First Impressions

It is almost 2am on Thursday, and I find myself sleepless in London. Life in London has kept me very busy juggling academic work, job-hunting, participation in my school's community, and many other things on the side that I haven't had time to sit down and reflect on my experience here hitherto.

Since I find myself sleepless, what better way to kill time than to ponder upon my experience here for the past three weeks. I realized that I hadn't really experienced London until last weekend; it was when I was stressing out about schoolwork and doing some research for my career that my parents suggested I take the day off and just tour London. They couldn't have given me better advice to unwind. So I took their advice, strapped on my camera, and was out the door on a walking tour that took me to Russel Square park, where I enjoyed a tasty meal from Pret-Au-Manger. I then walked all the way down Southampton Rd down to the Thames River. This was my first time actually seeing this murky river, which reminded me of our Nile. Actually, there's an Egyptian Obelisk erected near the Thames referred to as Cleopatra's Needle. I took immense pride in seeing it to be honest.

My tour then took me all over, from Big Ben, to Westminister Abbey, to the London Eye, to Tate Modern, and finally to St. Paul's Cathedral. All of these sights seemed to intriguing to me, even though I had not the slightest clue of their history and purpose. I realized that Western Europe, and more specifically, the U.K is one part of the world I know very little about. This tour opened my eyes to so much and made me realize that while I'm here, I should endeavor to educate myself about the history and culture of Britain.

The thing I enjoyed about walking around London was that I really got a "feel" for the city... Unlike many other cities, London is one of those cities that walking is an enjoyable pastime because the urban landscape is quite pleasing to one's eyes. Fortunately, I had a digital eye to capture all of these memories for me. The camera Omar gave me really came in handy for that purpose. I have tons of photos I want to remind me of this tour.

I'm glad I was able to "make" time to just go out there and enjoy this magnificent city. I'll definitely try to dedicate more time to actually enjoying life in London and tell my readers all about it. I think next Saturday's tour will be in the British Museum, so keep tuned for more...