London Bridge: That Night

Melonie Kotschwar is a student at Concordia University Nebraska and an ISA Featured Blogger. She is interning abroad with ISA Internships in London, England.

Before leaving for London, my friends joked about how I, a small town girl, would meet a city boy. You know, the ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ reference from Journey? As much as I wish that dream would come true, I knew it would be unlikely. However, it would be likely that I would experience a whole new world. After all, I am from a very small town of about 6,000 now living in a city of 8 million people.

Yes, it can be a bit overwhelming, but I know this feeling of overwhelming. It is a very familiar and I have gotten used to letting it be a feeling and still moving forward anyway. So, yes, 8 million people means not having a lot of space, whether on the tube, on the street or on the road. And unfortunately, it also means more chances of unexpected events.

I was at a bar near Trafalgar Square, a place my roommate and I like to go to see the tourists and locals. It is a plus that it is coincidentally named Sherlock, and we both love Sherlock. Anyway, we were talking with some locals and getting to know some new people. They were charming, fun, and likable and we were having a blast getting to know them.

Then, one of the guys, Liam, said that there had been an incident at the London Bridge. At first, I didn’t understand. I thought he might be joking or that it may be something pretty small. But then, I realized how serious it was when others also started talking about it and talking about how the tubes were being shut down. I admit, I was a bit surprised and a little frightened, as we were not that far away from the bridge and pretty far from home, but I saw how the locals reacted and realized I had nothing to fear.

Liam and the other guys reassured us, got another round of drinks and made sure that we were being taken care of. They even helped us get back home by making sure we got on the right tubes by checking to see which ones were open. The best part is, that they were willing to help pay for a cab back to our place if we could not take the tube. These men are gentlemen; they faced terror near home by not acknowledging it at all, but rather focused on helping others and taking care of those not as familiar with London.

So, even in a city of 8 million people, you can still find people willing to lend a helping hand and go out of their way to help. I love when love triumphs. Cheers!

The world awaits…discover it.