No Longer a Tourist

It’s going on the third week studying abroad here in London and I have already noticed a huge change from the first day compared to now. On arrival day, we went on a 4-hour Bus Tour around the city and got to see several famous landmarks in London including Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and the London Eye, along with other well known aspects such as the red telephone booths, the Tube, the taxis, and big red double-decker buses. We clearly proved ourselves as typical tourists snapping photos of everything in sight and excitedly whispering about what we were experiencing. However, I felt lost and out of place and it seemed so unreal that I was actually seeing the sights that I had only seen in pictures before. Unfortunately none of us got any sleep on the plane ride the night before so we were beyond exhausted walking around and most of us ended up sleeping for the last hour of the bus tour.
Now fast forward three weeks. I have spent hours upon hours with my friends touring around the city of Richmond where our college is located, taking the Tube into different parts of London and mostly becoming familiar with everything around us. Going from not knowing how to get into the city to knowing several different routes, and going from not knowing how to use the Tube to discussing which way would be the quickest and easiest stop to take. We have gone back to see the famous sights on our own, we have shopped, and we have done a lot of aimless walking. I feel I have a good general sense of the city now just because I have spent so much time in it and learning it. I take my camera everywhere so I never miss an opportunity to get a great photo that will help me remember this trip for a lifetime. I am sure I will continue to become more familiar and educated about the city, and hopefully even get a little familiar with traveling to other countries as well. But all I have to say is that it’s certainly nice to finally feel like I fit in and belong here more than I did the first day. I feel less like a tourist and more like a citizen of London.