There's no place like home...

Cliched but true!

The night before I left London I viewed my final musical in the city that never sleeps--Wicked. What a way to end a wonderful visit! The musical exceeded my expectations; the powerful relationship between Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West moved me to tears. I was also surprised to discover that I enjoyed the dialogue more than the songs (and I am particularly fond of "No One Mourns the Wicked," "Popular," and "Defying Gravity"). Erika: I agree with you one hundred percent!

After three weeks in London though, I have to admit that I was more than ready to return home. Immersing myself in the English culture was an enriching experience, and one that I won't forget! However, as Dorothy states in "The Wizard of Oz," 'there's no place like home.'

It's funny how quickly the human body can adapt to new circumstances. Stepping off the plane in Orlando, I felt a jolt of shock at the hot and humid atmosphere. I miss the cool summer weather of England already!

Time really seemed to retard to a painfully slow crawl on the flight home, and the drive from Orlando to Largo felt like four hours rather than two. Yet here I am, readjusting to U.S. time and spending quality time with my friends, family, and pets. I am so, so happy to finally be home. Yet all the same...

I am already planning my next trip to England!

There is no question of whether or not I will return to England. I can't see myself NOT making the trip back to this exciting country. I definitely want to re-visit some of the places where I felt rushed (e.g. Stonehenge, Salisbury, Bath, etc.). And I most definitely will make another stop at the British Museum--what a fabulous place! With the costs associated with travel, however, I don't know how soon I'll be able to make that excursion. In the mean time, I will simply reflect on my experiences with fondness... and remember how exciting it was to embrace the differences!

In perspective

Having spent three weeks in London, I've visited many places, seen several sites, and tasted various foods (with heavy emphasis on the goat cheese). Yet despite the fact that I've been here three weeks, I feel as though there is still so much left to do.

As an outsider, I have a great appreciation for the rich cultural life of the city. How could one ever get bored here? But at the same time, I wonder if Englanders take this situation for granted. The first few days I spent in London, for instance, I felt an intense awareness of the architectural diversity throughout the city. I felt particularly drawn towards the older structures with their ancient brick walls and ornamented facades. Yet as I became accustomed to the antiquity, and the days wore on, I found myself noticing it less and less. So I wonder... Do the natives realize how good they have it? If I lived here, would I appreciate having a musical theatre right down the street? I'd like to think that I would. But who knows?

Walking down the street...

I've gotten so used to navigating my way through the London streets that I think I will actually miss them when I get home. I know that I will certainly miss the pedestrian lifestyle.

It took me a while to adapt to the fact that streets are not identified by street signs. Rather steet names are posted on buildings. Now I walk along and instantly glance upwards to see where I am and where I am going. I found myself doing this automatically in France; I hadn't even stopped to wonder if the French labeled their streets the same way, I just naturally continued this process.

It's funny how you find yourself adapting to a new culture without even realizing that you are doing so. I wonder how I will feel upon returning to the U.S. Will I miss not seeing street signs posted along building walls? Will I feel a pinch of disorientation? Will I go through a brief period of time where I have to readjust? It will be interesting to find out!

Money Matters

Why do Europeans use so many coins?

Before coming abroad, I was somewhat apprehensive of using the local currency. I no previous experience outside of the country and I was concerned that I would not understand how to count the money. Thankfully my fears were completely unfounded.

What I don't understand though, is why the Europeans use so many coins.

For the most part, we stick to just four coins in the U.S. : the penny, nickel, dime, and quarter. Yet I have seen nearly twice as many coins in use in England. There is the 1 cent coin, 2 cent coin, 5 cent coin, 10 cent coin, 20 cent coin, 50 cent coin, 1 pound coin, and 2 pound coin. (Did I miss any? If so, I do apologize!) I wonder at the multitude of coins. The 2 cent and 2 pound coins seem superfluous to me. By implementing a 1 pound bill and eradicating the 2 pound coin, one's change purse would feel much lighter. I just don't get it. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining here. I just don't understand the point behind using so many coins. Any thoughts?

The Paris Metro

One thing that I've really come to appreciate about London is the ease of transportation. For someone who doesn't own a vehicle, getting around is still relatively easy--whether one hails a cab, rides the tube, or gets on the bus. Public transportation might slow one down a bit, but at least it's convenient.

To be honest, I only rode the bus once in Paris--so I don't really have a firm grasp on that mode of transportation. Using the taxi, however, was cetainly a learing experience. After some difficulty in finding ourselves a taxi on Friday afternoon, my flatmates and I discovered that taxis keep stationed along the side of streets. One merely has to look for a blue sign with the word "Taxi" on it, to find transportation. (Though if all the cabs are in use, a novice might not understand what is going on.) We also learned that one does not stop at any taxi in line, but must request the services of the first taxi in line.

I found the public transportation via the metro (Paris' version of the tube and American's version of the subway) less palatable. Whereas the London tube stations are relatively clean, the Paris metro stations are filthy and often omit noxious odors such as urine and vomit. Furthermore, the metro system reminded me of ancient catacombs with secret passageways and corridors. We often found ourself walking upwards and downwards and upwards again just to get from one line to the next. The seemingly poor planning often left us doubting our location. The signs were often just as confusing so that, at one point, we actually exited the station (rather than catch our train) because the signs (which we followed to the tee) directed us outside! In retrospect this seems rather comical, however, at the time we found this quite frustrating. Unable to get back into the station with our tickets, we had to kill some time before we were able to re-enter.

I also couldn't help but observe that the tube stations in London are much closer together than the metros in Paris. What happens if you are in a hurry to get somewhere and the metro station that you needed to use is unavailable? How far would you have to go to get to another one? I realize that I only spent 3 days in Paris, but I'm much more impressed by the transportation system in London. I was very happy to return and experienced a new appreciation for the tube system. How clean, how efficient, how uncomplicated to use!