One Foot Out The (Cabin) Door
Today was Day 1 in London, and boy was it busy. My flight landed at Heathrow airport at 9:10 AM, London time. As in, it was 4 AM for me on a usual basis. Add that to a full day of walking and welcome day activities and I am exhausted! However, I got to have a glimpse of this beautiful city and I’m excited to see even more of it during this short 30-day stay.
Anyone who has ever been here can vouch for me when I say that one will not get used to the cars driving on the “wrong side of the road” easily. It is very hard to break out of the normal routine and look right, left, right instead of left, right, left. This is a rule that definitely needs to stick though because London drivers seem to be in control of the roads and not pedestrians!
Another interesting thing was that car dealerships aren’t spread out horizontally but vertically! This one Volkswagon dealership I saw had 5 stories of different models of Volkswagens in it. Last but not least, every toilet I have come across has been quirky in its own way. Maybe it’s just me, but some are way too low, too high and usually stick out a straight 3 feet from the wall. Also each stall I have come across is sealed from ceiling to floor, (so no peeking under the stalls to see if it’s empty) and most of the toilet paper is already pulled into the squares rather than breaking them off yourself.
As far as orientation goes, it was chock full of information ranging from funny to serious. As part of our orientation, which was held at our classroom building, we were given the opportunity to take public transportation there with our guide! This was awesome because soon that is a trip we will have to make ourselves using that very same transportation so I thought that was a tremendous part of the program! During the orientation powerpoint, there was a slide on slang that Americans in the UK tend to get wrong such as the difference between chips, crisps and fries or pants and knickers. Lastly, the best part of the orientation program was a visit from a police sergeant here on the force in London. He came and gave us a very entertaining speech on the rules and how not to break them. I liked this speech the best because he told us these things using great, hilarious stories which made them memorable even in my jetlagged state! Even though we were energizer bunnies from the moment we made it to the airport it the time our heads hit the pillow later that night around 11 pm, it was a great first day the moment I stepped out the airplane cabin door.
