Living in London is a dream. I fall more and more in love with this city everyday. It is still surreal to me that I have been here for almost a month. Adjusting to living with three other people was challenging at first, but I am glad that to be living with my friends. Sharing a space requires a lot of communication and compromise, two skills I have definitely have been working on a lot. I love the independence of this program; I take the tube everywhere, I can walk to work, and I discovered the joy of cooking! The first week here I was very overwhelmed with figuring out how to feed myself, something I never thought would be an issue. Cooking for yourself is time consuming, but I love to send pictures of my creations via fb to my parents.
This past week was really busy. On Monday I saw Florence and the Machine live at Alexandra Palace. She was amazing (sounds just like her live recordings)!! Alexandra Palace was a bit far (1 hour trip via bus), but it was totally worth it.
On Tuesday, I saw “The Woman in Black” (yes, like the movie with Daniel Radcliffe in it) at the Fortune Theatre as a field trip for my theatre class. This was the first show I saw in London. “The Woman in Black” is the second longest running play in West End theatre history.
This weekend I visited Oktoberfest. I went with a group of students who are also studying abroad in London through FSU. The festival reminded me of the county fairs we would have back in my hometown but 10x better, with bigger rides, and of course lots of beer! I think it’s important to keep an open mind when you’re traveling. There are so many stereotypes of different countries and cultures. Germans are usually regarded as being very harsh and stern, but this weekend proved that stereotype wrong; they are some of the most joyous people I’ve met. Also, I really (really) miss the food; nothing beats a fresh bratwurst and pretzel.
This has been a spectacular month. I am very grateful to be here and cannot wait to see what October has in store!!
