WEEK 1.5

After everything that has gone into moving abroad, I am so excited to say I am officially a student at Richmond, The American University in London. I have been in Richmond for almost 2 weeks now, and I could not love the town more. The people are sweet, the buildings remind me of a fairytale picture book, and the park is absolutely breathtaking. But enough of that for now, here is everything that happened leading up to today.

Before leaving Marietta for the airport, some friends and family came by to send me off. I'll admit, that as ready as I was to leave, these goodbyes made me a bit teary eyed. My dad was one of these people, as he was not going to be able to come to the airport with my mom, sister and I. Leaving behind people is never easy, especially when it is a parent, but it made me feel better that I am going to see him on October 8, because he is coming to London. We have tickets to see the Atlanta Falcons play the New York Jets at Twickenham Stadium (which I can see from my bedroom window). I have never been to a Falcons game in my entire life, and the very first time I will see my home team is in London, which makes me laugh.

Jumping to the airport, check-in for my flight was a breeze, which is almost unheard of at the Atlanta airport. I had all of my important documents and copies of those documents in a folder for easy access. Lets just say, if anyone gets their hands on that folder, there might be a new Ashton Graus walking around. My covid test results were checked, along with my vaccination status and visa credentials.

After I was all checked in and my bags had been checked, my mom, sister and I sat down before I went through security. If you know my mother at all, you know she cries about absolutely everything, so you can imagine she didn't take it very well when her oldest baby was about to fly off to another country by herself for 4 months. Goodbyes are bittersweet, but it's not the end, and I will see their faces again (see what I did there Avery). It was a rough go getting through security with tears in my eyes, but I eventually made it to my gate and waited to board my flight.

The flight from Atlanta to London was about 7.5 hours, and fairly easy. I was served a dinner of chicken and rice on Thursday night, and breakfast the next morning before landing. Customs in England was easy because I am a vaccinated American citizen, so I was able to go through the instant check lane. I showed my passport to the screen, my face was scanned, and I was let through to baggage claim. Of course, my luggage was some of the very last to come out, so I had to wait close to an hour to get all of my bags onto the cart. I was able to walk right out and hail a taxi all on my own (something that I’m still very proud of myself for). The taxi ride from London-

Heathrow airport to Richmond was about 40 minutes of me fearing for my life because the roads here are narrow and the drivers are very, very fast.

My stay at the Richmond Hill Hotel was very nice. Once I dropped my stuff off in my room, I was able to walk around Richmond a little bit. I ended up going to the “viewing point” where people watched and just enjoyed themselves before it began to rain.

On Saturday, I met up with a friend named Sophia that I met on the RAIUL class of 2025 facebook group. We started messaging back in May, and have kept in touch over our mutual One Direction obsession. Sophia and I went to a cute litte bakery in Richmond where I learned that I absolutely adore sausage rolls. We walked around the town a bit after that, and I got some things that I forgot at home, like a hairdryer, makeup remover, shampoo, conditioner, and a few other things.

Move in was the next morning, so I woke up around 8, packed my stuff up, checked out of the hotel, and ordered an uber for a .1 mile drive around the block to the school. I was not about to carry 5 bags all by myself. No way.

My room is on the top floor, overlooking the front entrance of the school, so carrying all those bags up 4 flights of stairs was not an easy feat. I began unpacking, and eventually made my way down to the welcome reception the school was hosting for new students. Classes started Monday, so I got ready to actually do school for the first time in almost 18 months. For those who don’t know, I am an International business major. I am taking 5 classes this semester, as does every first year student here. My course load seems manageable, and having no classes on Fridays is definitely a plus.

On Friday, 3 of my friends (Arianna, Sophia and Trey) and I ventured to Wembley to go to IKEA for some things we needed for our dorms. This was my first public transport experience, and I can say it was truly interesting. There is no direct line from Richmond to Wembley, so we ended up taking 2 buses on the way there, and 2 buses and the overground on the way back. As we arrived at the Richmond overground station, there were police and fire trucks surrounding a nearby building.. A restaurant (we think) caught on fire and caused the main road to be shut down, meaning we had to walk almost a mile and a half from the station to the school. This would have been fine if I had only gotten the 4 things I went to Ikea for, and had not come out with 2 big bags stuffed to the brim.

On the way back to the school, we stopped at Tesco for some snacks. We decided that we wanted to try some different candies that we don't have in the state, and in Arianna's case, Italy. This included Smarties (they are not the same here, I promise), Kinder Surprise eggs, Crunchie bars, and regular Kinder chocolates. Ive decided that Kinder chocolate is my new weakness. Everything was paired with £4 wine, the true uni student accessory.

Saturday night, the same 3 girls and I made a trip to central London to meet some people and go to dinner. We took a bus to Kensington, where we walked around Hyde park and took pictures at the pond in front of the palace. We then had dinner at an AMAZING Indian restaurant, where the staff could not have been sweeter and the food

was some of the best I have ever had. From there, we walked through the theater district to the River Thames for sunset. We stopped by a local pub for a “pint”, where we met some of Arianna’s friend from when she studied abroad in Arizona last year.

Later that night, Sophia and I attended a One Direction club night at Scala London by Kings Cross Station. I can genuinely say I have never had more fun than I did that night. Being that the drinking age is 18 here, we were able to get drinks from the bar and ended up dancing for hours to the bands music along with their solo material (it's time for them to get back together). We met so many new people, all who loved to comment on our “American” accents. Fast forward a few hours, and we realized that the trains were no longer running and the night busses were packed, given it was 2 am on a Sunday morning in London. Trying to find our way home was one of the most excruciating things I have ever

experienced. We would get on one bus, then the bus would kick everyone off after only 2 stops, only for the same thing to happen again and again.At one bus stop, I was stopped by a Scottish guy asking what bus to take, and I looked him right in the eyes and said, “I literally moved here a week ago.” He then proceeded to ask me where I was from, given the ever so popular “American” accent. I told him Atlanta, and he then went on to explain to me how much he loved the Atlanta airport and how he once played a piano in an empty terminal. He then offered to take Sophia and I to Edinburgh, where we politely declined (lol). Sophia and I ended up walking almost 3 miles to another bus stop, where eventually we ordered an Uber because we were falling over our feet with exhaustion.

I have had one whole week of classes, and am officially settled in (save the clothes still sitting in a duffle bag on my floor because I can not find hangers ANYWHERE). Pictures are up, bedding is on my bed, and the first load of laundry is done. I’ve made new friends and tried new foods. Gone to new places, and already had so many new experiences. I've talked to my family at least once every single day, sometimes even calling my mom 4 or 5 times a day to tell her something that happened or just to catch up.

That pretty much sums up my first week here, and I could not be more excited to see what else this opportunity brings me in the future. Thank you again to everyone who has continued to support me and followed this journey. Without you all, this would not be possible.

All the best wishes from Richmond.

Ashton xx