Day 2,3,4

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Day 2- The 27th, My second day in London and after almost 2 days of being awake I got some much needed rest. I slept very well in my quaint flat, but maybe that has something to do with how tired I was. I got up a little early and walked the area around the Mclaren House.(where I live) Im only about ten minutes from the Thames river and London eye. I am also very close to waterloo, Southwark, and elephant & castle tube stations so going place is very convenient. At ten o’clock I had to head to the ISA office which is just off Oxford Street. Anyone who has been to London knows about Oxford Street and its vast amounts of stores. At the office we went over orientation and rules and then had some tasty Turkish sandwiches. After that we walked by the British Museum, which im sure I will take in on another day. Then we were off to Camden Market. Camden Market has everything from your common cooking appliances to the most exotic spices, with everything in between. I will be visiting Camden again soon enough.

At three o’clock I arrived at the Hyde Park Corner tube stop on my way to Harrods high-tea. Dressed to impressive I enjoyed several cups of tea while discussing trips we had planned and places we needed to see with other ISA students. ISA is the program I used to study abroad. After we had our fill of sandwiches and desserts we decided to go explore the store. Even though everything was out of my price range it was a entertaining to see everything they sold. I am someone who loves food, so viewing the assortment of foods available at the “food court” was very intriguing to me. I mean what other department store had an oyster bar?

After high-tea I met up with a few people at a pub and had a couple pints while discussing what we thought this semester had in-store for us.


Day 3- After a crazy first 2 days and all the traveling that took place, we got a free to do as we pleased. Surprisingly it was a much-needed break. I thought I would sleep in later but I woke at 9 am with lots of energy. I decided to take a stroll and take in my new surroundings. I suggest anyone in new surroundings to just walk around the area, don’t listen to your Ipod, just take in all the sights, sounds, and even smells that you are not accustomed to. As I was walking by this little hole in the wall Indian place the smell is what dragged me in. I went in there and for 5 quid I had my fill of chicken tikka marsala. With fresh naan bread. It was a great meal. Also seeing Tesco’s instead of Walmarts and smart cars instead of SUV’s is quite different. Today was the first day I was in shock.

When I went to bed, I had trouble getting to sleep. I started to let my mind wander and it immediately started thinking about the people that I already was missing and even the comfortableness in my surroundings in the small town of Lamoni. However, after thinking about that for a few minutes, I came back to the reality that I am in London, England and those people i will miss would want me to have the best trip (study abroad) possible. I also know that I still have another year in good ol' Lamoni. Im in London now though and defiantly want to live my life to the fullest during my time here.


Day 4- I woke up this morning a little out of it, possibly from the pub the night before. However I was very excited to go view the house of parliament. The architecture inside was exquisite and it helped me to understand the way their government works. Also this was the first time I viewed Big Ben. What a sight!!! It was also fun to see the protestors, they protest anything. Today there were student protests, because of the increase in tuition that is being proposed. The police fully expected a riot and for this reason delayed our tour for an hour. I took this time to watch the students as they protest and discuss with other’s the full extent of the proposed tuition hike. Tuition could increase from 3,200 pounds to 6,400 pounds or higher.

After the parliament tour I met up with some of my flatmates and went to Iceland. Not the country but the grocery store. It was fun for me comparing the grocery stores of overland park and Lamoni as opposed to this one in London. This is the first time I saw there assortment of pizza’s they have chicken with sweet corn and hot dog pizza. We all got a kick out of the latter part.

That night we went to a flat party and enjoyed a few pints. I also met several very nice people. I ment Will from Wales and Remi from France among plenty others. They were all very interested in the “Stupid Americans.” Of course, I just take them calling us stupid Americans with a grain of salt. I mean the British have to hang on to something, right? Its all in good fun!

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Photos

Harrods High-Tea
Sipping on some English afternoon tea

British Museum
An ISA Moment with the students from LSBU