Monday – 8am – 11am class with CEA in Russel Square
Tuesday – OFF but Wednesdays the maids come in to clean and
we have to have everything stripped Wednesday morning before we leave. My flat
mates and I (I lucked out with them!) We cleaned off all surfaces Tuesday night
and stripped everything but our beds.
Wednesday – Wednesday morning I’d have to get up a half hour
early so I could strip my pillows, bed, and duvet cover off for the maids to
replace. If I was vigilant on Tuesday nights, I could just grab my things and
go after this. I had a 9am class at LSBU near the Elephant & Castle tube
station in south London. I would race home to eat breakfast around noon/1 and
then head to CEA school for photography class in Russel square at 3pm.
Thursday – OFF (my flatmates had Fridays off but I didn’t so
they often left to travel on Thursdays and I had to wait until after class the
next day to leave).
Friday – 9am class at LSBU until noon.
Weekends were off. I often left after classes on Fridays to
travel once I had been in London for more than a month and knew my schedule and
limits.
Things I have noticed about London.
1.
Not a lot of Americans travel in London. This
city is incredibly diverse but Americans must be scarce because they think
nothing of Australians, Mexicans, or any other Europeans but were shocked to
hear an American accent.
2.
Lingo! There are so many differences that are
just similar enough to confuse. A caravan is a 5th wheel. A tank top
is a vest and a vest is a waistcoat. We call vests waistcoats only when worn
during weddings, right? So many random harmless (kind of fun)
misunderstandings. Puddings are any desserts and they don’t have pudding.
3.
Things I’m missing. Cream cheese, yogurt (they
have yoghurt that is all greek..nothing sweet), jello, white granulated sugar, cottage
cheese, Walmart (easy access catch all for items you may ever need), and
cucumbers (they have English ones and pickles for the same reason).
4.
Things I love: Camembert cheese, teaTeaTEA,
clotted cream, and can we talk about black currants for a moment. History
lesson about the states: We previously thought that black currants had a fungus
that would destroy trees. We eradicated them and made them illegal!? Not so in
the U.K. It is everywhere and glorious! I miss the black currant Ribena drink
soooooo much.
5.
Socially the English are extremely reserved in
comparison to most Americans that I am used to. I have travelled extensively
throughout the U.S. and I have never encountered the kind of introversion that
I had in the U.K. I embraced it and used it to my advantage. I had to learn how
to engage them in conversation and do so successfully. Give them an inch and
most would find a way to ignore and move away from me without acknowledging I
had said a single thing.
I am an extremely bubbly, smiley, and
extroverted person. I say good morning, constantly smile throughout my walks,
and I’m fearless when it comes to asking questions, engaging strangers, and
making conversation. Even their greetings typically something like “y’alright?”
which is used in lieu of “hello”. I found this to be true even in the smaller
cities I briefly visited. Once they are comfortably outside their reserve they
are just as friendly and open as any cheerful American.
Ireland and Scotland however were the loudest,
more outgoing, extroverted, people I have ever met. They were frequently shout
at me, engage with me first, and one guy followed me from the Christmas
festival (an absolute crush of people) to ask me out and he didn’t even know I
was American! I found Scotland especially to be very intimidating.
6.
I travelled to Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. Within
London I spent time in York, Blackpool, Oxford, and Birmingham. I recommend not
spending all your time in London or even England but you shouldn’t spend all
your time travelling. The little I did gave me snippets of their countries but afforded
me the opportunity to make a real connection with my host city itself.
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