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September 2004—Lewin 1
Congratulations, you exited the country for the first time. Balloons dropped from the ceiling, confetti shot out of the sky, and I took my first step into--GASP--a different country. Not really. Really, I got off the airplane, got harassed by customs, and began my endless journey of carrying 150lbs (whatever in Kilos) of luggage to my hostel.
Lesson #1: Just pay for the cab.
London was beautiful. Well, from what I could see through the blur of twelve hours of jet lag. It wasn't that... different , though. I wasn't scared. I felt "at home"-ish, having half-way expected this cataclysmic boom where suddenly I "find myself" and take lifts and go to the toilet.
Nope. Sorry Linds'. I kept trying to shake this feeling that I was walking through the streets of New York where somehow the lens got reversed. Don't get me wrong; I love New York.
After getting settled in our new digs, I began getting charmed by the small things. Children speak in accents, too! The man at the pub says "Cheers!" after giving you your drink. Escalators in the tube stations go up on the left. Charming.
I haven't gone on the double-decker bus yet. The tube is just too easy. I'm already attaching myself to what I've become comfortable with. That's lame.
I want culture shock. The closest I've come is -"the grocery store closes at 5pm on a Sunday?" I need to see breathtaking beauty. I never have. I plan on living in a big city my whole life. Right now, I'm on a trip; I want it to be different.
So, I've begun considering this my launch pad to get where I want to go.
Now it's time to get serious, folks. I'm not paying to party. I'm going to Bath to see some really old rocks. I'm going to Liverpool to be a Beatles groupie. I'm going to Spain to get my Spanish on.
I will make my own experience. This is my trip, not Millikin's.
I have eight rolls of film just begging to be used, and you better believe my friends back home will want to see John Lennon's birth home from twelve different angles.
So today I begin my trip. I settled into my launch pad, threw a few back, and slept on one heck of a lumpy pillow.
It's game time.
FUN THINGS:
- The supposed "tube pass" actually gets us on the buses, too, which run 24 hours a day.
- The phrase "you've got a giggle if you think you're getting back to Fulham tonight."
- Baguettes and Brie make a very cheap and tasty meal.
- The labels on cigarette packages over here are just amusing: "Smoking causes you to die a slow and painful death."
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