Arrival and my "Family"

I arrived at the Birmingham airport yesterday morning at 7am "their" time.  Ironically, Kylie (the other IUP student) was sitting in the row behind me on the plane! We didn't even know that we were on the same flight.  I sat next to a guy named Mark who is a little older than me and will be here in the UK for the next year.  The plane ride wasn't bad and went relatively fast.  Kylie and I were met by Dave Kling, the man who corresponds with people from IUP and sets up our teaching placements.

We were then dropped off at our host family's houses.  I live in a small community-type area where most of the houses are connected.  The house is tall and narrow with a kitchen, small dining area, sun room, and family room on the first floor.  Upstairs there is Meg's room (Claire's 14 year old daughter), my room, the bathroom, and Claire/Carl's room. (Carl is Claire's boyfriend) Such a lovely family!  They have been amazing.  Claire and Carl took me to the Tesco around the corner to pick up some groceries.  I love all of the simple differences, even in a food store!  A little while later, I thought I was going to fall asleep standing up so I caved and took a one hour nap, woke up for some baggets for lunch, lounged for a little bit, and then had to sleep for another 3 hours.  After that I watched some TV with Carl and Claire's parents, who are here for the weekend from Wales.  I've been bombarded with questions about EVERYTHING from Obama to the population of PA, which I don't even know.

Last night we went to Sara's for dinner.  Sara works with Claire at a school and is Kylie's host.  We had an amazing time and even more amazing food!  Roasted red peppers, fish w/ lemon and pesto sauce, fresh vegetables, (4 glasses of wine...I thought it would help me sleep!), and two types of chocolate desserts.

Tonight, Dave is taking Kylie and me out to a pub to catch us up on important school information and find out what places we are interested in seeing while we are here.  So far, everything is going so well! I need to buy a phone card to eventually call my parents. (They have this blog address so hopefully they are checking up on it!)

So long for now. I am so excited about this new experience!

-Lisa

PS- My family has an adorable cat named Millie!