London, je t'aime.
2:34 PMLondon. You have shocked me. In a great and somewhat unsettling way, you have forever changed me (ish). I am sorry for ever doubting you.
Initially, I was unsure as to why my program sent us all to London for a 48-hour stopover with nothing but a 3 hour tour planned on the second day. Mind you, when I say nothing, I absolutely mean NOTHING. No directions, no meals, no activities, no guides. Just us, our hotel rooms, and one complimentary drink the first night. Me and the 9 other girls on my trip were left to fend for ourselves. I have never had any great interest in London, assuming that it was basically identical to the big U.S. cities I know oh so well, yet I was humbly surprised. Since I didn’t know the area well and stupidly hadn’t taken the time to do proper research to find out what exactly I should even be doing while in London, I just hung in the back of my group of new adventurers, and was able to see what I liked about the city. Turns out there was a lot.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that London is a “hybrid” city of sorts; combining the great characteristics of both American and European cities. Tons of people divided into many unique neighborhoods, giving the city a great lively energy much akin to my lovely Chi-city, yet everything was somehow much slower paced and no one was absurdly rude or shoving you on or off the train (shocking, I know). I found the Brits to be much more stylish, their city was much better planned, had a much richer history, and everything was overall much cleaner (paradoxical sidenote: “rubbish bins” are extraordinarily rare there. How does this happen?).
Also from this short stop over I have gained a newfound respect for people who travel and study in English-speaking countries because of the vast differences between all of them. Yes, I will admit I was a bit prejudice and arrogant in my first “mission statement” post, but foggy London town has opened my eyes. Although I wouldn’t go as far as saying I experienced some debilitating case of culture shock in my mere 2 day trip, it was much different than I had expected. To me, it seems as though the culture and the lifestyle is so different than the American norm and would take a lot of courage and struggling to get used to, even without the language barrier I am battling. Living, learning, and gaining a deeper understanding all within the first 72 hours. I have a feeling this will be an amazing semester.
peut-etre demain,
ming.
0 comments