Since returning on my trip across Europe, I have settled back into the London lifestyle.
Literally after getting off the plane from Venice, I felt at home again. Waiting in line at customs, we ran into other UMD students returning from their travels. We were an hour away from London, but were still local enough to encounter people we knew. Took a bus to Baker Street and arrived to the flat around 2am. Dropped my bags and gave my bed a great bear-hug.
I've spent enough time here now that I've got a great sense of the area. Everyday when I walk to class, I pass the same construction workers, give a head nod to the guy who always holds the traffic signs, and catch the same train on the Tube. Not only have I figured out how the public transportation works, I've got a routine. I'm no longer a lost tourist - I live here. People ask me for directions, and I don't hesitate to answer (Buckingham Palace, you say? I recommend you take the Westminster stop to see Big Ben, and have a nice walk through St. James' Park.)
A funny thing that's happened since I've come back - London has started to live up to the stereotype. It's rained almost every single day for the last 10 days. I guess the drought was too good to be true, and now the clouds are catching up for lost time. One unfortunate component of being familiar in the city is that things aren't as novel. I don't try to plan trips to go see some museum or monument, because I've already seen them! London just feels like "another place" to be in.
Until I get down to the Thames. It always is a sharp reminder that I'm not an a few hour away from my hometown.
As the semester winds down, I am being piled on with work again. I'm glad that I had the tourist experience already, because I would regret not having enough time to do it now otherwise. The majority of my time recently has been work-related, and little exploration.
Went to a pub quiz last Tuesday. Got third to last, but was only separated by 6 questions from the winner. The first time we went, we got second to last (what a shame for the last team - we didn't know a thing about British pop culture!), so we're slowly working up the ranks. I predict victory in only..10 weeks. Too bad I only have 3. (oh dear lord, has time really flown by so quickly?)
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