BUNAC???

I guess "take a nap" goes without saying.

No- don't take a nap!! That'll just make any jet lag much worse. (I'm assuming your flight lands in the morning UK time like most- if it lands late at night, then of course by all means go to sleep, hehe.)  You need to get your body acclimated to the new time zone, so after dumping your stuff in your room, I would go out and take a short wander round the immediate area.  This is what I did when I first came to the UK and it really helped me stay awake and get even more excited that omgsqueeI'minEngland!!! Don't get lost on the way back to the hostel like I did, though

When I landed on my BUNAC visa I went straight to the Hostel and dropped my things off (too early to book myself in) and went straight to the induction.     I was too excited to relax and was too hyper...  So got that out of the way quickly - more time to muck about and do what I wanted.  I stayed at the
[[http://www.generatorhostels.com/london/|Generator]] before moving up to Sheffield.

Thanks, guys!   

Now that I think about it, taking a nap would make the jet lag worse.  I was actually thinking about getting myself on an almost-GMT schedule before I leave for England, that way it wouldn't hit me as hard.  But I figure I'll be exhausted no matter what I do.

I arrive at Gatwick at 9am on a Thursday, so I don't think I'll be able to make it to the BUNAC orientation that day.  And even if I could, I'd probably be too tired to pay attention!  So I plan on going to the orientation the next day (Friday).

So there's a huge chunk of time between arriving at the hostel Thursday morning and the BUNAC orientation Friday morning that I need to kill.  It's so overwhelming!    But in a very good way. 

I arrive at Gatwick at 9am on a Thursday, so I don't think I'll be able to make it to the BUNAC orientation that day.  And even if I could, I'd probably be too tired to pay attention!  So I plan on going to the orientation the next day (Friday).

I'm going to be arriving at Gatwick at 10am on Thursday!

Alot of my jetlag is mind set. If I think about it, I get tierd. But if I just go with everything and make myself adjust to the time change, it isnt so bad.

Good luck with the BUNACing! I did it two years ago and it was awsome!!!!

Just a silly random question - what did you did once you managed to make it from the airport and check into your room?   

I guess "take a nap" goes without saying.  But after that?  London is just so massive that I already know I won't know what to do with myself once I check in.

Also, as someone who is bring just a little over £1000, I hope I don't find myself on the streets before I find a job.  Granted, I don't eat out at restaurants and I don't drink, so I think I'll be good.  At least for a couple of weeks.

LOl no I didn't do anything people recommend you to do. I was very fortunate in that one of my good friends from undergrad was in grad school at City Univ. she met me at the airport and we went to her flat. She was afraid I would get too jet lagged so I took a 45 min nap. We got up. Dolled our selfs up and went to Leicester Square. We had so much fun. Saw a movie premiere and I think I went to BUNAC orientation 2 or 3 days later.

It took me about a month and a half to find a good job but it was a great placement and then I moved to my own flat shortly after. If your open to it you can share a room with a fellow BUNAC'er its cheap and will allow you more money for travel. I still have friends I talk to from my experience and I was a BUNAC'er in 2003. Good luck! try to be very frugal with your pounds till you get work placement. You will be great!

When I flew into gatwick a few months ago. I'm such  a dummy. I didn't sleep the night before or on the plane. When we arrived there was so much to do I went to see Imogen Heap the same night I arrived. Now no sleep and at a concert at 9:30pm Needles to say i felt like a narcoleptic falling asleep during a concert! Fell asleep on the tube and barely kept my eyes open on the bus! word of advise no matter how excited you are. No matter how awesome the movie on the plane is. SLEEP or you wont sleep for 24hrs!

Yeah, I doubt sleep will be easy to come by when all my nerves are on edge.  This is the first time I've ever traveled by myself, let alone out of the country by myself.  Yikes!

But I'm probably a bit older than the typical BUNACer, so I'm thinking I can handle it well.  Also, since I'm only going to be there for the summer, I would love to find a job straight away (i.e. no later than my first week there).  I'm a Social Work student (the bulk of my posts reside in the Social Work thread), so with Social Work being a shortage field, I'm hoping that'll mean I won't spend half the summer job hunting.