It’s been a week already?
The title of this post says it all… I absolutely cannot believe it’s been exactly one week since arriving here in London, the city that really never sleeps!
Wow! It’s been a crazy fun experience thus far. Although I have had a few ups and downs in the past week, it has been a great time overall. I’ve never been abroad before so the shock of not being in the US got the best of me on Monday night; however once I went to orientation on tuesday and met a group friends, I was back to loving the idea of being in London for the next 4 months!
If I could, I would write every detail of every day thus far because it’s been so great! But I’ll keep it short and simple 🙂
Although I was very nervous for orientation given that I didn’t know anyone doing this program, or even where I was supposed to go, once I finally found my way (yes, I got lost… again) and met Christina (from Norway), Carmen (from Mexico), and Kathryn (from Texas) I was again reminded why I wanted to study abroad. To meet people and experience an adventure, which I am proud to say I have managed to do both!
On Tuesday the study abroad people who were putting on orientation warned us that classes are much harder than in the US and that the required reading list is just that, required. One of the ladies jokingly said “Class isn’t story time like it is in the US, where the teacher reviews what was supposed to be read the night before…” Yikes! What a way to start off orientation! My new friends and I looked at each other with concerned faces over how difficult classes here have been made out to be!
Throughout the week, my friends and I have been planning where we want to go around Europe! Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day??? Yes please!! Take a three day weekend to Paris?? Count me in!
On Thursday everyone in orientation (including students from all around Europe) went on a bus tour around London where we saw icons like Big Ben, the London Bridge, and the Eye of London, just to name a few! We then took a boat tour back. It was gorgeous! The chance to see the sun set over London and to see London at night was just breathtaking! For dinner we went to an Indian restaurant, which I gotta say was better than any Indian food I’ve had in the US!
On Friday I went to Oxford Circus with my friends where we went shopping and explored some of the streets of London!
It is taking a little bit to adjust to how expensive London is! Even at McDonalds, which is much nicer than in the US, a value meal costs about 5 pounds, so about $7.50- $8.00 US dollars- and that’s just for a cheeseburger, medium fries (more like a small in the US), and a medium drink (again, equivalent to a small in the US).
My first weekend in London was fantastic! We went out to a pub on saturday night which was a lot of fun! The “Brits sure know how to party!” as one of the locals exclaimed as we were leaving for the night.
Today I started off my day with my first class, cognitive psychology at 10AM (I guess studying abroad has to involve some studying, right?). It will take getting used to because they have 3 hour classes one time per week. It is like Loyola’s night classes… all week! But alas, I survived my first day of class and my first week here in London!
It is time to take a much deserved nap 🙂
Until next time… goodbye luv!