October 4th marked the one month anniversary of my love affair with London. It seems surreal that over 40 of us from Temple University have already been studying here for a month, but when I think about where I am now (navigating public transportation like a true Londoner ), compared to where I was a month ago (squealing like a schoolgirl every time I heard a British accent), it hits home.
No doubt Philadelphia is quite a diverse city, but London is truly an international crossroads. At our first day of orientation, Sarah Foster, a program coordinator at the Foundation for International Education (FIE), mentioned that anyone can be a Londoner. Walking across a bridge on the River Thames, for instance, you’re hit by a smattering of accents, languages and faces of every color. If not for Big Ben on one side and the London Eye on the other, you could essentially be walking through any metropolitan city in the world. And yet all these people are considered Londoners.
So what does it mean to be a Londoner? That’s what 40 communications students from Temple are figuring out, one day at a time. This semester, our education extends out into Britain’s best pubs, into the yard at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, into the crypts of Westminster Abbey and onto the platform at Gloucester Road Tube Station. Not only are we taking in the sights and history of such a famous city, but we’re playing the part of foreigners-turned-residents.
Over the next few months, catch a glimpse into the lives of North Philly kids relocated to the beautiful South Kensington borough of London, via the blog which I’ve affectionately pet-named, “Fish and Chips for the Traveler’s Soul.” I’ll be examining everything from good eats, to nightlife to the best British slang (Think it’s the same language? It’s not!). Hear it in interviews with your fellow classmates and from the locals who know best!
Until next time…try to figure out what exactly a “dodgy wheel” is! Cheers!
