Upon arriving in London, we were exposed to many different experiences…all starting with CAPA’s orientation week. This meant eagerly anticipating what may come of our internships (for those who elected to do one), learning to navigate the tube (I’d say I’m very much still learning, but doing much better now), meeting our professors and classmates, learning to live in a new environment with complete strangers, getting used to everyday life in London, etc. I must admit, I was initially overwhelmed and mesmerized all at once. First, from all of the hustle and bustle of the city, next by the beautiful history and architecture surrounding me. I soon got used to thinking about the layout of the city in terms of up and down, as opposed to everything being all spread out–which we are used to in The States. (I’ve even become more accustomed to referring to home as “The States”). While I was warned about the initial time period being very much one of trial and error, I have been pleasantly surprised to realize that even when things break, the tube is late, it’s raining and I’ve forgotten my umbrella, I am very happy to be here. I have loved even the trials and tribulations that I’ve faced thus far. On my walk to work, I pass Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the Thames, etc. I enjoy feeling both like a local and like a stranger. I’ve learned that as much as I’m fascinated with becoming a Londoner, the Brits I’ve met are fascinated with my experience as a Texan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As for all of the firsts I’ve experienced since I’ve been here…I’ve been asked for directions on the Tube–of which I can say that I was knowledgeable enough to help. I’ve been asked if whether or not I was Irish, because “my accent was so enchanting.” I spent an entire Tube ride bonding with a man over what it’s like to have big dogs. I’ve tried the spring water in the Roman Baths. I’ve seen the Stonehenge. I have made the “perfect cup of tea” for several of my lobbying firm’s clients, local politicians from all over the U.K. I’ve been proposed to by a semi-scary, but actually harmless, man on the night bus. I’ve gotten lost coming home from work–which resulted in me learning how to navigate the day-time bus system. I’ve made some friends in my workplace and have now met people from all over Europe. London has exceeded my expectations in so many ways; I’m looking forward to continuing to be enchanted by this beautiful city and all it has to offer. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Upon arriving in London, we were exposed to many different experiences…all starting with CAPA’s orientation week. This meant eagerly anticipating what may come of our internships (for those who elected to do one), learning to navigate the tube (I’d say I’m very much still learning, but doing much better now), meeting our professors and classmates,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":601,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[369],"class_list":["post-19676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-capa","tag-rollinsabroad"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/601"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19676"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19678,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19676\/revisions\/19678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}