Cheers! It has been just over a month in London and I am blown away by my experience so far. Not only have my cultural horizons been expanded, but I have been able to visit the city of Bath, Stonehenge, the Cliffs of Dover as well as countless nooks and neighborhoods of London. I may have been a little naive, but I didn’t know London was so big. I happen to live in the neighborhood of Shepard’s bush, which is one of London’s most historically diverse neighborhoods and while I can communicate with everyone with no language barrier issues, I am astounded by the amount of different cultural influences and restaurants that are right around the corner. When visiting Bath, Stonehenge and Dover, I was offered a different view of England that I did not expect when staying in London. Seeing the English countryside in contrast to the bustling London metropolitan city was calming in a sense while still being exciting and relaxing my from the tense city life I’ve been getting accustomed to. Something about walking through a wide open field, the ocean in view and a castle that appears over the next hill makes calms the soul. At dover there were also wild horses that grazed just feet from the edge of the cliffs, and even let people touch them. This reminded me of the time I was able to travel to Macchu Picchu in Peru and wild alpacas did the same near the summit. The cliffs of Dover was the first time that I was able to walk on a beach and see a 1600 ft shear cliff at the same time, and coming from Florida it was especially beautiful. The other day trip that was especially impactful was the Stonehenge trip simply because it was all a mystery.
My classes schedule has been nice in allowing to me to travel many weekends even if it is simply exploring London, and my internship has been challenging at times as well as unique. Even within my internship I work with sales teams from France, Spain and Germany and that is giving a one of a kind experience proving to me why London is one of the most diverse business centers in the world.
In conclusion, London is changing my life, I am looking forward to fall break in Barcelona and Mallorca and continuing to explore London and pieces of Europe. Roll Tars!