Day 3 of 60

Saturday was my first international flight so I'm not sure if this is typical but my six hour Air India flight included two full meals, about 73 Bollywood movies, and an actual staircase. I don't mean that there were steps, I mean there was an actual upstairs. My aislemate, who is a pilot in India so I guess he would know, told me that our plane could seat over 400 people. Amazing.

On the downside, my flight was three hours late and I didn't sleep a wink. On the bright side, my amazing friend Anna braved the A train to hang out with me at JFK during my endless layover.

I expected London to be New York with a British accent but it actually didn't remind me of New York at all. It might be the prettiest city I've ever seen and the people, besides abiding by some county ordinance that requires everyone to be supermodel gorgeous and exquisitely dressed, seemed extraordinarily kind and laidback. There was some weird issue on the tube that required us all to change trains four times before we finally left the station and no one fumed, no one threatened to sue. Everyone just laughed about it.

I took a ferry from London to Amsterdam and it was lovely. I had my own cabin and it was tiny but it was my first chance in two days to sleep and shower and I've never slept better. In the morning, I ate scrambled eggs, morning sun blinding my left eye as my right eye watched Holland approach through the starboard window.

Amsterdam is charming and I don't think there's a better word for it. Although I have to say that despite everyone's assurance that "everyone in Amsterdam speaks English" I have not found that to be the case at all. I've barely heard a word of English since I arrived here and actually that's alright with me. I'd much rather perform some elaborate pantomime to order my lunch than have someone pander to my ignorance and speak English to me.

Within about an hour of arriving in London, I made the first in what is sure to be a long line of embarassing missteps. This particular error involved me giving a barista a $6 tip on a $4 cup of coffee. Note to self: make sure you understand local currency before spending it.

My second error was actually made back in the States when I thought it would be a good idea to put my train tickets in my journal and then take my journal out of my backpack. This is actually perfect because if there's one thing I love, it's spending the same $150 twice. Oh wait, I don't love that at all.

Actually, I've been taking this all in stride so far. I laughed when I realized I'd spent $10 on a cup of coffee, I took a deep breath and exhaled when I realized I'd left my train tickets at home, and when the zipper on my backpack broke, I just gritted my teeth for ten minutes until I fixed it.

That's not to say that everything's peachy. In normal life, most of your day is spent doing things that are easy, so easy you barely even think about them. Alone in an unfamiliar country, it's just the opposite-- everything you do is hard. Grocery shopping is hard. Ordering a coffee is hard. Riding the bus is hard. Using an ATM is hard. Even just walking down the street seems harder than it should be. Nearly every moment since I touched down in London, I've been lost, confused, or in someone's way and usually all three at once.

That said, I don't imagine I'll feel this way every day for the next two months. I believe things will even out and I'll find a rhythm here.

Until next time.