First time in London yay! After a very unfortunate and excruciating travel experience, I finally arrived to the UK bright-eyed (zoned out), bushy-tailed (greasy), and one suitcase wheel short. My first experience on the tube was the result of Shawn and Courtneay’s heroic rescuing, so it was one of delirium, but also relief. When Shawn was first explaining how we would get to Russel Square from Heathrow, I have to be honest, I wasn’t following. Maybe the tube is hard to figure out at first, or maybe my brain cells got pick-pocketed at DFW. However, after our excursions on the first day, I think I can navigate it. Not on my own, of course, that would be crazy.
When I first landed at Heathrow, I heard one British man talk and it made me extremely excited because their accents are just wonderful to me. Especially the little kids! Of course, I don’t love having to wait in a queue behind a thousand first graders, but it gives me the opportunity to eavesdrop on their slang. The British accent is addicting—I catch myself slipping in and out of it. I don’t think British people would say the same about American accents. From my observations, Londoners are always in a rush and are never afraid to give you the stank eye. Not a single stranger smiled back at me when I smiled at them, which initially made me very embarrassed, but then I remembered that I’m not in the South and Londoners probably aren’t used to random people looking at them like they’ve known them forever. Especially on the tube, where everyone is equally as annoyed with having to be sardined with other humans while gripping for dear life on a pole. No random smiles there.
Despite the anxiety of losing my balance and getting uncomfortably close to someone, I actually quite like the tube. (I feel like I’m even typing in British, I can’t help it.) It is a very efficient way to get places once you realize that if you use basic common sense and reading skills, it’s easy to get around. That’s not a diss on people who don’t know how to use the tube—I’m just basically a professional because I’m a local London citizen, duh. I do wish the speakers were louder in the tube car because although I can figure out which stop I’m at, I like to have an audible reminder in case I’m not paying attention.
One thing I really like about the tube is the color system they have. It is really nice and satisfying to follow the colors and know where to switch off. Plus, having the names of the stations pointing toward which direction to go is very smart. Getting on the tube in time does give me a little bit of anxiety, but the tubes come so quickly and often that even if I miss one, I know I will be able to catch another.
This trip so far has made me realize two things: England should take notes from America on possibly having nicer demeanors to strangers, and the United States should take notes from England on…basically everything else. Except the water. If we lose the right to free water in public places in America, you bet I’m moving to a different country. The National Theatre is so beautiful and I can’t wait to go back when I’m not on my last breath of life, (due to travel exhaustion.). It was really awesome to see Buckingham Palace, but life is meaningless without Queen Elizabeth, so you win some, you lose some. I loved St. Paul’s so incredibly much today and was blown away by the architecture. My knee still hurts from walking stairs for what felt like a lifetime, but man, was it worth it. I can’t wait for more theatre, food, buildings and sights. Oh, and also, water, WiFi, A/C and of course, a smile from a stranger.
Cheers!
xoxo Gossip Girl
Theatre in London U of A 