Week One - Pubs, Peeps, and the Program

So...London begins!

After a 10 hour flight, 8 hours of sleep over three days, and getting used to being alone in the most populous place in Europe, I was anxious to get started with the Central College Abroad London program. It was well worth the wait though! The people are awesome, the program extensive, and the city amazing. I've been in London for just a week and so far I've:
 - Explored the West End on my own
 - Walked around Bloomsbury
 - Seen Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre
 - Had my CCA orientation
 - Seen (briefly) the British Museum (which I plan on returning to)
 - Seen Matilda with the Royal Shakespeare Company
 - Viewed all of London from The Shard
 - Walked through (and ate the entirety of) the Borough Market
 - Seen the Globe!!!!!!!!!!!
 - Photographed St. Paul's Cathedral and explored the surrounding area
 - Finally got to visit Stonehenge, a lifelong dream fulfilled!!!!!!!!!!
 - Walked around historic Bath, and drank waters that the Romans once bathed in (seriously, who can say that?)
 - Traveled to Windsor Castle (four trains and two hours later--the learning curve for efficient travelling in London is steep)
 - and, saw even more of Londontown, looking with my new friends for the locations of our internships

And even with all these experiences, I've still had the chance to do things that ordinary Londoners would call mundane. Dining in pubs, for example, is not quite like eating out in the US. Despite an all day liquor license, the pub scene is quite distinct from US restaurants. It's as if the restaurants I'm so used to eating in (you walk in, order food, sit down, chat with friends, pay and leave) were combined with the bars I've obviously never experienced at all in the US because I'm underaged and breaking the law is wrong (you walk in, order a drink, pay, relax with friends with alcohol, and leave). I've found that I quite like the ambience of pubs. Something about a more relaxed attitude toward beer and wine is refreshing. As someone who's never been a "drink to get drunk" kind of guy, I love that I can enjoy a pint of beer without the pressure to outdrink the people I'm with. And I can order food all the while. Two of my favorite things! Relaxing and food. In conclusion: Pubs - awesome.

Another wonderful part of the time I've spent here is the exposure to new and different people. Unsurprisingly, most of the people in the program are from the Midwest, an area of the country that I've spent little time in, and even less time with the people from that region. Though my parents are from Michigan, I've only been there once, when I was quite young, and the thing I'm most familiar with is the accent. It's been both eye opening and interesting to start to get to know Iowans and Illinoisans whose life and college experiences are perhaps are different as possible from a city kid who's spent his whole life in Los Angeles and DC, and whose college has 10,000 undergraduates. And though a lot of the other students are from small schools, I've found that we really are quite similar, and that it doesn't matter the size your school, state, or hometown, but really what's important in making friends is how your personalities match up, and having an open mind about befriending those who might be different than you. One would think that after two years of college I'd be used to making friends with people from all walks of life, but I've still got more to learn (which I'm quite thankful for!).

Finally, the Central College Abroad London program has made the transition into this new environment a breeze. Simply by virtue of experiencing all of these things with 18 other students who I know are going through the same thing I am makes me feel much more comfortable with going abroad. The activities that we partake in after our Contemporary UK Life class kill two birds with one stone: they allow us to start experiencing London (which has piqued my interest in exploring more on my own, and dissuaded my nerves about sightseeing on my own), and it's given the group an excuse to start bonding together. Though I didn't put much thought into it before I arrived in the UK, now that I think about it, the structure of the CCA program makes going abroad a lot easier on the students. The two weeks of activities and bonding prior to the internship allows for a pleasantly easy settling in experience, which makes working in the city, on your own, a much more manageable (even exciting!) process!

All in all, this first week was about all I could have hoped for and more. I can only hope that the rest of my time in London is just as enjoyable, and I'm sure it's all uphill from here.

Until next time,
Danny