Landing in LondonTown--A very detailed version

Ok where to start?
Well getting ready for this trip was an adventure the last few days. I became a neurotic wreck by the time it was time to leave Mauston. I was constantly rechecking my bags to make sure everything was there. Then my dad and I headed off to Chicago.
We arrived to the airport which easily became a scene from European Vacation, with Chevy Chase. (the scene where they are stuck going around that circle by Big Ben) My father missed my exit to the correct terminal the first time so we went ALL the way around it one more time.
Checking in at Chicago was a breeze and the lovely woman that checked my bags made some small talk with me about how Tina Turner had been there last week. Apparently she is a gorgeous lady with amazing legs--just how'd you expect her to look, I guess. I was nervous about finding the correct gate but was easily assured when I heard the British accents at my gate.
The flight was what I epected. As you may know, flying has never been my favorite. For me, a flight from Madison to Detroit is too long, so you can imagine my thoughts on and international, 7 1/2 hr. flight. But overall, it wasn't bad. I sat next to a very nice guy that was kind, curtious, and British. Don't get any ideas guys--he was kinda above my age range. :) The food was decent. I was happy when my vegetables with dinner were hot AND still crunchy. I was a bit disappointed by my movie selection. I end up watching 3 episodes of the Office and Vicki Christina Barcelona. I have no idea what that movie was--not the right choice when picking something that you don't really want to pay attention to. But if you like Spanish scenary, language, actors, and movies with no substance...well, then it is the perfect choice for you!
My flight was ahead of schedule so we circled above London for about 15 min. before landing, which was not a very nice thing to do. Tease me as I am on the edge of my seat with excitement. Jerks. We then landed and I walked through a long hallway until I got to customs. This part scared me. If you didn't know, about a week ago I had a dream that they wouldn't let me into the country because they thought I was a terrorist, and that irrational fear was coming back. I made a fool of myself when they asked me where I was from. I went into too much detail of where WI is. You see, unlike the U.S., people know there geography over here and everyone I have met knew exactly where I was from. But, I made it through customs in one piece, waited anxiously for my luggage, and then found a girl from my program. Dani was on my flight and I recognized her from LaCrosse, so we quickly became buddies as we then searched for Rob. Rob was the man in charge of tracking us down and making sure we didn't get lost. We found him easily, learned we were the firsts to arrive, and then waited for the rest of our group. 2 hrs. later our group was complete with a clusters of students from New York and a cluster from Philadelphia. Yes, out of a group of ~25, we were the only 2 represented the Midwest. After meeting them we kinda laughed at each other's accents. A girl asked about getting a water and I almosted died. She was from Jersey, so you can imagine how that sounded.
After everyone was rounded up, we took a coach bus to Nido, my building of residence. It took us a 45 min drive through rush hour to get to the building. Along the way, we saw the most amazing architecture. We drove past a neighborhood that was straight out of Mary Poppins. I half expected chimney sweepers to start dancing and singing on the rooves. A lot of the houses are made out of brick and were gorgeous.
We arrived at Nido and went through the check-in process. This wasnt very stressful but I was anxious about seeing my room. During this process I found out the Dani and I are roommates so we had a laugh at that--"what are the odds." I am now getting settled in and have a meeting in a few minutes here. So I will end this one. Thanks for making it this far down and reading. There will be more to come. :)

Love, Love