For as long as I can remember, I have loved the idea of traveling. My number one place I wanted to visit was London, England. This past summer I got the opportunity to and it definitely lived up to the hype. However, I could not help but notice a few major differences.
The first difference I noticed was the main mode of transportation. Nearly everyone takes the tube. The tube is London’s underground public railway system and one of the fastest ways to get around. This was quite a change for me considering I grew up so far out in the country that the school bus did not even come to my house. I also noticed everyone walks on the left side. This was confusing because I grew up with everyone walking on the right. I cannot even count how many people I bumped into.
The next difference I noticed was you had to pay to use the “toilet” and they can be difficult to find. I say toilet because that’s what they call it and if you ask where the nearest bathroom is you will probably get a weird look. Anyway, once you find a “toilet” be sure to have some spare change on you because they charge a small fee in order for you to use it. Oh, another thing that can be challenging to find is a garbage can, so make sure you take advantage if find one of those too.
Finally, I noticed you could not just go up to strangers and ask to pet their dog, no matter how cute the dog is. I think it is a personal space issue. Evidently, the owners will not be impressed and neither will the dog (insert sad face here). I will admit that this is not that big of a difference because I get weird looks on campus sometimes when I ask to pet someone’s dog, but I am a crazy dog lady; and I really missed my dog. However, luckily I kept it under wraps while I was in London, and hopefully you can too.
At the end of the day all of these things can easily be overlooked for the experience. Going to London was one best experiences of my life and I cannot wait to go back.
