My First Two Weeks London!

Hello! Welcome to my first ever blog post for my semester abroad in the United Kingdom! As time progresses, I hope to fill my vlogs with advice about people, budgeting ideas, the best travel locations and what the everyday life of a foreigner entails. But to start, I just want to talk a little bit about my hectic first two weeks. Over the course of my first fourteen days in London, I had surprisingly done a lot. On my first day, I mostly just slept because jet lag was very severe for me. I’m still struggling with it, but I think that looking at the clock throughout the day can help your brain adjust (or at least, that’s what my professors tell me). For day two, my friends and I mostly explored the neighborhood where we were staying and found this small market nearby for produce and other foods. The prices aren’t too bad and we’ve been there a few times already. We also took a train into central London for orientation and then walked around to see all of the shops. The city is so beautiful! We went shopping in this store called ‘Primark’ and it had to be one of the biggest stores I’ve ever stepped in. On day three, we went to the Camden Markets which did not disappoint. There was so much to see and shop for there, although it was incredibly crowded. I think in the future, I’ll try to go on a weekday to avoid being shoulder to shoulder with people. We stopped at this little Spanish market on our way back and I was able to grab some ingredients for a taste of home. The food here is very different from where I’m from in New York. Finding the ingredients you need might be a challenge if you have very specific meals that you like. Day four was on a Saturday which meant only one thing: it was time to visit a pub. The pub we went to was nice but the drinks were a little pricey. In total, it was a great experience, though I’d definitely recommend looking at the prices of different locations before going anywhere. Also, the night tube was a bit intimidating, so I’d recommend having a friend or two to travel with. Day five was a Sunday and we just relaxed and watched movies because we knew we would have four days of classes coming. My building actually has a movie room which is great for unwinding and hanging out with friends. Classes are going to be a whole other post, but they went alright for my first week. They are all three hours long which I know will take some getting used to. After my Wednesday class, I went to this place called Cafe Tropea in Russell Square for lunch and it was such a nice place to eat! It wasn’t too expensive but it was delicious and it overlooked the park which was very pretty. Overall, it has been amazing to immerse myself in this city and I genuinely can’t wait to continue exploring!