London is so busy. There are always tons of people walking as fast as possible. Sometimes it seems like they avoid talking. They're wonderful when they do have conversations with you, though -- incredibly kind, interested, and British-sounding. :) I haven't gotten over the accents yet. The strange thing is that a guy I met here told me he loves American accents and thinks the British accent is ugly. What?! Madness, I say. I suppose it's just because people tend to like what's different from their own culture.

As you know, I've found that my trip so far has been testing my faith. Well, at least I think it's supposed to. I believe I'm at peace about the whole housing situation, but I'm beginning to wonder if I've just shut down like I usually do. It seems more and more likely as I think about it. I've tried to think about God, and I've prayed plenty since I got here, and I've even been reading my Bible, which is something I struggle with at home. But it still seems like I'm relying on myself to find a place to live, and that I'm trying to plan things out. I'm going to look at a room for the first time tonight, and I'm trying to determine how expensive it'll be to buy a travelcard, since it's not within walking distance of my uni. I'm looking for places that are, but it's much harder to get ahold of people than I anticipated. I don't have a call-back number, either. I don't think I can get a pay-as-you-go phone until I have an address. The classic circular dilemma, I guess. The honeymoon period is beginning to wear off, too. This morning is the first time I've really felt lonely. I'm not outgoing, obviously, so I was sitting by myself at breakfast. It seemed like everyone else was sitting in a group, talking in English or German. (There was a huge table of Germans, but I couldn't get up the guts to go talk to them. Disappointing.) It was sort of like being back in high school, sitting at a table of friends but not saying a word, even though I had something I really wanted to blurt out. I don't mind being by myself, but it would be nice to be able to share the excitement of seeing London with someone else. I didn't talk to anyone at orientation; I was too nervous. Fittingly enough, I've talked to mostly adults since I got here, with a couple of exceptions.

On Monday night, instead of going to the party for international students as I'd planned, I went to Oxford street on my own and wandered. It was still daytime, but it made me a little nervous. It seems like I'll be on my own a lot, so I'm trying my best to look like I fit in. It's kind of hard, since everyone here is so stylish, but I just walk quickly and read my book on the tube. Today I'm going to the South Bank River Book Market with my camera, to immerse myself in the glory of writing and take pictures of London.