When I first entered the underground Tube system in London, I was completely lost. The only “tubing” I had done prior to this was on a lake behind a boat, so when it came to navigating a city subway I was nervous. When I received my Oyster Card, I had a feeling I would be using this card a lot (spoiler alert, I was right), so I tried a couple techniques to get my bearings and figure out the system.
The first thing I used to navigate the system was something known as the “lemming technique” wherein I would follow the nearest member of our party from train to train. This, unfortunately, only worked a few times because the people I was with kept changing. Once I rode around on the trains for a while, switching stations and sitting next to the occasionally smelly strangers of London, I finally started using the second technique: reading the walls. The walls of the London Underground Tube System are covered in helpful signs that tell you what station goes with what tube in a fairly straightforward way. Once you know where you want to get off, you can figure out where to get on!
However, it’s not always as easy as hopping on the next train. I went out with some friends the other night at the Roxy (completely legally) and we used the tube to get to our destination quickly and effectively. However, after a fun night of dancing and disco balls, we found out the hard way that the Tube station actually closes down after midnight. We were forced to walk the 20 minutes back to our hotel heels or no heels (sorry Ann!) There was also the instance earlier today while I was walking up the steps from the tube station and fell flat on my face, bruising my knee and my dignity. I then had a nice english woman hand me my sunglasses I almost left on the train. At least I got a free newspaper, so now I know that “Met Office says rain is not going away anytime soon” … awesome.
At the end of the day, if you want a fast, reliable, (mostly) easy to use system to get around London, there really is nothing better than the Tube. I am starting a petition to implement a Tube system at the University of Arkansas called The Hog Tunnel, but I haven’t gotten any signatures yet. Woo Pig and God Save the King!
Theatre in London U of A 