4:31 a.m. in South Dakota, 10:31 a.m. London

My plane just landed and I am waiting to get off. There were cancelled flights all week because London had a snowstorm. It could take up to 20 minutes to even get the plane connected to a hanger/gate.

My first international flight went well enough. I was not crammed at all. There was, luckily, an empty seat between a crabby lady who slept the majority of the flight and I. We were served dinner. The choices were beef or lasagna. Of course, I chose the latter. The shocker about the meal was the flight attendants indifferent way of asking me if I would like wine with my meal. HELL YES! I had a chardonnay and did not expect to feel anything from it since I had just eaten a large portion of the lasagna, but sure enough, this lightweight was tipsy by the end of the meal. I listened to music, wrote in my journal and typed short messages to friends that I could copy and paste to their Facebook walls as soon as I could find somewhere to use internet.

The only bad thing about my flight was shockingly not the length, but it was the annoying young man who would not stop talking to me. He sat across the isle from me. Before the end of my flight, I knew more than I wanted to know about this frequent flier. He received a bachelor degree in Business Administration, was working on his MBA, and traveled to Ireland for a study abroad program with AIFS when he was a sophomore in college. He is from Springfield, Missouri, and has been to Russia (where the in-flight meals are apparently terrible). He is on his way to India to study for the next two years. Oh, AND, he loves playing cards-hearts, speed, pitch, you name it, he knows loves it. Apart from the fact I sat next to a “chatty-Kathy” who refused to give me some peace and quiet for the better part of an hour, my flight was wonderful!

The next step is to go through customs, get my luggage, and meet with an AIFS representative. Wish me luck! “Bon chance!”

* * *

It is 11:30 p.m. here and I am completely exhausted. I can't believe I am even still awake! To finish what happened earlier today...I was met at the airport by a representative from AIFS who took 6 of us back to the hotel. I made friends with a girl named Emily from Salt Lake City, Laura from Cincinnati (who is also my roomie), and a boy named Jordan from Green Bay. They made me feel a lot better because now I know I am in exactly the same boat as everyone here. Basically, no one knows anything! As we drove through London, I was shocked! It looked like I had just entered Peter Pan or Mary Poppins. Houses are beautiful, but small with very rich-looking architecture. People drive crazy, not to mention on the wrong side of the road and on the wrong side of the car. For awhile in the van, I thought I would die. Once we went to the hotel, I was on a mission. Find a way to contact someone in the U.S. Turns out, international phone calls are not only expensive, but a pain in the butt to actually make. There are over twenty digits to plug in to the "tele." Emily, Laura, Jordan, and a couple more AIFS students went with me to Starbucks to use their WiFi, and I finally was reconnected with the only world I have ever known. It was a little surreal not being able to just pick up a phone or hop online to speak to people I am so used to talking to. After I had enough of the coffee shop's extremely slow internet service, I went back to the hotel and slept for a grand total of an hour and a half.

At 6:00 p.m., we were told to go to the basement bar of the hotel for drinks and information. I got a "Beck." The beer really wasn't as bad as I expected and I was a little tipsy by the end of the little meeting. I met most of the people going with me to Grenoble and had a lot of my questions answered-which calmed me down (along with the booze!) Tomorrow, sightseeing and a tour of London is the plan.

Hungry and tipsy, a few of us decided to go to a local pub for a beer and some bar food. We walked for about 10 minutes and Laura, Emily, Katie, and I arrived at a busy little pub called Hereford Arms ( I think). I had a "Carling"-a British beer, and some risotto. It was delicious. By the end of dinner and our drinks, we had learned about one another's fears, families, hobbies, dreams, backgrounds, and loves. It was the start of a few friendships I hope to maintain in Grenoble.

We walked back to the hotel, observing everything from the oddly parked cars in the street to the mansion-like buildings around us. As I lay in my twin bed at the hotel, I still am a little scared, homesick, and overwhelmed, but my new life seems very promising!