London Calling

Hi everyone, and greetings from London! This semester I will be blogging about my semester abroad in England on my own and as part of the Admissions Office Student Blog website. This trip was made possible because of my entrance into the Sophomore Experience Abroad program at Western New England University (for more information, please click here). To visit my website directly, click here. I hope you enjoy my posts this semester and get a sense of how incredible the opportunity to spend a semester abroad truly is!



I have blisters on my heels from walking in Sperry's all day.  It was around 80 degrees which is extremely warm for England, so everyone was out taking pictures and touring the beautiful city.  I couldn't believe how close we are to London. A quick 25-minute train ride from Richmond took us right to the heart of the city, and we walked out to find the intimidating London Eye towering over us in the distance.  The London Eye is the world's largest ferris wheel.



Due to the long lines and our excitement to see as many things as we could, we decided we'd save taking the 45 minute ride for some other day.  There were lots of street performers including a singer named Charlotte Campbell, a young man performing with a soccer ball, and this "statue".



We took tons of pictures leading up to and then right next to Big Ben, which was breathtaking to see.  There were various vendors selling I <3 London gear in shirts, bumper stickers, lanyards, and signs. People speaking all different languages were rushing by, bumping into me, and giving me weird looks listening to me talk.  I still can't get over the English accents.  Whether it's an elderly person, a small child, or an announcer on the train. "Mind the gap" was constantly said as we prepared to enter and exit the train. The large gap between the train and the concrete is  bit of a jump, but that's how I've felt since arriving in London. Although there are some familiar foods and faces, the culture shock has been hard to get over. It's hard to remember to look the opposite way when crossing the street, or not to panic for a second when seeing no one driving the car but then realizing they're on the other side.



We were able to stand right outside the gates of Buckingham Palace, and we had just missed the changing of the guards.  It's amazing to me how they stand out there all day, guarding the Palace.  Hopefully I can go on a tour sometime during my stay. We stopped at a restaurant on the way back and then tried to retrace our steps as best as we could. We ended up finding our way back to Richmond by train, and stopped at a local convenience store to purchase things such as laundry detergent, shampoo, and tape to put pictures on our walls. We took the traditional Western New England picture with the Sophomore Experience Abroad banner in front of the school...while everyone stared at us...I don't think our style is really up to par according to the English students. Hopefully we'll all warm up to each other a bit more after the New Student Boat Party on Friday!

Kaitlyn