The New Kids: London Week 1

I’ve been up since 6:30 am. My body is still in its jet lagged state and it’s simply confused. Although, a program leader has told me it takes about a week to get over it. I’m looking forward to that. I’m also looking forward to my roommate’s alarm that usually goes off around 7:30 am (It’s a circus tune that I find quite funny).

So far, London has been treating me nicely. The sun rises around 4:40 am, which is odd compared to home, but I like having natural light earlier in the day. It has also been raining everyday, and as a desert dweller, I’ve enjoyed it a lot more compared to the locals. However, I have been told by a couple of Londoners that this is not typical June weather and have been assured that the weather will get warmer. It’s honestly been completely fine.

For this program, we are staying in a hostel which has been an interesting experience. I have three other roommates and they are all very lovely. One of the problems we initially faced was space. Space is a little small in our room, but with a couple of accommodations and with help of our lockers, things have been running more smoothly. We all love gazing out of our window to watch the street below us.

In terms of classes, I completely love them. The first day we did some ice breakers followed by fun concentration activities. One of our class assignments is to practice a scene from one of three different shows. We will be performing them in front of the rest of the class by the end of the week. I’m a little scared, I have not done much acting. However, I do love my group and the lines I have been given. I plan to practice them any spare chance I get.

This whole week has been very action-packed. We’ve already seen two plays, been to the British Museum, traveled to the Monument (it had an amazing view of London), walked through Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square, and more. There really has not been a dull moment since I landed in London.

One particular afternoon that was very enjoyable, was spending time in Greenwich (pronounced like Gren-ich). We started by all boarding a boat for a small trip down the Thames. It was so serene, especially after the busy week we had. The boat rocked gently, nearly lulling all of us to sleep. Once we finally arrived, we visited a museum for a bit, had bubble tea at a restaurant, and then traveled to the market. The market was absolutely charming. It bustled with customers and its many shop vendors, who were selling art to fudge to first addition Harry Potter books.

We later had fish and chips for dinner at a park. My classmates gasped at every dog they saw, pure looks of joy all on their faces. After dinner, our chaperones persuaded us to climb up a big hill to get a better view of the city. Most of us were reluctant at first, but once we reached the top, we all received a second wind.

I can’t emphasize how content I was in this moment. We were all running around this park, like excited little children again. I watched a few of my classmates attempt to fly a kite that had been bought from the museum gift shop. Many were taking pictures of each other and climbing trees. The rest were listening to music and dancing around. We are like a family now. A family in this new city that we are still discovering. In just under a week, we already have so many memories and have bonded with each other. We were all little kids again.

Until next week,

Kay

(Here's a short video of my travel experience to London)