So after three terribly uncomfortable days without Internet, and a few that had other activities planned, I am writing you for the first time in my temporary residence.  It’s been a crazy already, and increasingly difficult to sleep, seeing as I’d like to really know the town before I leave.  The plan ride was more difficult than I had expected, because although I really did want to sleep on the flight, I decided that drinking Starbucks would be a good idea.  It was not a good idea.  I was basically wired for the whole flight.  But that came and went, and we landed in Gatwick, meandered through a 30 minute immigration line and grabbed our luggage.  All 22 of us made it through with our luggage.  In fact, our entire trip had luggage, so kudos to the airlines.  Then we hopped on a train to Brighton, which had there been a language barrier I would have been on the wrong train, and arrived quickly.  Our flats aren’t much to look at, but they are comfortable for what we’re doing.  My only complaint is that there is no general “hang-out” area.  All the flats lock behind you, and no one is really comfortable with who’s in each room, so its been a bit awkward for a few days.  We went out as a group that night to dinner and for drinks, and it was a great way for every one to relax and get to know each other.  It was a fun night.
Then the morning came.  We may have had too much the fun the following day of travel, but I and the rest of us managed to make it through an awesome day.  We visited Salisbury, a smaller town, with a massive cathedral, and walked into a orchestral rehearsal that was one of the most amazing things I’d ever seen or heard.  Amazing.  It was a pretty full day of touring with an old British lady named Judy, whose walking pace was much faster than her speaking, and finally got to our Holiday Inn (ahh the comforts of home).
The following morning was Stonehenge.  After a wake up call for 5 am set through my TV, which made the loudest noise prior to rupturing ear drums, I got ready, realized I brought no warm clothes in my day bag, and boarded the bus.  It was really cool to go on the special access tour, really cool.  We were allowed almost free reign over the area, with the exception of climbing on the stones, and I got some pretty memorable photos.  This was all over by 6:45 AM, which is even more impressive if you think about it in EST.  But the tour didn’t stop there.  Nor did Judy.  We at breakfast, checked out, and moved onto Woodhenge, Avebury, and any other stone circle made at least 2000 years ago.  I passed more sheep and sheep droppings than I previously ever had, and trekked through more rain and wind than most would expected on a guided tour.  All together though, it was an amazing experience.  Stonehenge is an internationally recognized landmark, and to be able to walk inside the circle was really interesting.  But the weekend has passed, and now we’re on to class.  It’s a bit more fast paced than I would have thought, but when you take 3 credits in 4 days, things change.  I’ll be writing more this week, and plan on heading to London thursday, so you’ll hear from me shortly

Cheers,
Matt