Journal Entry from 15 February 2020
It has been a couple of days since my first trip outside of the UK to Paris. Since being back I have felt a complete shift internally. For some reason, going to Paris has made me fall more in love with London! Growing up, I always thought Paris was the most wonderful place, and I dreamed of going there. I loved Paris, but it wasn’t London. Maybe it’s because I had never been there before, but everything was confusing, the streets were dirty, and obviously I didn’t have to comfort of speaking the same language as everyone else.
Since I’ve been back, I realized how much I’ve actually learned since I got to London. I feet more at home, less wrong buses taken, less googling, less mapping. It’s such a difference. The CAPA program also provided me with a guitar to use for the semester, which has helped me feel connected to my normal activities at home that I would usually partake in.
I’ve started branching out a bit more as well. Making more friends, going out, being more outgoing in my Internship. I feel so much more comfortable with everything that’s been going on. The only thing is that I am freezing my butt off! It’s hard to dress warm in London because everyone is always so stylish and you don’t want to be dressed like a slob, especially if you have an Internship. That was also quickly fixed with a trip to the mall to buy a good puffy jacket.
comments about this entry today, 24 march 2020:
When looking back on this entry, I realized this was definitely the time when things started going up. After this everything went up (before the stupid corona stuff) and I fell in love with London more and more each day. It truly became my home in the short time I was there, and the more exploring and wandering I did, the more it felt like i never wanted to leave. It’s nice to have these entries that I can look back on while typing up and it’s nice to add some post-trip thoughts. I would definitely suggest writing in a journal because it’s something you’ll be able to look back on for whole life, even if it’s just some sentences here and there. This was when I started figuring out my favorite places to go, my favorite place to get chai lattes, and i developed my own routine. It helps to try and make friends with people who also want the same things as you. Whether that’s sight seeing, going out, visiting museums etc, it’s fun to have a buddy while you do that. A lot of the times they could suggest something really fun that you might not have thought about. It’s cool to get to know people from different parts of the world, even if it’s from the US.