Growing up in a rural town of 30,000 people has a lot of effects on a person; even more so when you end up staying there for college. I’ve been craving big city life since the first time I laid eyes on a 20 story building. After 1 month in one of the biggest metropolises in the world, I must conclude… THIS IS THE BEST EXPERIENCE OF MY ENTIRE LIFE! I cannot imagine myself returning to the states, let alone rural Washington after this. I was worried that the non-stop traffic and complicated infrastructure would be intimidating and possibly overwhelming, but I immediately fit right in here as if I’d been born and raised in London all my life. Adjustment period- about 24 hrs. I haven’t felt ‘homesick’ once because I feel more at home here than I ever have in Walla Walla. Public transit was so easy to figure out, took me like 2 days to memorize the tube map. I can wear whatever and be whoever I want on the streets of London because everywhere I look there’s someone as weird and gay as me! And the FASHION here! It’s so nice to be surrounded by people who enjoy dressing up. I am incredibly thankful to be getting such an esoteric education here, but the opportunity to live and grow in London is the true blessing of this program.
Just 4 days ago I was starkly reminded of how thankful I am to be here in a very unexpected way. I could tell yall about the clubs, or the shows, or the food, but I want to take this time to reflect on a public transit adventure. A few days ago I was meeting a friend for an appointment in a part of the city I’ve never been to before. Google maps recommended I take the bus. Now I had never taken the bus before, as I am very accustomed to using the tube to get from place to place, but I decided to try something new that day. First of all it took a long time for the bus to get there, and the whole time I waited at the stop I wasn’t sure if I was at the right station or which bus to get onto. I finally did make it on the right bus however, and enjoyed my little trip across town for about 15 min. Now me, listening to music and not paying attention to the other passengers, hadn’t picked up on the fact that you need to stand up and wait by the door for your stop because the bus does NOT stop at every stop. So when my stop passed me by I was very confused and frustrated. I stood up and stood by the door thinking I’d grab the next one and it wouldn’t be long. Then of course we got stuck in traffic and it took another 15 minutes for the doors to open so I could finally get off. I was now another mile away from my destination and started heatedly backtracking toward the office I was looking for. About 5 min in I noticed a really cool building, and then another, and then I remembered that I’ve never seen this part of London before. I took a moment to look around and eventually it hit me- I’m in London right now. THE city I’ve been trying to reach my entire life. I skipped and danced the rest of the way to my appointment and greeted my friend with a humongous grin on my face. My time here will be short, and soon all that’s left will be pictures and these blog posts. So I’m going to try to spend every day reminding myself of the simple fact that I made it. I’m here.
