When in Rome

"When the term is over in six months, you'll be just like a Britt!" I heard at a meeting for students in my program. Apparently it is common for affiliates (students at UCL studying abroad) to start speaking like Londoners, which I do believe after listening to a few speakers from America who have been here a while. They all seem to slip into the accent for certain vowel sounds and words. Many American's come to London with the preconceived notion that because they speak the same language, it will be just like home; While in reality it is a foreign country with a foreign culture. The norms are different as are many of the phrases and words people use here. It will take a bit to get adjusted, and I will always be a foreigner here, but I am willing to change my ways. As they say, when in Rome...

That being said I have settled here much faster than I anticipated. With pictures and a map of London on my walls, all of my belongings unpacked, and a group of American's right downstairs, this transition has been easier than expected thus far. There are three other girls and two other boys living in the building and we have been finding our way together. Being extremely directionally challenged, this has helped me out a lot. We all want to see shows and other sites, as well as travel to surrounding countries, which I believe we will all do together.

Our first big accomplishment was mastering the grocery store! We found many grocery stores just a couple of blocks away. Now, we finally have food in our flats so we don't need to eat out every meal which was getting quite expensive. We had to find pots, pans, and other kitchen appliances to cook with. Still looking for a coffee maker because it will be less expensive than buying coffee every morning... I hear that food goes bad here much quicker and upon seeing the expiration dates that is very true. One detail I am not in favor of is the fact that eggs are not refrigerated here. This kinda grosses us all out.

It's been a little hard to meet other non affiliate students. This I'm sure will get easier with time as we get more accustomed to our surroundings and understand what's expected of us. I will be finalizing my modules (classes) and posting about them this week.

Have a wonderfully marvelous day, cheers! ~Laura