Am I a Londoner Yet? Not quite but I'm Working on It!

What a week. It really has been a whirlwind of a time for me here in London. On Sunday, after making my way through the Minneapolis/Saint Paul Airport with two hours to spare before departure, I can honestly say I was not incredibly nervous as I had anticipated. I was excited and ready to get on the plane. Funnily enough, my two friends from school, Judith and Lucy, ended up on the same flight... so we endured an eight hour overnight flight together. Landing at Heathrow Airport and waiting for the next five hours for our group pickup is when the nerves started to kick in... I’m actually in London… the time I have been anticipating for the last ten months had finally arrived.

An hour bus ride and a quick nap later, we arrived at our apartments. Before orientation started, I unpacked my sole suitcase, met my roommate, and explored all 170 square feet of my London flat. After a quick orientation that night came my favorite part of the day... sleep. With my twelve hour nap and my jet lag fairly kicked in the butt, I was able to take Wednesday on with a new attitude — I’m here, I’m rested, and I’m ready to do this. We had long hours of orientation at campus that day so a group of us went out to experience our first pub. Living in the Borough of Camden (close to The University of London) in Central London, there is practically a pub on every corner... and later I found out that is the case all over this city of 8 million people.

Wednesday morning we had a bus tour of the city. And before you ask, it was a coach bus, not the open top buses you see in the movies... though I might have to do one of those tours later! It was really nice to see the whole city and figure out where we are living in relation to the tourist attractions. Oddly enough, I am living only three-ish miles from the iconic London (i.e. Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, London Eye, Westminster, Tower Bridge, etc.).

I have four classes a week, with two Fridays of the block filled with a class excursion somewhere in the city. My Peace and Conflict Studies class sounds very intriguing, however it goes until 7pm... so coffee or tea will certainly be needed. Global Environmental Policy is going to be awesome, just by beginning to discuss how we use/need to use policy to mitigate climate change and how every person’s carbon footprint influences the world around us makes me want to be a more environmentally conscientious person. I’m so excited!

This first Friday I had an excursion for each class and it was museum day! I started off my day with a twenty minute tube ride with my class to The Natural History Museum to look at wildlife photography and minerals. My lecturer’s background is in the sciences so I’m glad I have some base rock knowledge (from my Introduction to Geology class I took last year) and a little political science background. Then I ended my day with a trip to The Imperial War Museum to see a World War I exhibit. With a late night visit to the museum, my classmate, Annika, and I had to brave the tube alone.... and we made it!

I did, however, get a pretty bad cold and was cooped up in my room with tea, cereal, and Netflix all weekend. But I’m telling myself it is better to be sick now because next weekend we are going on our study tour to Bath, England… which I’m super excited about!

So all in all, I’m doing well. I made my first few meals for myself (rice and shrimp) and it was great! And I didn’t have any measuring cups, so just imagine me trying to decipher my water to rice ratio while using a fire safe stove that automatically turns off when it’s been on too long.... yep that was me. I have said this before and I still stand by it — being an adult and having to cook food for yourself is really hard. That being said, I cannot eat out every night because I am on a budget, so more trips to the grocery store will be needed.

Some things I’ve noticed about London so far: There is construction everywhere. The tube is not as difficult to use as I once thought. Everyone here walks really fast, my short little legs cannot keep up (but I have to “blend in” so I’m working on it). Crossing the street can be a struggle when you are a newbie like me… cars have the right of way, not pedestrians. There are a lot of coins in the United Kingdom’s currency and I have not yet mastered the differences. And finally, the weather has been pretty nice… I do not yet miss the Minnesota snow when I have had a week in the high 40s.

Well, thanks for tuning in and I promise I’ll have more pictures for you next week.

Olivia

Pictures: CIEE campus where I have class, London city at night, Tower Bridge from our bus tour, The National History Museum, Russell Square (right outside campus, complete with its own cafe), my first Fish & Chips with some friends, traditional Cream Tea in the afternoon, an Earl Grey tea before class, an inside look at my flat (complete with a tiny bathroom to the left).