One Month in London

I have hit the one month marker for my time in London. Last time - this is when I began to get homesick. This time - I am not.

I miss my family and friends - like whoa.

I miss my home and my car - for their small comforts.

I miss knowing where I am and where I am going - because, I am here now and haven't created the next goal yet.

But, I am not really that homesick. I have been in a weird funk, which could be attributed to homesickness, but in further thought, that does not seem to be the case. It actually seems more logical that I am trying to figure out how to balance be a student, being social, and being in London. I give up and, with exasperation, I fall on my bed to never rise - while thinking of the massive amounts of things I could be doing, or should be doing.

Okay, so I do rise.

I do go to my classes.

I do meet up with friends.

Etcetera. Etcetera.

But I am still funked nonetheless.

In other news:

• I am getting ready to by my plane ticket for the winter break. The dates I am looking at are the 20 to the 8th, but they might change. I am aiming to buy my ticket by the end of the week, so we will know for sure then.
• I am trying to arrange a time to visit my family in Norway. Right now we are looking at the week of October 31 - November 7. This is my fall break, when I should be doing work - but I'll just make sure to be a little more productive and a little less funked. 
• My friend, and fellow dork, Ruth and I have just bought our tickets for the STUDIO TOUR OF HARRY POTTER IN LONDON!!! I am beyond, beyond, beyond excited for many inexpressible reasons, which I don't think need to be expressed anyway. We will not be going until mid-April however, so I have to hold onto my pants until then.
• OMGOMGOMG! ... And now, this 23 year old is moving on ...

These current ramblings are no where near the mental state I thought I would be in after my first month. I guess this is the fun of trying new things, you never know where - or what - you will be in a month. One month ago, I was freaking out in an airport. I was lost between my emotions of being afraid to fly, and leaving my family. I had little, but dear, friends waiting for me here, and now I have more international friendships than I can handle. I was excited to see what this whole publishing thing was about, and to challenge myself as a writer, and now, I am more sure I will be a happy career woman surrounded by books. I knew I wanted to try living in a new place, start fresh, and now I know I want to grow up to be an American. I know want to be the New Yorker that I undoubtedly am.

However, some things never change, like my bewildering and obsessive love of Harry Potter. 

I am very certain the next month will go much faster. I will have more work, less time, higher ambitions and a larger appreciation of a good cup of tea. Also in the next month, I hope to get outside of London and see something new, perhaps make a solid trip to Wales or Edinburgh, maybe Dublin. Maybe I will just get on the train and head north, hoping I am lucky enough to find a small town, with a smaller hotel. I imagine northern England to be much like Cooperstown; right on the edge of a massive collection of culture and excitement - of which it absorbs - but still able to reamin calm, and friendly. 

xx, Kristin

CRAZY Days

It has been so crazy here over the last few days. In the short span of a week, so many things have happened, changed and exploded. It is unbelievable that only one week has passed since arriving here in London.

First of all I went from:

• Eternally grateful to the Adam's family for taking both Stacey and myself into there small bedroom upstairs.
• Freaked and stressed because I could not find a place to move in a decent amount of time, aka: the end of this coming week.
• Relieved, because Philippa set Stacey and I up with a friend with two bedrooms to rent in New Malden.
• Stressed again, because one room was very much smaller than the other - and one would have felt very guilty to get the larger room with a desk. 
• Eternally grateful to the Adam's family for suggesting I rent this room from them, without a contract, so that Stacey and I might continue looking for a flat without stress.

Then I learned that:

Myself in front of the Parliament Building,
just out of Waterloo Station and under the
shadow of the London Eye: 20, Sep. 2011

• I could still manage my way around central London.
• I still LOVE Harry Potter - getting to enjoy the last film on the largest Imax screen in all of Britain. (My fourth time seeing it, of course).
• My degree is going to kick my butt, and I have only been introduced to half of the course! (The other induction is tomorrow for Publishing). 
• I am still capable of making friends, even though I was practically on solitary confinement for the last year and a half. 
• Jet lag takes a long time to kill off.
• I can survive on little food during the day when stressed.
• I can survive on little sleep during the night when overwhelmed.
• The internet makes this world a very, very small place. 
• My writing style gives me strengths as a story builder.

Every night I go to bed after midnight. Every morning I get out of bed early to start my day. But I still keep trudging on with a smile, because I made it and I am following through on my goals. As long as you love what you are doing, you can afford to smile even in the most difficult parts of the journey.  

And this was my first week in London...

xx, kristin