After a six hour flight, I finally arrived in London! After going through customs, I was greeted by an Exeter student and waited for the arrival of two other Fulbright participants. We then left the busy airport to drive three hours to Exeter’s main campus. After a quick shower, we were off to exploring the town with the International Summer School Coordinator, Lyndon and Valerie, our Fulbright Coordinator.

The town of Exeter is the most quaint and convenient city I have every been to. Everything is within walking distance and hundreds of old buildings with stunning architecture are juxtaposed with new, modern glass high rises. We enjoyed lunch at a wonderful Italian restaurant in the center of town called Strada and later stopped at a place which epitomizes the English pub called the Fat Pig. Walking along the canal which runs through the center of the city, we saw giant swans and crowds of people enjoying the unusually warm weather and rowing races. We also had the opportunity to visit the old city walls which were constructed in William the Conqueror’s time (the 1060s) and which still surround areas of the city center. The old water mills along the wall are also still in good shape.

Today, after a tour of Exeter’s beautiful campus and an orientation session, we explored more of the town. We took part in the traditional English Sunday roast at the Firehouse Pub which was the inspiration for alumnus J.K. Rowling’s Leaky Cauldron Pub. I was surprised to see the giant portions of lamb, roasted vegetables, mint sauce, and Yorkshire pudding, which is much more a puffed pastry than a pudding! We also walked along Gandy Street which is the real world version of Diagon Alley. Along High Street (aka the main street) is the Albert Museum which houses everything from Native American artifacts to a stuffed elephant and modern art. With free admission and beautiful English gardens around the back, it is a must-see in my opinion! The Exeter Cathedral was open to the public for Sunday services, and touring the inside of a building originally built in the 1200s was an amazing experience. The architecture and sheer size are overwhelming! Lots of students and Exeter residents hang out on “The Green,” the lawn surrounding the Cathedral, and we joined in long enough to hear the bells toll in the tower. Before heading back to our dorms overlooking the hills of Exeter, we ate some wonderful Indian food and stopped for desserts on the way home…English Toffee ice cream is not to be missed!

This morning at 8:00am, I started my marathon of traveling to reach London, England. Taking off from Orlando airport to Montreal was a breeze. I have flown out of Orlando countless times and have no trouble navigating that airport. Once I landed in Montreal, however, I knew I was not in Florida anymore. Canada may have two official languages, French and English, but I would definitely say that French takes priority (at least in Montreal)! Unfortunately for me, my linguistic skill ends with English and Spanish. Thankfully, though, Canadians, seem accustomed to repeating each sentence in both languages. (From my observation today, they address you first in French, and once you stare at them blankly, they patiently repeat the same sentence in English.) I have attempted to use the few phrases I do know, although in one instance I replied, “Si” instead of “Oui.” —Close, but no. At least I was in the same linguistic family.

The Montreal airport is a beautifully modern and bright airport with a literal labyrinth of escalators, elevators, and corridors. Once I landed, I wandered my way to customs where I was greeted by an enormous sea of people! Although daunting, the line moved surprisingly quickly, and I was shuttled through baggage claim towards security, and finally to the international departure wing of the airport.

Customs Entrance at Montreal

The numerous restaurants and stores feature duty-free shopping and gourmet foods like artisan sandwiches and fruit tarts. As a public health major, I noticed the graphic packaging on the cigarette packages for sale in the stores. Instead of Middle Eastern animals, flashy colors, and trademark emblems, Canadian cigarette packages feature poignant images of a dying lung cancer patient, throat cancer survivor with a tracheotomy, and the effects of oral cancer on the tongue. (If those don’t encourage you to rethink your purchase, then I don’t know what will!)

Customs Lines at Montreal

Hopefully, by tomorrow I will be blogging from London! My flight is currently delayed about two hours (all departures and arrivals are listed in military time, by the way). For now, though, I will just continue to enjoy people-watching at Montreal Trudeau International.

My Boarding Gate