Ready, Set, LONDON

After interviewing with several Big Four accounting firms, I was presented with an opportunity to move to London near the end of August and became fully committed to the idea sometime in October.  I chose the London internship because of its unique location and the challenging material that I was promised would be presented to me.  I wanted to take the internship that would provide me with the most opportunities for personal and professional growth, and after reviewing other offers I thought London would be the best fit for me.

After accepting my offer I started the long visa application process.  It took several months and a lot of paperwork to get everything submitted and approved in order to be ready for my January 26 start date with the firm.  I couldn't really get excited about the process until I had my visa in my hand because without that I still had so much to do and a lot of anxiety about getting it done.

But, that's in the past!  I sent my visa into New York on a Wednesday and had it approved and on its way back to me by Friday.  The only obstacle that I had to tackle after that was actually getting it back in my hot little hands after Mother Nature dumped about 8 inches of snow in my hometown.  UPS decided that they, unlike the United States Postal Service, would not travel in any weather and delayed the arrival of my visa by a couple of days.

After getting my visa I was finally able to get a flight booked.  Having a confirmed travel plan, an apartment, and a driver awaiting my arrival really made everything seem so much more real.  I was ready to start the process of packing or procrastination as I like to think of it.

The last week building up to my departure I made sure to sneak in all of the American goodies that I knew I would miss.  I'm not sure how much Mexican food I ate that last week, but looking back I wish I had eaten more!  My parents also surprised me with dinner at Olive Garden for my going away dinner...so delicious!

I experienced a mini disaster packing the night before I was scheduled to leave.  The suitcase I thought I was going to be using turned out to be broken; several of the zippers were missing or completely off of the track, which made it impossible to use.  My sweet Dad got up early the next morning to go scout out some new luggage so that I wouldn't be a walking disaster upon arrival in my new city.

I got to the airport around 4:30, which was about 2 hours before my flight was scheduled to depart.  I checked my bags, said my goodbyes, and headed through security.  I tried to make sure I wore nice underwear so the TSA people wouldn't be completely offended when I went through the body scanner!

My first flight was scheduled to leave around 6:30 from Nashville to Atlanta.  Luckily, this flight was on time because when I got to London I found out that my flight to London had been canceled and Delta had booked me on another flight that was supposed to leave about an hour earlier that mine.  Everyone on the plane was uncomfortable and a bit grumbly because it was so crowded.  Some of the business class people had to sit with us lowly coach fliers and they were NOT happy.  I'm hoping that since Delta acknowledged how awful the flight was through email I'll be getting some extra frequent flier miles...Medallion Club here I come!

I finally arrived in London's Heathrow Airport at noon local time.  I was tired, sore, and not in the best mood from the flight.  It took awhile to clear border patrol; they were especially curious as to the nature and longevity of my stay since I was entering with a visa that wouldn't expire for three months.  The border patrol agent was not the friendliest guy I've come into contact with here so far.

After clearing border patrol I went to collect my bags and meet my driver.  The only problem was that my driver wasn't there.  Since my flight had been canceled my driver got canceled too.  I had to call the car service after a lot of waiting and a few tears.  Once I got hold of the car service they were very friendly and sent a driver right out to meet me and take me to my apartment.

I loved seeing all of the sights on the way to my apartment.  The driver must have taken the long way because my roommates said they didn't see any of the things my driver drove me past, but I wasn't paying for it so I'm not too concerned!  I had a great introduction to the city getting to see Westminster Abbey, Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, and Parliament.  I also saw a few donkeys, which made me feel right at home.

I arrived at my apartment about an hour after hopping into the car.  London traffic wasn't too terrible, but I could tell it was going to be an adjustment getting used to which side of the road and car on which the drivers were positioned.

My apartment is in the financial area of London directly in the center of the city.  It is a two-story, three bedroom, two bath flat with a kitchen and living room.  Luckily it is furnished so we didn't have to worry about bringing anything of that nature with us on our trip.

I have two roommates who I really like so far.  One of the girls is from Texas and the other is from Ohio, but has spent some time in Mississippi, which was fun to talk about!

The next three months are going to pass so quickly, especially with work being so hectic during busy season.  I can't wait to get out into the city and begin exploring and taking pictures to share with y'all.  I'm hoping to get some quality travel time in while I'm over here.  I really want to go to Italy, Spain, France, and other parts of the United Kingdom and Ireland.  There is another intern who spent some time in Prague who really wants to take us there and show us the sights so we're all really excited about planning that weekend trip!

I hope you enjoy following my travels as much as I am going to enjoy writing about them.  I will try to keep the blog up-to-date, but it may be awhile between posts!

Cait