Day 1 I have been awake for nine hours now, and yet I am still five hours away from my destination. London, England. So far, the feelings are almost tangible. I’m excited, I’m anxious, and I’m worried about my luggage of all things, but most of all, I am tired. I feel as if all the emotions and feeling I have experienced over the past week in preparation for this trip have suddenly dropped on top of me all at once. At this moment, I see a jumble of white and grey pillowing clouds below me, and nothing but clear blue skies in front and above me, almost like a waterless sea. Earlier this morning, I witnessed my friends simply laughing off their exhaustion as eager tourists awaiting their flights. Still, over the next five hours, I will hold nothing but the images of expectation, unable to see the real sights to come. For now, on the plane, I sit and listen to the sound of engines at work, the whispering of others, and the sounds of my excited thoughts running about my mind. Outside, the wind glides and pushes us through the cold air, creating a noise more powerful than the plane itself. During my time in the White Mountains last year, a man named Dave gave me some wise advise; “Focus on the journey, not the destination,” which is exactly how I will spend my days away from home.
Small pebbles chatter under my shoes as I sit and listen to the birds playing in the cooling water of a nearby fountain. Their songs seem to illuminate the scene. Cross the yard is an old arched building covered with aging windows, yet only the greenest of grass seems to surround it. Flowers and shrubs decorate the edges. I see the fountain now, and though it may not be one of the largest or prettier fountains I have seen, it’s rather small actually, and covered in dirt, but it has character. At least the birds think so. My fellow classmates are sitting on the broken stones, draining their feelings onto paper. We write about our journey. From yesterday to now there is much to say. It has been a long day and a quarter, but there is more to come. Later today, we see London.
If I were to pick an adjective to describe my day in the city of London, I would choose, “Interesting.” Whether this be the fact that we went on a tour, saw the city, or compared my life to those of London’s inhabitants, I truly do not know. I admit that I took at least one hundred pictures, thirty percent of which focused on the large and unique architecture, another thirty percent of friends, ten percent of plant, and the last thirty percent of the simple beauty and elegance of the city itself. From the old and historic buildings, such as the “Dickens house,” to the clean underground, every sight I saw reminded me that I was far from home. Truth is, despite the cold, the smell, and the exhaustion I witnessed today, I had fun and was able to learn something in the process.
Today, Writing is not required, but I was in the mood. The day started off with another gross breakfast and many trains and hikes up to the clock and longitude museum. It was interesting, but I think our over enthusiastic guide/speaker who pronounced the word longitude “long-it-tude” annoyed and tired me. After a funny lunch where Sarah stole someone else’s order, we took some more trains to the football (soccer) game. The chanting was hilarious, but not as great as the man, who Sarah and I named Ollie, who carried the flag across the field. Sadly, the home team lost by one point. Eleanor was sick and had to stay at the hostel, I guess ninth grade fieldtrips aren’t her thing. Lastly, no restaurants would accept/had enough room to seat our group of twenty-five. It took us six tries until we found a spot. At dinner, Sarah and I graced the rest of our table with our Fra and Ra language. They were not very appreciative.
Today we learned about the people of London. Not the famous ones with statues made of steal, but the ones who immigrated to this place and lived in the more rustic and less wealthy part of the city. Throughout the day, we visited two flea markets and a curry house. Besides the fact that we were shopping, the flea markets were very interesting and exhilarating. There were so many people, tall, short, fat, thin, even the wealthy and poor. These people, once enemies with each other and religion, are all one now. They come together every Sunday and sell their goods. The curry house on the other hand was not so fun. M order of fried rice was great, but the appetizers were gross. I also heard Mr. Salsich talking about me at least five times. At the end of the day, we met up with Tom Wealer. He is so different now; given it has been seven years. Now I sit at the National Portrait Gallery and witness the different sizes, styles, colors, and shapes of the world.
I am not an outgoing person. I often keep quiet and try not to participate in workshops such as the one I experienced today, but this was different. At the Globe, I was cold, tired, hungry, and in a lazy mood. The last thing I wanted to do was act: however our instructor was very enthusiastic and changed my mind. Our next stop of the day, a little more awake and less hungry, was the Tate Modern. Here, I drew an apple. The first work of art I saw was a giant and colorful sculpture of the half-eaten apple. I chose to draw this because it was interesting, colorful, fun, and being a sculpture, I was able to recreate it on paper. Lastly, we went to the Ceremony of the Keys, which was, again, very interesting. I stood still in the frigid air as soldiers marched and shouted. Sadly, pictures were not allowed. I think “interesting” is really the only way to describe this trip as a whole. Parts were fun, and parts are not; but it is all interesting.
Today, not only did I wake up exhausted, but it was also time to pack. I spent some time packing clothes last night, but I was still unorganized. Once that was out of the way, we ate breakfast at Tesco’s. I had a doughnut. Then we headed out in the cold to the giant Westminster Cathedral. Thought it was exactly like the ones I saw in Italy and France. then we went to the bridge to recite Wordsworth’s poem. We also went to the Cabinet War Rooms and Winston Churchill Museum. It wasn’t the greatest thing we have done, it was smelly and old, but it reminded me of my grandfather. Now I sit on a bumpy train drinking a strawberry milkshake. I can’t wait to see the new hostel.
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