I'm not really sure what I expected to find in England. I'm not sure what made me want to come here out of all the places in the world. Still I approached this new venture in life with wide eyes and an open mind.
The first Saturday I was here we had an orientation activity called the "boat cruise". Basically if you paid 10 pounds you got to go on a cruise along the river Thames. Most of the people i'm studying with signed up and together we took off, dancing and drinking the night away.
I'm not sure why but this cruise really made me see the similarities between England and the US.
If you look at it closely London isn't too far off from New York City. They're both two major cities filled with people hoping to make their dreams come true. I mean that why I came here in the first place. They're both loud, over crowded, and dirty. They're both cities.
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love New York City, I find it really charming, but once you look past the surface you can see just how different London is. I'm not going to sit here and list all the reasons why you should visit London, or why it has the nickname of being the greatest city on earth. I'll let you form your own conclusions on your own time, I just simply wish for you to look past all the similarities and look into the foundation that built this city.
I have been in this city for two weeks now and each day I discover something new. Whether that is how to blend in better, a place I must go before I leave, or something about myself. When I first signed up for study abroad I knew I would be learning new things. I mean I signed up to go to college in a different country, of course I would learn new things, but I never knew just how much I would be learning.
Each day is a new adventure in itself. One that is filled with stress, anxiety, and anticipation. In a lot of ways studying abroad is like becoming a freshmen in college again. You have to relearn everything you thought you knew, but this time it's more stressful due to the small barriers you face everyday.
Being the new kid is never easy, but I'm just going to keep taking it one day at a time and seeing where life takes me. You never know who you'll bump into or what you find if you let life lead the way. So my advice to you is to keep cruisin' along with your eyes wide open. Sooner or later you'll stumble across a great adventure that will be worth the wait.
As Always,
Talia