Getting to know myself and London

My first week in London flew by very fast. I have done a lot of exploring and visiting museums. My first week of classes was very interesting. I am taking a British Life and Cultures course as well as British Politics and History of Modern Design. I think out of the three classes that I am taking at the moment my favorite is my British Politics class. I love learning about political systems and considering that I do not know much about Parliament, it has been my favorite thing to learn about so far. Although I may not enjoy the three hour classes as much, the fact that I am passionate about the content makes it easier to deal with. For my Politics class, we took a tour of Whitehall which is where the government buildings are in Westminster. I very much enjoyed learning about the workings of Parliament as well as the history of it. One thing I discovered through the tour of Whitehall is that I very much want to visit the Supreme Court. One of my goals is to sit in on a case and observe the proceedings. As much as I have always wanted to come to London it has been a lot to take in. I have found that I’ve been feeling overwhelmed with being in a new country and the amount of homework I am going to have. I have also been stressed by the amount of times I have to buy groceries. I also underestimated how much I was going to have to walk. I have to walk everywhere and sometimes I enjoy it but not when I have to carry my groceries home. I have found that to deal with all the new stress, journaling has helped me a lot. I try to write in it every day but I don’t always have time for it. I am lucky enough to be living across Kensington Palace and Hyde Park. I find it relaxing to people watch and take a stroll by the pond. I’m very excited to maybe one day see William and Kate. I am still trying to figure out other ways to deal with the new stress but over time, I will come up with a schedule to help make things easier.