Across The Pond And Over the Moon

Yep, here I am, my first week of uni (that's what they call it over here) done. It's been exhausting, upsetting, wonderful, and exciting all at the same time. Tuesday, when I moved in, has to have been one of the most stressful days of my life, and perhaps that sounds naive but for someone who as only lived 18 years (and most of them in the same place) its hardly an exaggeration. For the first twenty-four hours I was pretty miserable, I can't really put my finger on why now but I can guess that it was a general sense of feeling overwhelmed...combined with a huge does of hormones. There was the whole moving-to-a-new-country thing to deal with, plus making new friends, finding my way around an intimidating city and basically changing the focus of my life from dance to school. I think the next couple weeks will have me trying to equalize these two parts of my life, which will mean lots of hard work and very little down time but I have realized that I am usually happiest this way (as mentioned before).
I said the first day was awful, by comparison the last few days have been heaven. I've met some wonderful people, made my dorm feel like home, and come to the realization that I am where I am supposed to be. This city is just so lively and gives you the sense that anything is possible. Plus I am ready to take it all in with some fast friends by my side; I have already become very close to two amazing girls (P and C) who both have fascinating backgrounds and sweet personalities. It doesn't even seem silly to say that I know we will stay close for the coming months, hopefully even years. Everyone else that I have met is very open and friendly; no one knew anyone when they got here so everyone was ready to talk to whoever happened to be near by and so I have made friends with many people who I may never have even spoken to under normal circumstances. Honestly I just like listening to all the stories people have because everyone here has grown up all over the world and speaks about five million languages, I feel pretty boring in comparison. Actually, my sister, after looking at pictures of me and my new friends, told me that I was "racially boring." Nice.
Yesterday I spent the whole day getting lost in Covent Garden which was like a dream come true. I found all these adorable vintage shops and tried on pointe shoes at the Capezio and Bloch stores. I of course had to hang around the Royal Opera House, it feels equivalent to a cathedral for me. After meeting C for lunch at a rather questionable but yummy cafe we wandered around near the theater again and spotted a whole group of  Royal Ballet School students. I felt like such a creeper but I just wanted to BE them, no matter how amazing my life is at this point I will always be slightly jealous. Fortunately I have discovered that the Royal Opera House as a scheme that gives left over tickets to students for 10 pounds...as you can probably guess I am already signed up and plan to work my way to the top of that waiting list.
In fact I am hoping to turn this blog into a little bit more of a cultural reference as I would love to write profiles of some of the interesting independent stores I find or reviews of shows I manage to scrounge tickets for. As a journalism major I know I need to practice and keep up my writing...so get ready because here it goes!