"I'll bet it has," he agreed sympathetically - it had been a very long two weeks, he couldn't imagine five months of this. He had to think a moment to answer her questions, ending up with a slightly lame, "Well, it's not... good, but it could be worse. I was out of London weeks ago for a bit of a crash-course in language for coming here, but when I left.." He shrugged. He hadn't any contacts in London anymore, so he was guessing.