Day 1: First Day in England

After finishing a great double quarter pounder with cheese meal, I boarded the plane and left New York last night at about 9:15. The flight went well and we touched down in London this morning at 9:25 local time (4:25 New York time!) After making my way through customs, I met up with my sponsor family and headed out to a Rotary Club meeting about an hour away. I had the opportunity to meet many of the club members, including the new President and future District Governor. The house--like so many of the towns we drove through-- is more than 200 years old and absolutely beautiful. The Rotarians were great too and I had a wonderful time talking to them. Surprisingly, the weather could not have been better today. When I asked one of the gentlemen why everyone had been telling me how foggy the U.K. always is, he replied that the English were just trying to keep the island for themselves.

One of the first things I noticed was how short all the buildings are. One reason is simply that so many are extremely old and were built before the means of building tall buildings were available. Another reason has to do with the geologic structure of the island. While New York and other famous American cities have a solid igneous rock base, much of England has a sedimentary rock base that cannot support large structures. Driving on the left hand side of the road through me for a little bit of a loop too, as well as the abrupt transition between fields and urban areas. Apparently England strictly enforces building codes that prohibit the development of rural areas around towns (called the green belt).

Overall, it was a productive and enjoyable first day. This should be a great year. Unfortunately, jet lag is setting in, so I'm going to call it a night. I'll see if I can't get some pictures posted tomorrow.