Well I am currently on the Chunnel going from London to Paris. I took a bus and let me tell you how cool this is. I AM UNDER THE WATER AND I AM IN A BUS! They drove a bus onto the chunnel and all I have to do is sit here, and then I end up IN FRANCE...what a world, i'ts great. Much better than being on a plane.
For those of you following along on "Amanda's book club!" I finally finished Amy Pohlers book "Yes, Please" at the recommendation of my dear friend Alice. Pretty nice read, didn't require too much thought and she included pages like "a list of why flying on airplanes is terrifying" and also talked about how she was bad at sleeping...to which I could laugh, because I am the best in the world at sleeping. I have slept so much that I have convinced myself that I am actually just storing energy for when I need it...I've needed it a bit on this trip, not ideal sleeping conditions and knowing that my crazy father is also not sleeping have made it a little harder.
Anyway, the last day in London was a bit of a cool down....I REALLY needed to do laundry, people would have died, and I happily found out that the laundry was free in St Christophers Inn (my hostel-would med-rare recommend it*). I went to the Museum of Natural History (they have a lot of dinosaurs) and Tower Bridge (hopefully this quick video that I meant to send to the "London snap story" but messed up will upload) and I finally got my fish and chips..it was okay! Woohoo! Great last day.
London was the most international city I have ever been in. As I mentioned before from the people I talked to not all of them were English, but they all were from the EU and had specific feelings on the EU and GB's involvment in it. Oh and that reminds me I have two more people I talked to, but I'll save that for another post.
I guess while I'm sitting on the chunnel without my next book on "Amanda's book club!" reading list "The Edge of Eternity" by Ken Follett, I can publically talk about how this first week has been. In terms of my project I feel like I am finally on my feet (only to leave english speaking countries so I know there will be new challenges everywhere I go), but I think I want to spend more time reading current articles about current events going on in these places to make sure I have something to talk to people about to casually lean into conversations. I definitely do feel like I'm doing a lot of work and thinking about the implications of what people say (while at the same time trying not to read too much into it). London surprised me with how many other things I could do while still doing work, I didn't expect that. In terms of my life, I've so far learned a few great things about myself 1) whenever I accomplish a very small task by myself the amount of pride I feel is unreal and the applause in my head is thunderous. Today I found the coach station: "wow, you did it, you really did it, you are the best, go climb K2 because you.can.do.it" the same reaction happens when I remember to eat vegetables. 2) I've learned that wearing headphones calms me down while traveling...music doesn't need to be playing the headphones just need to be there 3) I am really great at reflecting on meaningful things I've learned.
But honestly the past week has been something completely new and outside my comfort zone...which isn't always a bad thing. And I only have 40 days left so I might start being comfortable with the uncomfortable in that time.**
*Guide to Amanda's hostel ranking system
I left= The Worst Place ever where I would have been stolen do not ever go there; Ihhhh= place I chose to stay at against better judgement but it worked; I will survive my stay in this hostel= Fine hostel; Medium-rare= the best kind of meat and also a hostel I was pleased with; Super!= the best hostel experience of my life.
For those wondering about my Dublin hostel, I would rank it with "I will survive my stay in this hostel"
**For Dad: I only have to go as long as Jesus sat in the desert!
No comments:
Post a Comment