It has been a week since I landed in Heathrow airport. A week since I left America behind and called London my new home...and I am loving every moment. I admit, the first week, and the first few days especially, were...strange. Not in a bad way certainly, but I guess I had some expectations for London that wasn't was I got. I'll explain.
London is rainy. There is always fog and mist and clouds, you hardly ever see the sun and you must never leave the flat without an umbrella right? WRONG! At least, that has been how this week has gone so far. Every day has been filled from sun up to sun down with beautiful sunshine and blue skies. This is not the London I was promised!
The other strange thing is the culture shock...if you can precisely call it that. Because the off-putting thing is, London isn't all that different from a lot of other major American cities...but it's just different enough to through you off at the worst times! Walking down the street it is sometimes very easy to imagine you are in a place like Boston. All the signs are in English, there are lots of different types of people and restaurants, heavy traffic at all hours. Not so different right? Well don't forget that when you try crossing the street! Because in the UK? Cars have the right away! That's right! NOT PEDESTRIANS! It's been one week and I have been almost run over more times than I care to admit...(ignore that mom and dad I'm fine, I promise!) Also, they say a lot of strange words here. So you know you're speaking English, but sometimes you start to wonder because all of the sudden you have no idea what someone is asking you! Fries are chips and chips are crisps. Garbage is rubbish, sidewalk is pavement, take out is take away, a line is a queue and the stovetop is the hob! These are only a small few.
But, once you begin to settle into a routine, London is amazing! The first few days were filled with so much excitement and walking I was sure I was running only on tea and adrenaline for most of the week. The school orientations were what was expected and some helpful tours by faculty there helped to show us around the city, as well as the best places to study, get books, go to the library, how to take the tube (their version of the subway), buses and taxis, as well as many other helpful hints. Though you know you have taken all of their advice to heart when other tourists mistake you for locals and ask you for directions to the nearest tube station! Score one for blending in!
But, something can be said for just wondering the city with a few friends as well. Our search for a few things for our flat (that's our apartment by the way) led us to a department store called John Lewis which I have deemed the British Macys. A solid hour walk from out apartment, we discovered what had to be the heart of London's shopping area. Every store you can imagine lines the street on both sides for miles. More American brands like American Eagle, from H&M, to Lush, to Primax to British stores I cannot begin to identify. I was a shopaholics dream!
And today, I finally felt as if I was in London as we sunk our teeth in and made the 6 mile walk to see most of the major tourist attractions. We started not far from where we take classes in the Faraday house and went to the British Museum. A beautifully Greek inspired building not far from Russell Square we gloried in the architecture until we left the tourists and headed for the main event. However, our not so preplanned route took a delightful turn as we traversed through the West End, London's well known theatre district. And for a drama nerd...it was fantastic! It was like the British version of Broadway and somehow I liked it more. It was more quaint. Less traffic. A little off the beaten path. And perfect! I even saw the Queens theatre where I will be seeing Les Miserables later this semester. This eventually lead us to China town which was a fun detour before we landed ourselves on the way to Parliament.
We took the direct path through the people protesting and marching for the women's march, and ended up seeing the Calvary museum, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abby, the Thames, the London Eye, and the Prime Minister's house. From there, we walked along what can only be described as London's version of Central Park, until we met up with some more friends at Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately, we did not see the changing of the guard today, but there is plenty of time for that in the next four months! We got our tourist photo in front of the red telephone box (and those things are everywhere!) and circled back up to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. Taking a slightly more direct path we landed back at our apartment exhausted but reassured that this was indeed London!
