My first trip out of the UK was a weekend in Paris. I went with my roommate Steph and my friend Kathy, and it was probably the most magical weekend I've had in Europe so far. We stayed in a tiny one-room Air Bnb with a cute little French landlord who didn't speak any English, and it turned out to perfect for the weekend. We saw a lot of Paris by walking, starting with Arc de Triomphe, then the Eiffel Tower, where we ate crepes on a bridge above the river. We also saw the Notre Dame cathedral and listened to part of their Sunday mass. We also went to the Louvre, where we saw the Mona Lisa and other works of art I'd never heard of. I've had a photo of the glass pyramids on my wall for the past two years, in both my California and London apartments, so seeing them in person was amazing because I never thought I'd get to go there. That night, we met up with two friends who were visiting from Prague and watched the light show on the Eiffel Tower. We were sitting on a ledge and I saw a couple next to us so I offered to take their photo. I was taking a photo of them standing in front of the tower when the guy suddenly knelt down and proposed to his girlfriend! She said yes, and I took about 500 grainy nighttime engagement photos. It was probably one of my favorite moments because they were so cute and happy when they left. (The photo below happened when I lost my balance on the ledge) On our last day, we took a train out to the Palace of Versailles. The inside was nice, but my favorite part was the garden. It was huge and had fountains with gold statues that played classical music. We got peach ice cream from a stand in the garden and played in autumn leaves for the first time. Overall, Paris was my favorite part about being abroad so far, and I will definitely be back!
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It's been a couple weeks since I moved into my flat in London. It's in Zone 1, which means it's in a very accessible area and I can easily walk or bus to places like Oxford Street for shopping, Big Ben and the River Thames, Chinatown, and lots of pubs and cafes.
The main cultural adjustment in the two weeks I've been here has actually been looking the right way before crossing the street, because I've had several near death experiences when I've looked to the left and stepped out onto the street and had a car zoom by from the right. But just last week I looked the right way by myself for the first time! Coming from Hawaii the weather here has been a little bit of a struggle because its so cold and gloomy, and the other day when I woke up I was feeling so sad that I just sat by my window in the sun to try and get Vitamin D. Maybe I'll get seasonal affect disorder. Business classes here are also very different from America. They teach the lessons very quickly and you're expected to study and learn it on your own outside of class, and then most of your grade is based on one final exam at the end. I can see why British people seem to think Americans are so stupid, because we have an alternate assessment tailored to exchange students. Anyway so far London is great but I need to find a way to get some sun! |
BlogOriginally from Honolulu, Hawaii, in London for business school. Archives
November 2016
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