Submitted by Morgan Young on the 2019 winter session study abroad program in London, England sponsored by the Department of Communication…
It is crazy to think that my first week in London is coming to an end. This week has already been a crazy filled adventure and the fact that I still have three and a half weeks left to explore this amazing city is so exciting. The only thing I don’t think I will get over are cars driving on the opposite sides of the road and how much easier the Tube station is to navigate rather than the subway. It has been exactly a week since I have arrived and I feel completely confident in my ability to navigate around the city.
Yesterday was our first day off. I along with a few other people on my program went to see the Changing of The Guards at Buckingham Palace. It was nice to go on a Monday because it was not as crowded as it would be on the weekend. It was crazy to hear so many languages being spoken by the people waiting to see the event. We all took a guess and agreed that there were probably around 15 languages being spoken around us.
Today, we definitely had the entire Shakespeare experience. I am lucky enough to have traveled to London a few years ago when my brother was studying abroad. I toured the Globe Theatre in 2014 with my family, and although an amazing experience, having little knowledge on the time period and Shakespeare himself, it did not have as large as an impact as it did on me today.
I was surprised to learn when talking to our tour guide, Tom, that Shakespeare is not very prevalent to the literature they learn growing up. Similar to in America they read a play or two throughout grade school, and that is about it. I had always identified Shakespeare with British culture. After a tour, we saw a performance of Romeo and Juliet by The Royal Shakespeare Company in their indoor winter theatre. It was modernized and very inclusive in their gender and racial casting which surprised my entire group happily!
Throughout this first week, I have seen a lot of similarities and differences compared to America. There is a deeper history, cleaner streets, and a personal favorite of mine, more vegetarian and vegan options. I am so happy to be spending this month in my favorite city, and feel lucky I still have three and a half weeks left.
