First impressions of my home for the next school year: London, England!

I realize now that a whole month has passed since I last wrote a blog post.

This is probably frowned upon by most experienced bloggers who know that you must consistently post your thoughts in order to prevent your blog from becoming irrelevant, but I have a good excuse. I JUST MOVED TO LONDON!

I’ve spent the last few weeks packing up my existence and hauling it across the Atlantic, all whilst being bombarded with academic and orientation information and attempting to adjust to a new city lifestyle. Needless to say, I’m pretty overwhelmed.

But this overload of information combined with the transition of cultural surroundings may be the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me.

Despite all the forms and appointments and ID numbers and rules that accompany moving to a different school in a different country, the fact that I’m living in one of the world’s greatest cities overshadows any feelings of uncertainty or confusion.

I’ve been in London for just over one week, and I’ve already conjured up so many different topics to blog about.

But since I’m here until June, I know it’s best to spread out my observations of London’s amazing qualities throughout my time here. Trying to discuss the entirety of this city in one blog post would most definitely result in either an inadequate summary or in a novel. I’m going to take a wild guess and say no one wants to read either of those.

So after spending a week exploring London, all I can say is that I have so much to say. I don’t even know where to start. Granted, one week is not nearly enough time to really grasp such a huge, multicultural, and architecturally gorgeous city, so here are a few of my general first impressions.

First Impressions of London

1. The weather is chilly and damp but I find it quite refreshing. However, 50 degrees and overcast supposedly qualifies as summer over here, so we’ll see how optimistic I feel in a month or two.

2. Seeing the beauty of London’s famous tourist attractions up close doesn’t feel real. Here is a photo of when I casually passed St. Paul’s Cathedral while walking.

3. Coming from the USA, buying your own bottle of wine from the supermarket makes you feel powerful and privileged.

4. Buying a glass of wine at a pub also makes you feel powerful and privileged.

5. No one questions you for drinking 5 cups of tea a day.

6. Walking combines exercise, sightseeing, and money conservation all into one.

7. Having an awesome view of The Shard, AKA the tallest building in Europe, from my bed is kinda cool I guess (and by “kinda cool” I mean the coolest thing ever)

8. For someone who has no prior experience with public transport, the tube is a gift from the gods.

9. EVERY SINGLE STREET IS SCENIC (maybe I just have low standards for scenery and get too excited about everything, but every single time I take any turn I’m overwhelmed with sights of vibrant flower pots, incredible architecture, and adorable pubs and food shops with pristine window displays.

10. British food is better than American food.

11. Indian, Chinese, and Lebanese food are better than British food.

12. Chocolate is the best possible food product one can consume (JK I already knew that before I came here).

13. Meeting people from all over the world makes pronouncing and remembering names exceptionally difficult, but this also makes for wonderful and insightful conversations.