Over the weekend I got my first look at the dark side of these London streets. I went out and had a little too much fun and found myself in a tight spot. Turns out guys aren't exactly the same as Iowa boys, that's one thing I will not get used to. As our director told us English men don't know how to talk up the ladies. Basically they just get drunk and throw themselves at women. Sadly, that's not always too far from the truth. I had one particularly persistent guy even offer me a cab ride back to my hotel. Being left alone and in a part of town I didn't know I gave him my zip code and reluctantly hopped in the cab.
Imagine my surprise when half an hour and 50 pounds later we arrived at his flat. He paid the taxi and it drove off and by that time I was headed in the other direction. I tried to flag down a taxi but they told me they were not heading in my direction and sped off leaving me on the side of the road. The "nice English man," as he described himself, caught up to me and grabbed my arm. He offered to let me spend the night. After he got the hint that wasn't going to happen he walked me to a bus station and told me it would take me where I needed to go. Wrong! It took me back to almst exactly where I came from.
In the early hours of the morning, alone, lost, and a little terrified I had no idea how to get back to my hotel. With my dead phone stuffed useslessly into my purse I took off. I ended up sticking to the well lit streets until I finally found someone who told me how to get to Buckingham palace. I practically ran the entire half hour it took me to get back to my room and had never been happier to be home!
Despite my one bad night I had to move on with my life. I started my classes this week and love only having them two days a week. The fact that they are three hours lond is a bit of a downside, but for my art class we go to galleries and for my religion class we rarely meet in a classroom. None of the courses I'm taking here are really my strong points (I'm more of a math and science girl) but I enjoy them somewhat to my suprise. The one thing I can't wait for though is my internship. I made the hour and a half journey this week to find the hospital before my interview next Tuesday morning. I got to travel to zone 3 and explore a few of the outer areas of the city. They are lovely, but are a totally different maze of streets just waiting to be explored.
Saturday, 24 September 2011
Friday, 16 September 2011
Week Two - Thursday, September 15th
Last weekend I traveled to Stratford-Upon-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare. I took a tour of the town and saw all there was to see but the whole tourist thing isn't my cup of tea. I explored the streets and found a delicious candy shop called Mr. Simms Olde Sweet Shoppe. If you ever get the chance go there! But beware you will become addicted. I also found a club called Maizons. For a small town it was a lot of fun, but I learned the British don't know how to dance when they told me, the small town white girl from Iowa, that I had moves.
Although I had a lot of fun in Stratford we went a lot of other places too... a small town called Bourton-on-the-Water which was beautiful, Oxford the center for a ton of prestigious universities, and Buckingham Palace. The palace was beautiful, especially the intricate gardens. Oxford was also a wonderful place to visit but once again my favorite part was off the beaten path in a little market off one of the side streets. I'm starting to learn to get lost in cities because that's when you find the best places. My favorite place of the weekend was Burton-on-the-Water. There were so many little shops and the stream run ran through the entire town. I sat by the water and tried my first cream tea and I am hooked.
This trip made me realise how in love I am with London. Although I had a good weekend I was so ready to get back to the big city. I don't know if it's just because London is so different from my hometown or what but I love it here. I have everything I need within half an hour, I don't have to drive anywhere, I can go and do my own thing, I can get lost, and I can find something new everyday. I'm buying my own groceries and cooking my own meals, which was a little imtimidating at first but now I'm like Suzie homemaker.
I started classes this week. Only having them two days a week seemed like a pretts sweet deal at first but then I figured out there are three hours long. My attention span can't handle that! Haha just kidding it's not too bad. It's totally worth having four day weekends. Next week I interview for my internship and I can't wait! I will finally get to work in a hospital, and it's in London so that makes it ten times more amazing. So this weekend I get to go even further and explore the streets of zone 3. Hopefully I make it back to write more next week!
Although I had a lot of fun in Stratford we went a lot of other places too... a small town called Bourton-on-the-Water which was beautiful, Oxford the center for a ton of prestigious universities, and Buckingham Palace. The palace was beautiful, especially the intricate gardens. Oxford was also a wonderful place to visit but once again my favorite part was off the beaten path in a little market off one of the side streets. I'm starting to learn to get lost in cities because that's when you find the best places. My favorite place of the weekend was Burton-on-the-Water. There were so many little shops and the stream run ran through the entire town. I sat by the water and tried my first cream tea and I am hooked.
This trip made me realise how in love I am with London. Although I had a good weekend I was so ready to get back to the big city. I don't know if it's just because London is so different from my hometown or what but I love it here. I have everything I need within half an hour, I don't have to drive anywhere, I can go and do my own thing, I can get lost, and I can find something new everyday. I'm buying my own groceries and cooking my own meals, which was a little imtimidating at first but now I'm like Suzie homemaker.
I started classes this week. Only having them two days a week seemed like a pretts sweet deal at first but then I figured out there are three hours long. My attention span can't handle that! Haha just kidding it's not too bad. It's totally worth having four day weekends. Next week I interview for my internship and I can't wait! I will finally get to work in a hospital, and it's in London so that makes it ten times more amazing. So this weekend I get to go even further and explore the streets of zone 3. Hopefully I make it back to write more next week!
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Week One - Thursday, September 8th
My first week here has been a little crazy. I was mixed up between being so tired that I only wanted to sleep and too excited to even lie down. I was also a little nervous being from a small town. London seemed so big at first and I was afraid of getting swept away by the endless sea of people, run over by one of the wild drivers racing down the wrong side of the street, or taken to the end of the world with no way back by the tube. But it turns out those things were the least of my worries.
London is amazing and I have adjusted so quickly. I feel like I can really get around pretty efficiently and I just love the vibe this city gives off. People constantly rushing past in a hurry to get who knows where and beautiful scenery that will take your breath away are in continuous motion. I want to pack the city up and keep it in my pocket to pull out whenever I leave this wonderful place. It seems everyting I worried about is long gone.
Most of the people are genuinely pleasant and some even realise I'm THAT girl. The silly American who has lost her way and some people even come up and ask me where I'm trying to get and point me in the right direction. Most others will help me out if I can run them down in their hurry to get wherever they are going. Still a few completely ignore me or continue on by with a simple "sorry" and won't listen to a thing I have to say. That's something that I will have to get used to because in my hometown of 800 people everyone is friendly, but then again I always knew where I was going.
The one thing I didn't expect to be as difficult is not seeing my boyfrined or my family. I knew I would miss them of course but it's a little different when I'm 4000 miles away and won't see them until Christmas. But I know they love me and they should know I miss them like crazy. I'm so excited to be on this adventure that I'm not letting anything hold me back. I can't wait to get back out and see more of the streets of London.
London is amazing and I have adjusted so quickly. I feel like I can really get around pretty efficiently and I just love the vibe this city gives off. People constantly rushing past in a hurry to get who knows where and beautiful scenery that will take your breath away are in continuous motion. I want to pack the city up and keep it in my pocket to pull out whenever I leave this wonderful place. It seems everyting I worried about is long gone.
Most of the people are genuinely pleasant and some even realise I'm THAT girl. The silly American who has lost her way and some people even come up and ask me where I'm trying to get and point me in the right direction. Most others will help me out if I can run them down in their hurry to get wherever they are going. Still a few completely ignore me or continue on by with a simple "sorry" and won't listen to a thing I have to say. That's something that I will have to get used to because in my hometown of 800 people everyone is friendly, but then again I always knew where I was going.
The one thing I didn't expect to be as difficult is not seeing my boyfrined or my family. I knew I would miss them of course but it's a little different when I'm 4000 miles away and won't see them until Christmas. But I know they love me and they should know I miss them like crazy. I'm so excited to be on this adventure that I'm not letting anything hold me back. I can't wait to get back out and see more of the streets of London.
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