First Impressions

18 January 2008

I have officially been in London for a whole day. I am not sure how I feel about the city yet. I am absolutely thrilled to be here and I appreciate all that London has to offer but I’m not sure if it is fulfilling my expectations. I don’t even know what I expected other than I thought that I would like it more than Paris. I thought London could be my home but I don’t feel that yet…granted I have only been here for one day! I shouldn’t make such broad decisions yet about what city I like best.
Despite my indifferent initial reactions of the city, I am in love with the college. It is located in the picturesque gardens of Regents Park. The people working at the school have been nothing but friendly and helpful. They know that we have expectations of London and they want to make sure their city is displayed proudly so they constantly recommend places and share their insider’s knowledge. The college itself is very small…just a quad with a few buildings. I walked around the library today and I am very pleased with the selection. I hope to take a book out every week to read. There are so many topics that interest me from cinema books, tointernational media studies, to contemporary British fiction. I want to learn about the world on this trip and I know that but I have to be more willing to practice that. I think if I maintain this attitude of excitement and the willingness to experience something new then I will truly love this city.
Ashley, Nicole and I traveled to Picadilly Circus this evening. We chose to walk around ourselves rather than go on the trip the school offered. I want to experience London, not as a tourist, but as a traveler and I don’t feel the school travel group is conducive to that. We did, however, have to take the mandatory tourist photos in the red phone booths! We walked from our school in the north of London all the way to Picadilly Circus. It was a somewhat long walk but WOW it was worth it! We went through winding streets with little shops and cafes. The Gaps and Starbucks littered every street that we went on but the independent small shops, bars, and clubs certainly outweighed all of that. To get to Picadilly, which seemed much like New York’s Time Square, we had to travel through Oxford and Soho. Oxford was very much a commercial street with wide sidewalks and very trendy looking teenagers. Soho couldn’t have been more different with dark, narrow streets with hopping clubs and people pouring out onto the streets with a pint in hand. It was such a vibrant area with everyone having a fantastic time, looking cool. That is one thing that does not seem to differ…the trendiness of everyone. It’s incredible how almost every person I see looks like they are out of a magazine. I hope to acquire some of this London style! To end our first night out on the town, we went to a small café selling baguettes, wine, and desserts. We each had a whole piece of the most decadent chocolate cake I have ever had(I know, that’s not helping me acquire the waistline for the hip London style!) It was a great night with lovely friends in a beautiful city. I think that maybe I just need to have more days like the night I had tonight. I need to see the diversity and realize that I can fit into this city but I first need to drop my tourist illusion of it. To help shed that stereotypical view of London, Ashley, Eric, Nicole and I are going to “do the tourist attractions” tomorrow. We will see the quintessential London sights…Buckingham (pronounced without the “H”) Palace, Big Ben, the Tower of London, Parliament, and the London Eye. I am very excited about it and I think once we see those sights I can become less and less of a tourist.
It is also hard today to be extremely happy because I found out that my computer will not hook up to the schools wireless network. Their system does not support Mac’s Leopard…damn updates from Apple! I have to use the schools public computers, which makes it harder to use instant messenger and virtually impossible to use the webcam. I think today was the combination of many disappointments and homesickness. I know that I will always be a bit homesick but I also know that if I don’t enjoy myself then this was a waste of a trip. I want to have an amazing time and come back with loads of stories to share with everyone. I’m looking to the positive and hope that London will lighten my spirits tomorrow. Until then, “Cheers” from a homesick daughter, sister and girlfriend.