ParentNet

Sightseeing in Central London

I have survived my first week in London! After the long plane ride the University came and picked up students in about groups of 15 people and brought us to the school where they provided a free cab service to our homes. I live in a little house about 2 miles from the school called the Cosy Cottage. Along with my landlady Torrie, there is just myself and two dogs here. By the time I got to my new house and had everything unpacked it was already about 5:00. My landlady took me to the store to buy some groceries and then I set off on a mission to find a job! I found a job at a late night pub called Barcadia and my first “trial night” is on Wednesday, so hopefully it goes well.

After the job search I decided to reward myself yooper style and head off to the local pub for a cold beer. The first bar that I came across I stopped at, bought a beer, and in no time people were coming over and asking me where I was from. I met two professors one was a pathology lecturer and the other biology. These two talked to me all night and sort of gave me a crash course on blending in with the brits at the bar. Some useful words to know were bollocks meaning nonsense, a mate is a friend, and a partner is a boyfriend or girlfriend, and being engaged means dating.

Eating near the national museum

The next night didn’t go quite as well. After a long day of international student seminars and registration I decided instead of taking the 40 minute walk I would catch a bus home. I knew my house was right by the river in an area called Thames Ditton. Unfortunately the bus went to the south side of Thames Ditton and I live on the north side.

Shopping in Oxford Circus

At the last stop the bus driver told me I had to get out and I started walking towards the river to see if I recognized anything. Unbeknownst to me the river curves around right after the area I live in so walking towards the river meant I was walking further and further away from my house. After about two hours of walking around I finally went into a bar, starting crying, and luckily for me someone knew where I was talking about and drew me a map of how to get there. Quite an embarrassing first bus ride!

Today the bus riding went a lot smoother. I caught a bus to the kingston train station and met up with four other girls from the international program. We took the train into central London and spent the day shopping and looking around. Last night i was also in central London to watch the Gaelic football championship. It was such a fun sport to watch and the team i was rooting for won! My classes don’t start until next Monday so I am looking forward to another week of more exploring! Until then….

Best

Lauren