After getting in to my room the first challenge I had to accept was that of finding supplies. Toiletries, a few snacks, those things that I couldn't go without but didn't have the room to pack. I had asked the PA that registered me for instructions to get such things, and she showed me two Sainsbury's locations in the area, one of which would actually still be open Sunday evening. After studying the map for a few moments I set out and was able to locate the store without problem, it was about a 10 minute walk (well, it still is a 10 minute walk) from my housing. Once there I realized how ridiculously expensive things where over here, but I had been warned. I picked up shampoo, conditioner, those things, and some snacks. Perhaps one of my favorites being "Frosties". It's really just Frosted Flakes, but the name is intensely better than its American counterpart's.
After shopping it was time to check out the buffet. It was much fancier than I had expected, but any meal that isn't served from a cafe pretty much has been. I can't remember the specifics of what I had, but it was the first food I'd eaten since early that morning and that had been airline food. Delicious! I had met a group of people in line that I was going to sit with, but once we were done fixing our plates all of the tables in the great hall were full and we were forced to migrate to the bar area. I lost track of them at some point, so I sat beside a girl who was by herself. Turns out she was working on her PhD at Cambridge. She was from Amsterdam. I had an interesting talk with her, including explaining to her why all the Americans had suddenly taken over King's College.
After eating I stopped by the porter's lodge to get an ethernet cable. For those of you who don't know what a porter is, imagine a police officer, except they aren't enforcers of the law, aren't out to get you, and are a good bit more jolly. After getting back to my housing I was finally able to get online and contact people to let them know I had arrived safely (yes, this was the first time I had contacted home). The adapter which had been previously purchased to allow me to charge my laptop did not fit, so I only had one battery charge till the next day when electronics shops opened. After letting people know I was alive I laid down to rest until my girlfriend would be on later (she is currently in Korea. See her blog here).
After lying there for just long enough to begin to doze off, there was a knock at my door. I answered it to find a most embarrassed Chinese guy in nothing but a towel. Doors here lock behind you, and he had left his room to shower without the key. I let him in and let him use skype to call around to get a PA to help. Eventually we got someone to go get the spare key from the porter's lodge, and he was on his way. He was fairly upset about the whole ordeal. I tried to convince him that it didn't really matter that much, and he shouldn't worry about it, but I don't believe it worked. Regardless, I don't think after that event that I'll ever forget Chris's name, or that I'll ever forget to have my key with me when leaving the room.
It was an interesting first half of a day.
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