First Days in England

Hey Everybody
Sorry it took so long for me to post I have been super busy upon arriving in the UK.  My seven hour flight went well I rode on a new "air bus" airplane with in seat touch screens so I was able to watch movies on the way over to make the flight go faster.  I got into Heathrow around 8:00 Monday morning London time which was the middle of the night back home.  I was picked up at the airport and taken directly to my first placement which is at the RHS gardens at Wisley.  The first views of the garden were amazing the sheer size of it is overwhelming.  I see something new everyday at work if you are not careful you can easily get lost.  I speak from experience I got turned around yesterday on my way home from work and ended up where I began.  After touring the garden and picking up my uniform and such we were off to the nearest town West Byfleet to run some errands.  We got me all set up with a bank account and headed to the grocery store.  The store was a challange I roamed the aisles looking for anything that looked half way appetizing.  If my food selection did not give me away as an American to the grocery clerk my difficulty in figuring out how to pay him in pounds did.  After the tirp to town we were finally done for the day.  I was dropped off at my flat as they call it, my apartment, I was able to start unpacking.  Being beat after being up for so long I decided I should get to sleep because I had work at 7:30 the next day.  Not having an alarm clock yet luckily I woke up in time to make it to work without being late on my first day.  I am starting out my time at Wisley in the herbacious department which takes care of several important sections of the gardens.  Everyone has been super nice here which makes the transition a lot easier.  The first day I spent planting, yes I got to plant a hop hornbeam shrub on my first day, Dani has already left her stamp on England!  Also on my first day I got some watering in, bed maintenance, and yes they do have to weed in England too.  Work helps to keep my mind off the home sickness once I get settled more it won't be nearly as bad.  The nights have been pretty quiet and lonely, but I am moving tomorrow to new housing where other student workers live so hopefully things will pick up.  Also I have yet to gain solid internet access but once I do I will be better able to update my blog and hopefully skype.  I took a little tour around the pinetum (collection of conifers) after work tonight and got some good pictures I will try to get some posted soon so you can see what I'm up too.  Hopefully everything is going good in "the states" the good USA.  Things are quite different here in England but I am slowly becoming accustomed.  Until I post again  Dani