***Highlights***
driving
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photos
Dear Friends and Family,
AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!
Somebody pinch me now!….I can’t believe I am in London! OH MY GOD! Everything is so cool! Ok, I need to settle down and try to compose a letter that actually contain details and not just screaming and geeking!
After a very pleasant flight across the Atlantic (I have never been on board a plane full of very happy, boisterous people—mostly Irish, mostly drunk), I landed in London early in the morning and promptly got myself through customs and immigration with no hassle. Alex Valencia and his two kids, Jasmine and Greg were at the airport to pick me up. Despite not knowing how I look like, they were able to find me and welcome me to the UK...so I had to make a couple trips to the airport information counter and have them paged, but everything turned out well. (NOTE: it is advisable to send a picture of oneself to the host family especially if one is meeting them for the first time at the airport).
It is very unnerving how they drive on the wrong, no sorry, not wrong, but left...the British
drive on the left side of the road. Sure, Bobby and BJ (sons of Alex as well) already had to
grab me to safety because a car (size of a golf cart really; they drive very small cars here)
was almost on my ass while crossing a street. But rest assured, I am safe and no visible
scratches...so far. The Brits knowing that their driving system is a bit weird...no, take that
back, their system is plain whacked; they at least are gracious enough to paint on the
crosswalks the words “Look Left” and “Look Right”. Ha ha ha ha
So, two days in London and already I have been to see Buckingham Palace, Westminster Cathedral,
Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, The House of Parliament, 10 Downing Street, Harrods, Kensington
Palace, the British Museum, Tower of London, Tower Bridge and St. Paul’s Cathedral. Phew...I am
exhausted! But, I feel gr-grr-GREAT! I have also had the chance to use the tube or the
underground. It’s a very simple and efficient system; very much like the Metro in DC or BART in
SF, only the Tube is actually clean and the voice over the PA system has a really cute English
accent...who would have guessed!? Ha ha ha...on the subject of accents, the kids over here amaze
me...they are very well spoken and very polite. They use big words and they hardly swear or
curse...well, they could be cursing but I wouldn’t know. I am sure they find me a bit slow if not
a complete ninny because I always ask them to repeat everything for me. First time so I can just
listen to their delicious accent and second time for my comprehension. Communication is slow, but
lovely, at least for me. Don’t know about them...hahahahaha (NOTE: new words in English…”cheers”
mean goodbye, “trainers” mean sneakers)