i'm here!

Hi Everyone!

I am composing this email in my hotel room at the Royal National Hotel, in London. We got here at about 11:30 London time, which is 6:30 AM Eastern. It was a surreal night. Yesterday morning was full of meeting and catching up with (and also saying goodbye to) some friends at Davidson, running some errands, and madly trying to calm my churning stomach. At about 2:15 yesterday my friend and the occupier of my room at 527 Watson St dropped me off at the guesthouse, suitcase and all, and I stood in a nervous crowd of people saying goodbye to friends and family. This whole experience so far feels a little bit like a dream—I am waiting for the real abroad trip to begin.

At 2:30 we left the guesthouse, and took a van to the Charlotte Airport, where we stood around until 5 to wait for the rest of our party to arrive. 6:30 was dinner at Tequileria in the airport, with ridiculously expensive prices. Two of the guys in our group had margaritas that cost $15 each. And then the wait in the airport, boarding the plane, and the LONG, cramped and generally uncomfortable plane ride into London Gatwick, which arrived promptly at 8:30 (ie 3:30) London time. 3 train rides later and a LONG walk, we ended up at the hotel, where we checked in, ate, and showered. It feels good to finally be in one place! And although I only managed to sleep a few hours on the flight, I am convinced that I will be better able to acclimate if I force myself to stay awake on this first day.

We ate at a small sandwich shop just off of the main road that our hotel is on, and speculated on what the trip would bring. In 30 minutes we are off to the National Gallery Museum, and tomorrow it’s the British Museum before flying briefly to Larnaca, Cyprus, and on to Egypt.

No mishaps so far except for Dr Toumazou almost leaving his coat in the van that took us to Charlotte along with his passport, a bag that was 15 pounds overweight, and a little bit of confusion at the train station. Everyone seems really cool and I am totally excited to get underway!

I love you all and will miss you very much.
Nicole