Today marks that I have officially been in London for around 4 days. I have definitely learned and seen a lot these four days and from what I have seen so far England is pretty magical. Each town is filled with storybook buildings and cute black cabs. The people are really nice and even the cars on a packed road will stop for the random walker on the street. Classes do not begin until Monday and I am using this free time to just get to know the area and relax a bit. These past few days have been filled with seminars and meetings with professors. Professors here are actually called tutors which is very confusing at first. I have taken a bus and train so far and have travelled to the towns of Kensington for some shopping and Richmond to take in the sights and grab a bite to eat. Tomorrow we go to central London to get a walking tour and go on a Scavenger hunt. Which should be interesting! I made two really good friends and other friends that are going to be traveling with me to some exciting cities, and even planned a spring break trip to Italy with my one friend!!! Some interesting habits or quirks that England has that I noticed so far are:
1. American News is England News
Multiple newspapers here have talked about President Trump's inauguration and many articles question what that means for the UK. News in the media like singers or celebrities are also very in tune to what Americans listen or care about also.
2. England students have a more laid back school schedule
At Universities students who are enrolled here full time usually have 4 classes a semester and only come to the actual school maybe twice a week. Because once they are at this stage in their education they do not have to take anymore elective courses and just focus on their core classes they need for their major. This also lets them graduate in 3 years and achieve a masters by 4.
3.Food
While the food on campus is questionable the food in town and outside campus is pretty amazing. There are so many different shops, restaurants, and pubs there is not one common type of cuisine but rather a really amazing blend.
4. Transportation
I have recently started using public transportation and it is pretty amazing. I bought an Oyster card which is a very easy way to use the bus, train, underground, or other sorts of transport by just uploading money on the card and then to use it you just quickly place it on a scanner. Its all really simple and you get to go to many different cities for just around $7 for some types of transportation or as little as $2 for others.
Overall I am very excited for this upcoming semester and even more excited for classes (shocking I know)! I can not wait for what this semester holds for me and the adventures I go on.
