arriving in London

i didn't sleep a wink on my flight to London. sometimes my neighbor, who was from Kenya, would make a comment to me which i only half understood and he only half understood my reply, but otherwise, the trip was uneventful and excessively boring. i got to Gatwick pretty much on time and hoped that the same was true for Steph, but after waiting for over a half an hour at the baggage claim where she should have been had she come on the flight, i determined that perhaps something went amiss. i resolved to call the person who was to pick me up and navigate public transit alone. but the phone call revealed that she would arrive on another flight in a couple hours because she missed her connection due to ice storminess and such. all went well in the end, except that Steph's bag didn't make it with her to London. it will come around noon tomorrow.

i felt very sleep-deprived. as we traveled through London to the Eastside, it seemed sureal to be here. so far, i have enjoyed listening to the accent and taking note of english expressions, looking at how Londoner's dress, and admiring the quaint architecture. right now my thoughts are all in British English. :-) it's pretty fun.

tomorrow should be much more eventful... me and Steph will begin touring London. we are already armed with our 7-day travelcard, good for train, tube, and bus throughout London. ou just swipe and pass on through into the station. but before then, i intend to have a long night of sleep. how heavenly!

by the way, pardon my formal expressions. (imagine me saying all this with an English accent. ;-)

words i've heard today which one does not often hear in the US:
cheers!
no worries!
fortnight
mate!
i reckon
straight away
are you in a bad way?
do you mind if i pop out for a bit?
lift=elevator
toilets=restroom

i sit here right now sipping tea with milk and sugar and feeling very English. (Kaylen, I like England so far already