Unfortunately Jude Law doesn't actually live in Surrey

But Julie & Jim do...This past weekend, or better yet day, was our homestay. And oh, what a day it was.

Let me preface this with the actual information we received prior to leaving for homestay. On Wednesday afternoon, we were told where and when we were going. The interns were divided into two different places: Wolking & Chertsey (which by the way, is NOT pronounced KURT-SEY, like they had told us, but actually as it sounds, CHERT-SEY. Both of which are located in Surrey. Thus, I immediately started thinking of the Holiday and was very excited. We were to leave on Friday at 5:45 and arrive in Wolking at 9:00 and Chertsey at 9:30. I left our meeting quite concerned that I did not know anyone going to my town, Chertsey, and did not know who, if anyone, would be in the same home as me.

That brings us to Friday afternoon when I quickly packed up and was ready to go by 5:30. When I walked downstairs, I FINALLY received my package, flowers from mom & dad (THANK YOU!) for my birthday. Thanks to Arcadia for finding an effective way of letting me know there were perishables waiting for me. So I quickly had to run up the 6 FLIGHTS of stairs to bring my flowers to my bedroom, where I realized I had nothing to put them in so I chucked them in the sink and left...fingers crossed they wouldn't die before I returned on Sunday. After registering in the morning (updates later when I even know the outcome), this day was not off to a good start.

Back downstairs, my bus quickly came and left...only to quickly stop to grab the two kids we forgot. Then a stop at Redcliffe Gardens to pick up more students, where the other bus leader, a randomly selected student, got on board to list the students she was missing, who all happened to be the students waiting at Palace Court...very smart move by Arcadia number 2. However, we were then on our way. Expecting a three hour drive, we were shocked when within an hour and a half, an hour of which was spent getting out of London, we arrived at Wolking to drop off a few students who had gotten on our bus. So at approximately 7, we left 10 students in a dark parking lot, smart move by Arcadia number 3. 10 minutes later, 2 1/2 hours early, we arrived at Chertsey and were called off the bus, missing many of the students who needed to be there. I'm sure you know what's coming next, SMA number 4. Students were jumbled into different homes then assigned and luckily I found the person, Amy, who was living with me and our new dad was there to pick us up!

So Amy and I went to our new home, had some dinner, watched She's the Man and talked with our new parents, Julie & Jim. In bed by 12 and up by 9, the entire group, both towns, spent the day at Winsor, touring the Castle, Eton & the town itself. The Castle itself was gorgeous and very fun to explore. I'm now dying to read my book, Lady Elizabeth and watch Elizabeth, The Queen, and all British movies of the sort. And the people who work there were so helpful, I think we may have asked them a million questions about the monarchy! We then spent the remaining time eating Fish & Chips (my first time in England--did you know they aren't strips in England but instead one large piece? and thumbs up for Mushy Peas! and what is a Spotted Dick or Bubbles & Squeek??) and shopping in Winsor. Don't worry guys: I found a new favorite store: Cath Kidston (sorry Eric!). Seems kind of like a British Vera Bradley and yes, there are multiple stores located in London, some even near our flat & my office! I'm already waiting for a cute messenger bag to go on sale!

We then went home for dinner, Julie made a recipe from an American BBQ cookbook I got her, and watched TV (mostly American shows), listened to Music (Jim downloaded Guster), & learned about eachother's lives. Amy and I had a lot in common (orthopedic surgeon fathers, siblings at NU, etc) and surprisingly, Jim & Julie do a lot of the same thing as my parents, play loud music too early in the am, watch all different kinds of TV shows, own a lot of movies, etc., etc. (Although, I'm not sure I would ever put the four of them together and I'd take my own any day!) Then we needed to be up and out of the door by 9 am to get back to London. Quite a short weekend of how much of a big deal Arcadia seemed to make it...seeing as we barely spent time with our families, hopefully that 1000-3000 page paper isn't what they made it out to be as well!

Off to the grocery store, which I'm sure will be entertaining/stressful/nerve-racking & more!