I've been studying abroad in England for the past three months now, and I've found that I have a pretty regular weekly routine. While I've traveled to a new place nearly every weekend, there is something monotonous about how I get there. So, here's a day in the life of an American traveling abroad (well, Thursdays in particular, since that's when I typically begin my weekend adventures).
9:00 am - Wake up, complain about waking up, then remember you're in England and there's not much to complain about.
10:15 am - Attend Introduction to Shakespeare, where we discuss the eleventh Shakespearean drama we've read so far into the semester.
11:30 am - Eat lunch in the "Refectory". Complain about how bad the food is. Complain about the drinking water being warm (honestly what's a girl gotta do to get some ice around here?).
1:10 pm - Attend Ireland and the Irish Diaspora. Talk about how much Ireland resents Britain (which is evidently a lot).
2:15 pm - Pack for an entire weekend in just a backpack. Only two pairs of shoes will fit, and one of them are the ones on your feet, the other are your shower shoes because hostel showers are not to be trusted. Also, don't forget the converter.
3:10 pm - Catch the school shuttle and have them drop you at the local train station - because no one wants to pay six pounds for a cab.
3:45 pm - Take a train for about 2-3 hours to the airport of your choice (likely to be either Stansted, Gatwick, or Luton).
7:00 pm - Go through airport security for the millionth time, but rather quickly because at this point you're a professional.
7:30 pm - Question your self control as you pass all of the duty free designer stores.
7:45 pm - Eat the peanut butter jelly sandwich you made in the Refectory
8:15 pm - Finally get the gate for the flight, speed walk through the airport town four hallways and up three escalators. Then, wait forever to be boarded.
8:35 pm - Walk outside in the cold to get on the plane. Be the first person in the row, with an aisle seat. Get up two times when the people sitting next to you finally show up.
8:45 pm - Ignore the safety speech from the flight attendants because you're heard it so many times. Honestly, you've already counted the seats to the nearest exit and you know how to buckle and unbuckle your seat belt.
8:50 pm - Be asleep before the plane even takes off thanks to your neck pillow and now conditioned response to fall asleep on any mode of transportation.
11:15 pm - Land in your new destination after about an hour flight, but another hour later thanks to the changing timezone. Quickly rush off of the plane so you can be first in the line of non EU passports at customs.
11:45 pm - Finally make it through customs with another passport stamp in your collection. Then, catching a train or bus to the nearest point to your hostel.
12:15 am - Use CityMaps2Go to navigate your way to the hostel. Try not to get lost, fail. End up stopping at a McDonalds because it's late and you're hungry.
12:45 am - Arrive at your hostel. Rent a towel. Go to the room you'll share with 4-14 strangers of either gender. Make your bed as quietly as possible without waking anyone up.
1:00 am - Fall asleep after a long day of traveling, ready to conquer the new city in the morning.
