When I pictured myself in London, I pretty much mentally photo-shopped my face onto the Facebook pictures of any girl I knew who had been on this study abroad. I thought it would be a bunch of girls in coats, smiling excitedly in front of a world-famous landmark at night with twinkling lights all around us. What I experienced when I arrived on Friday differed from expectation in that subtle, magical way only a city can. Plus my foggy yet wired, jet-lagged brain may have contributed a bit.
Rather than being welcomed by enormous and crowded sites, I was immediately immersed in the quieter, neighborhood life. No towering cathedrals, just the tall, ornate, red brick and white houses with Peter Pan chimneys. The cloudy day, the park where everyone and their dog (literally) strolls, the view out the open french door in our room of the black metal fire escape and the flowered flats behind us, the way London has a distinct homey, muggy, flowery, foody smell, how it feels to walk with girls you know are going to be your very best friends past tube stops and shops. It was the most special feeling in the world to me that I hope can always come back to me when I think about this place.
We still constantly have to remind ourselves that we are lying on bunk beds
IN LONDON, ENGLAND
or eating pea soup
IN LONDON, ENGLAND.
It is definitely surreal, but as we become accustomed to the local life, I will write what I see. Cheers.
Rather than being welcomed by enormous and crowded sites, I was immediately immersed in the quieter, neighborhood life. No towering cathedrals, just the tall, ornate, red brick and white houses with Peter Pan chimneys. The cloudy day, the park where everyone and their dog (literally) strolls, the view out the open french door in our room of the black metal fire escape and the flowered flats behind us, the way London has a distinct homey, muggy, flowery, foody smell, how it feels to walk with girls you know are going to be your very best friends past tube stops and shops. It was the most special feeling in the world to me that I hope can always come back to me when I think about this place.
We still constantly have to remind ourselves that we are lying on bunk beds
IN LONDON, ENGLAND
or eating pea soup
IN LONDON, ENGLAND.
It is definitely surreal, but as we become accustomed to the local life, I will write what I see. Cheers.