My first (almost) week

Many things to update:

Things are going well with my host family: the man is really nice to talk to, and his wife from the Ukraine is a really good cook. The only thing I'm not used to is that they turn their heat completely off at night, though I've usually remedied that with wearing extra clothes to bed.

On Sunday I wandered around the Chiswick neighborhood all day. There are some nice green areas around town, and when I get a chance I'll post the pictures. The downside was that the two major historical places around the area were closed for a month or so for the winter. I also visited quite a few chain stores on the "high road."

Monday I went to the newspaper station to meet people and get a tour, but after the tour they sat me right down and put me to work! Tuesday was supposed to be my official first day, but it was alright with me because I had nothing else to do that day. The computers here are a little archaic, and not all of them have internet, so it was a bit shocking to see when I first got here. I'm sure I'll adjust.

On Tuesday they had me do a lot of changing press releases to "filler" stories. Nothing too complicated and kind of unrewarding, but it's a start. I've been writing in US broadcast style for so long, so it's a little bit of adjustment to write for print in the UK.

On Wednesday they didn't have much for me to do, but then around 3:30 they asked me to go out on the streets of nearby Richmond to ask people on the street about oil problems for their "Street Talk" segment, kind of like the "What Do You Think" part of The Onion but without the fakeness. I had a devil of a time trying to get people to talk to me: it was during rush hour and everyone either was in a hurry or didn't want their picture taken or didn't live in the area or whatever other excuse they could find. I was feeling kind of down about my skills as a journalist, and I didn't get enough people willing to talk to me that night. Luckily the next day I was able to go back and finish, and I was reassured by my coworkers that doing "Street Talk" is pretty difficult in that area. One thing I probably need to work on is my notetaking skills, as I'm so used to using a recording device or a camera to get all my quotes.

My coworkers are great, and most of them are still in their 20s and like to go out and have a good time. Last night was my editor's last day, so we went to Soho to the "Bar Room Bar" that was actually in Chinatown, which was cool experience seeing my first Chinatown. Luckily they had a 2 for 1 £5 cocktail special that night, but the cocktails were fairly small and far less potent than most bars in Madison. So after about six of those we headed to a club, since most bars close at 11 pm. This night was the first time I got to talk more in depth with my coworkers, so I had a good time all-in-all.