After so many months of planning, I’m finally across the pond! My flight was actually pretty wonderful. Great seat, in-flight tv, great food (not sarcasm). Once off the plane, I will admit that the travel to the campus was a bit stressful. Instead of a pricey taxi, I took a train, then the tube–all while carrying two bags and dragging two large suitcases behind me. Less than ideal, but it’s already over so I can’t complain too much. As I predicted in my last post, once I finally made it into my room, I took a very long nap.
Truthfully, I can’t believe how quickly I’ve gotten comfortable at my accommodation. On the first day, I met two of my flatmates and after the first week, I’d met plenty of people in other flats in my building and even more flatmates. My flatmates and I all have a great group dynamic and hang out together often, which I know is lucky. I actually just got back from having breakfast with one of my flatmates, where I had my first full English breakfast! It was great, although I’m kind of confused about the baked beans for breakfast. Definitely cool with it, though.
My prediction about the slang difference has come to fruition. Words like “trousers” and “lift” have easily made their way into my daily lingo, whereas I can never remember what I’m supposed to call cotton swabs. The difference in accents has also proved to be a topic of conversation. I love how drastically different the British accents can vary depending on which part of the UK someone is from. It’s easy to tell which of my flatmates are from more country areas and which are from the city.
I’ve already been to a massive street market on Brick Lane and seen the British Museum (which was INCREDIBLE). Just the other day, I went and saw a concert put on by the London Symphony Orchestra! I’m saving all of the traditional tourist destinations for when my parents come to visit later this month, but I am truly looking forward to it.