COMMUTING, CAMARADERIE, AND CLOTTED CREAM: London Day 1 or a Part 2 to the Post Below

It's been an awfully long day here in London. Two of my American colleagues and I had to fight through the shockingly uncivilized commuting masses in the tube after work today--a journey that was made more difficult by the fact that the District Line was down. We stood on the platform, our eyes filled with the desperation only lost tourists can muster but, like the intrepid New Yorkers that we are, we figured out an alternate route home. After a long, exhausting, frustrating, circuitous journey that's likely bonded us for life, we found ourselves back at our less-than-stellar hotel. It should be noted that my heart, heavy with homesickness, longed for the familiarity (and relative spaciousness) of Manhattan's subway system (the tubes are NARROW. One male commuter became very familiar with my right boob and another with my colleague's butt. One can't help but press into random body parts in the cramped confines of the trains. Plus, no one by the doors likes to move. We almost suffocated a small child because her mother ordered her not to move away from the door as we tried to exit the blasted train and make our way to fresh air) during this journey.

Dinner tonight was a three course meal of buffola mozzarella and tomatoes, grilled swordfish with rocket mashed potatoes and string beans, and a delicious treacle pie with clotted cream. The treacle pie may very well have been one of the most delicious foods I've had in recent memory.

I am so so so grateful for my four other colleagues who have joined me in London. While we didn't know each other very well prior to this program, we've formed a camaraderie in the weeks leading up to our trip. It's comforting to experience a foreign city, which is just different enough to be a bit disorienting and overwhelming, with friends. And, in spite of the horrendous commute home today, our London colleagues are a delightful bunch and I can rather get used to the corporate mothership. London also remains a charming and whimsical city. I believe I should return here on my own to take in some of the lovely sights that surround us.

Well, that's it for now, my darlings. I'm off to sleep as I've got a busy day at work tomorrow! More TK.

Cheerio!
SABILA