Deanna Gorman is a student at Luther College and an ISA Featured Blogger. Deanna is currently studying abroad program in London on an ISA Fall 4 program.
I reached my 30 days in London mark this week and it is truly mind-blowing! I have seen and experienced so much in the past month but I also know that I have not even scratched the surface. I am so thankful to be here for 2 more months but I know that time will fly by as well. But we are not talking about that yet! This week, like every other before, was filled with excitement!
Tuesday is my busiest night of the week and this week was no exception. After spending the whole day in London I came back to my flat and ate dinner before heading to Fulham to attend a new ballroom dancing class which I was soooo excited for! :) I do quite enjoy the public transportation in London, however it does occasionally disappoint. There were several delays and by the time I got to the dance studio I was over 30 minutes late. But I am in London so nothing can really get me down! Instead, I merely changed plans and went to a Sainsbury (smaller version of Walmart) and got a chocolate bar for 50 pence and walked around and people-watched in Fulham. The town had a nice downtown and it was fun to window shop.
Tuesdays have also come to be our weekly clubbing night in which my flatmates and I meet a group of students at an American sports pub in Piccadilly Circus called Sports Café. So after I finished my chocolate treat, I headed into central London. There is free entry and it is one of the biggest college night clubs in London on Tuesday night! We always have an absolute blast dancing to classic American hits from Journey to Katy Perry, meeting people from all over Europe, and just mingling with friends.
Although Tuesdays tend to get a little late, I refuse to let London pass me by so I was up bright and early Wednesday ready for whatever London had in store for me. Classes were good and that night we had another ISA excursion planned. We were scheduled to see the musical “Rock of Ages”. It featured classic rock songs and was quite entertaining. I definitely plan to see many more shows, this is merely the beginning!
Other highlights from the week include another order of fish and chips for dinner on Friday night and it was again very very good!! Saturday we took a tour of Parliament which was very interesting. The UK government is obviously set up differently from that of the United States, and this tour helped me to understand how it works. We were also informed that the public is encouraged to come in and watch open sessions, which is something I may have to add to my London bucket list. On our way out I managed to snag this picture below. These armed police actually walk around London!! I mean is this really necessary….?! I don’t really think so but I guess that is how London does it.
That brings us to Sunday, where I am writing my blog to all of you and reflecting on the week. I am truly blessed to have these experiences which will stay with me for the rest of my life and can’t wait to see what will happen next week. I hope when you read this, it encourages you to try new things, be that traveling or learning a new skill. Life is short. Live it!