunrise was the most perfect "Welcome to the Islands" I could have asked for. We flew in low over downtown London, circled once (seemingly for effect, but probably for some more practical reason) and landed, past Twickingham Rugby Stadium and into Heathrow.

Saturday was bewildering. Departing from an international flight into England, one is shuffled around through a number of stairwells, herded through lines (queues, as they are called here and shall be in this blog henceforth) and generally made to feel like very tired, very ragged cattle. I made it through customs and, after grabbing my luggage, met up with the rest of the University of Kent int'l students. We waited for an hour or so for the bus to arrive, boarded and were basically too tired and generally out of it to talk much. I just stared out the window at the English countryside, panicking occasionally until I realized that, no, we weren't moving headlong into oncoming traffic, and that I had to grow used to driving on the opposite side of the road.

I spent the rest of the day meeting my flatmates - two girls from the U.S., an Italian guy and two other girls from Spain and Germany - and setting my room set up. After a long nap, I went out with my new friends to some of the on campus pubs then came home and slept for a very long time.
The next few days were filled with orientation meetings and wandering around campus and the town. UKC has a fairly modern campus - lots of concrete and weird architecture in the style of 1960s sci-fi, but some rather pleasant wooded walkways and some spectacular views of downtown. Also, rabbits - tons of rabbits everywhere.


Canterbury itself is a charming mix of touristy, crowded shop filled streets and olde English buildings, dating from anywhere between the days of the Romans (yes, THOSE Romans) and the 18th century, with lots of dark brown wood and white painted 16th century facades (like those on the right in the above picture). With walls, a castle and cathedral each around 1,000 years old, the city is paradise for history nerds like myself.

With so many side streets and tiny coves like the one on the left, I feel like I could spent an eternity exploring this city. It's pretty daunting, figuring out where to begin - I haven't even begun venturing into the multitude of pubs yet (I heard a rumor that it has somewhere over 300 - the most per capita of any English city). As far as English beer goes...I've tried a couple classics, but I'm having trouble figuring out just which temperature they should be served at and haven't gotten a full idea of their flavors yet. I had a skunky Newcastle last night, which was disappointing, but the Wynchwood Hobgoblin Dark Ale was very tasty and very local. Meanwhile, everyone on campus seems to drink Foster's and we have Budweiser in the fridge (leftover from "American Night" where we cooked burgers and fries for a whole slew of European students).

Anyway, so far so good here in the UK. Everyone has been extraordinarily friendly and genuinely interested in meeting real, live Americans - folks have been more interested in discussing politics than yelling at me about them. There's been a little segregation by country - I've hung out with many Americans and don't live with a single Briton - but that seems to be more due to differing schedules than anything more serious. With school starting next week, hopefully I can meet more actual English get into a more regular posting schedule. Until then, here are a couple more pictures from around Canterbury...A garden near the middle of downtown - I don't remember the exact details of it, but I pass by it often and will take more pictures and have a little more info later.


Like I said, downtown Canterbury has an incredible number of pedestrianized, dead end side streets filled with crooked houses and old buildings. Mom, you will fall in love with this town instantly.

Finally, I suppose it wouldn't be a trip to England without at least one picture of yourself inside a bright red phone booth. I felt like a tourist, but I guess at this point I still am.