Greetings from Bristol, UK (5-26-2008)

About 24 hours have passed since my last post. The 6 hour flight across the north Atlantic was fine. I think I actually managed to get some sleep… unusual for me. We landed in Bristol about 8:30 this morning (UK time). Bristol International is the smallest international airport I’ve been through. They don’t have jetways between the plane and the airport concourse. You actually have to exit the plane, walk down steps to the ramp, then walk into the concourse. Anyhow, exiting the plane it became clear I had arrived. The temperature was near 10oC and it was raining and windy… couldn’t ask for more stereotypical UK weather. After claiming my baggage (I checked two bags. Max allowable weight is 50 lb each. Mine weighed 48 and 48.5 lb) the chauffeur car driver was waiting to pick me up (The sign said ‘Rolls-Royce’, not ‘Mr. Reiger’. I guess that will have to do.). We struggled a bit finding my flat, but after 20 minutes of waffling about we found the building and sure enough right next door was a Tesco.

The flat looks great. It’s a bit small, but other than that I’d say it’s the UK equivalent to my place in Indy. As soon as I arrived it became clear I have a lot to learn just to accomplish day-to-day tasks. For example, getting the door to the building to unlock is a trick. It’s not obvious how to operate the appliances. And at first I was looking for the controller for the air conditioner, then remembered most places don’t have air conditioning (including this place).

The hire car (rental car) has been delivered but I can not find where they left the keys. So the car sits out on the street unlocked. I’ll call the delivery company first thing in the morning to see if they can’t tell me where they left the keys.

The bed didn’t have any sheets when I arrived. I guess tonight I’ll be sleeping on a naked bed. After work tomorrow (assuming I get there) I’ll make a trip to the mall to buy some sheets and pillows, among several other things. For example, door stops. The flat has doors separating the few rooms. Most are spring loaded and want to close automatically (for fire code reasons I suspect). After tomorrow these doors are going to stay open.

My only complaint is there is a funny noise that comes regularly from outside and can be heard through the walls. I have yet to figure out what it is, but if there’s some way I can put a stop to it, I will.

In theory work starts at half 8 (that’s 8:30) in the morning. If I’m lucky I’ll have found my car keys by 8, but with a good half hour drive I’m guessing I’ll be a bit late. However, I’ll call it a success if I get to work since never before have I driven on the wrong side of the road from the wrong side of the car. Not to mention the layout of the roads here are total chaos. You have to remember most everything here is older than the United States and far older than the modern car. When they ‘planned’ the city, horse pulled carts was the most advanced mode of ground transportation. As a consequence roads are going every direction. There’s no grid system. Roads do not run north and south… they just run. As a result you get disoriented real quickly. I say ‘planned’ because to be honest I can’t see any evidence of a plan. I would guess it just evolved.