Cheers From London: Cider and the Sights

Kelly Montgomery
Kappa Kappa Gamma

Cheers from London! I’ve been here for a week now, and think I’m finally starting to settle in. I landed at Heathrow Airport in London at about noon London time, which is two in the morning in Seattle. Fortunately I didn’t feel very jetlagged because I took a sleeping pill on the plane, but the jetlag would soon arrive.

The first four days I was staying in a very modernized hotel in downtown London with the rest of my API study abroad group. It took us a good two hours to figure out how to turn the lights on—apparently our room key was required to be in a slot by the door for any electricity to work. Then, for specific outlets, a switch had to be flipped “on” if you wanted to plug anything in. FURTHERMORE, the outlets are all different than the U.S., which means you have to have an adapter and whatever you’re plugging in can’t be more than 240V. Being the brilliant one that I am, I looked at my straightener and saw it was 250V and thought, “Oh only 10V (whatever that means) more…I’m sure it’ll still work!” only to have my straightener explode in my hands. I blew out several outlets…and had no more straightener. My roommate was not too thrilled. I didn’t spend much time in my room though; I went with the other people in my group to explore different parts of London.

So far, I’ve been to see Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and the British Museum. My favorite was probably the British Museum, filled with everything from mummies to Roman statues. Unlike America, Britain’s history dates back for centuries; the whole city feels historic. As a history buff, I loved learning about each tower in the Tower of London (there are 22 total) and how Anne Boleyn was a prisoner in the same house that was given to her as a wedding present. The Tower was also where we saw the crown jewels, and although no pictures were allowed…I secretly snuck a couple. It’s much scarier having people yell at you in a British accent. Later in my time here, I’ll get to go on the London Eye, to the greyhound races, have afternoon tea, see a play, go on a Harry Potter tour, and much more. I’ll do all of these events and excursions with other students in the API program.

There are 14 of us in my group, although three are studying at the University of Arts-London and the rest of us are studying at the University of Westminster. There are four campuses for the university; three in central London and one 25 minutes outside. I happen to be at the campus outside London in a town called Harrow. There is one other girl from my program at this location with me who is very nice, but we don’t exactly have a lot in common.

When we were being transported to our residence halls, I was extremely eager; I was actually excited to be a little away from the city and in the cute, quaint town of Harrow. However, when I arrived I realized the fantasy I had constructed in my head. I checked into my jail cell, I’m sorry, “room”, and then proceeded to explore the “quaint town”. What I found was litter, graffiti, and lots of languages I didn’t understand. This was when I first started to feel homesick. I was convinced I was going to hate my time here.

However, since my first day in Harrow I have settled in and realized it’s not as bad as I initially thought. No students were here when I first checked in because they were still on ‘holiday,’ so the town felt abandoned. Students are actually here now and the town seems to have awakened, a lot like Pullman. The people in my hallway are more than welcoming and generous, offering me decorations, food, and most of all - alcohol.

The ‘tube’, the subway of London, is right outside my dorm which is convenient for when I want to go to the store or into central London. I also recently discovered that there is a decent sized shopping mall about 10 minutes from me which has clothing stores, pharmacies, food shops, and familiar stories as well such as T.J. Maxx, Claire’s, Clarks, McDonalds, Subway, and Ben & Jerry’s. Their department stores are different though. There’s one store called Argos that has most anything you’d need from a towel to lawnmower to a toaster. But when you walk in, all you see are catalogs. You look up the item you want, write down the item number, pay for it, and then wait for an employee to go in the back and get it for you. Very strange.  The grocery store was hard for me too; no aisles were labeled and things were randomly place all over the store. There’s also no mac n’ cheese, top ramen, or spaghettios… I may starve. I was able to ‘legally’ buy my first bottle of wine though! I got the cheapest one…

Some other differences between here and the states that I’ve noticed are the fashion. EVERYONE wears tights or leggings, and NO ONE wears tennis shoes. People stare at me like a crazy person in my Vans. There’s not a whole lot of life in people’s fashion either; the main colors seem to be black and…black. Seriously it’s weird. Everyone I’ve met has been very laid back with an ‘indie’ edge to them; different, but I like it.

Now on to more important things - the pubs. They’re amazing. Every one I’ve been to so far has been different but equally impressive. Last week I went to a local pub with my cousin in Battersea (a part of central London) and ordered a cheeseburger, one of the only things on the menu. Hands down one of the best cheeseburgers I’ve ever had. I got a ‘cider’ to drink—here cider means it’s alcoholic; my cousin was shocked at the explanation of ‘apple cider’. I literally think I’m going to get it every time I go out now, such as tonight!

My cousin is taking me to a ‘trivia night’ and a popular pub called ‘The Fentiman.’ I told him I wouldn’t know any of the answers considering they’re all be British questions, and he said I’d be important in the ‘American round’...I told him not to count on me for that either. I’ll let you know how it goes!

If you have any questions please feel free to email me at Kelly.montgomery100@email.wsu.edu.