Well, the first weekend has come and gone. I’m basically a local Londoner at this point. Now here’s the part where I have to look at my daily journal entries and make everything I’ve done sound as exciting as possible (it really isn’t a challenging task). I’ll start from, well, the start.
To be honest, upon arrival it still felt like I hadn’t left the United States. An airport and bus ride with other American students will do that I guess. However, all the British accents I had heard up to the bus ride itself had confirmed for me that I made the right destination choice. I arrived at the Stay Club in Camden (my housing accommodation) after about an hour's ride and almost immediately had to leave after bringing my suitcase up (well actually down, to the negative second floor). I checked the room out (tiny), jumped on the top bunk (hard), and used the loo (tiny, again). But I really don’t mind much. Then I left for my first adventure - a Covid test in Paddington! I left with a few friends and took the Tube for the first time; luckily, one of my friends is a UK citizen and has been to London 6 times before this, so we had a tour guide. Once in Paddington, we struggled a bit to find the testing station itself, but eventually happened upon it and got the swab stuffed up our noses (all negative, woo). Then, I was determined to find the Paddington Bear and get a picture- thanks for the suggestion, Nana. I don’t love the picture though, so I may need to return at some point.
Now, from this point on I’ve done quite a lot. I don’t want to make this an essay, but I want to include everything, so here’s a quick rundown of the important stuff.
I wasted no time getting to the good stuff. The first full day I was there I went to an EFL Championship (second division) football match between Millwall and West Brom with my roommate, Riley. West Brom is currently 5th in the table, Millwall 15th. We asked for the cheapest seats, got to the section and looked for them until the closest fan yelled to us, “just sit anywhere mates,” so we did. 4 or 5 rows from the pitch. Millwall, the home team, won 2-0 and the entirety of the match included the home fans cursing out the opposing team, chanting, and cheering/hugging after goals, both of which were scored right in front of us as we were seated behind the goal.
On Sunday we had a half day bus tour of London. Though we drove by most landmarks quickly, I learned and saw a lot. This is the first time I saw Big Ben- beautiful, amazing, absolutely glorious, worth the namesake, and…2/3 covered by scaffolding. But the clock itself is uncovered and that’s the important part! Riley and I stopped by after the tour to get a better view and some more pictures. Okay, now back to the tour. I met my favorite Brit already. Our tour guide, Trudy, was truly one of the nicest, funniest and most British woman I’ve met. I’ll treasure my picture with her, and by the sounds of it, she was just as delighted to take the picture as I was. She gave us a rundown of many landmarks dating back to before the Great Fire and it was a lot of fun. She also stopped the bus twice: once so we could watch the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace and once to take pictures of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Did you know that the hats on the guards are 11 pounds and from Canada? If you did know, pretend you didn’t and that you heard it from me first.
Stay with me- just one more paragraph for food and fun. I had fish and chips on my very first day despite my dislike of seafood. Though I wouldn’t choose to get it again, it really wasn’t bad. I’ve had a steak and stout meat pie in Covent Garden which was delicious and filling despite its relatively small appearance. I had carbonara pasta from a cute stand. I even had some “nibbles” (sour cream and chive pretzels, ew) and tea on the British Airways plane. Best of all, I’ve even cooked pasta with meat sauce and grilled cheese with ham for myself. Additionally, I will say I’ve enjoyed the pubs- one doubled as a club on Saturday, one I was able to enjoy a sweet European coke while watching the Chiefs downfall, and one may become a tradition after my Monday classes. It’s a fun hangout spot and it appears to be the thing to do here (surprise!).
Best part? It hasn’t even been a week yet and you haven’t heard a lick about my classes.
Cheers
Hey Buddy….you have definitely been quite busy in the short amount of time that you’ve been there. Sounds like Trudy really made your bus tour one to remember…I didn’t know the guards hats were 11 pounds! That’s a lot to carry all day especially if you have a cold & have to stifle a sneeze!! Funny that you already tried the fish & chips 🤣. Well you got it over with right…the other food sounds tasty. And you still have 3 months to try other things. You mentioned your friend. I am happy that you have made some already that you can hang with. But I knew you would. Thank you for sharing your 1st few days, they were…