Leaving home and saying goodbye to my friends and family was very bittersweet, but my first week in London has definitely reminded me why I chose to embark on this journey!

My flight landed at the Heathrow Airport at 8AM on January 10th.  The flight was about 6 hours and 40 minutes, and it was a pretty smooth flight.  The only bump in the road my friend and I faced was the long line at customs.  It took about an hour and a half to get through the boarder, but once we were through it was smooth sailing to our flat in Camden.

The friend I flew with is a fellow student at the University of Pittsburgh, and we are rooming together here in London!  We share a flat with three other college student who go to Rollins College in Florida.  Our flat has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a spacious living room, and a nice kitchen.  The apartment is two floors, and in an awesome area of London.  Camden is a very eclectic area of London, filled with street art and small shops.  The Camden market is filled with different vendors, and an awesome place to wonder around during a free afternoon.

Just exploring the city has been my favorite part of my stay here so far.  It is so interesting learning about the history of London and the United Kingdom as a whole.  All of the architecture is beautiful, and it is so cool to see how it changes depending on what area you are in.  I am excited to explore even more and visit all of the museums, historical sights, and attractions London has to offer!

While in London I am taking three courses and taking part in an internship.  The class sizes are a lot smaller compared to the large lectures at Pitt, but they last three and a half hours.  My internship is with a company called Everyman Media Group.  They are a London based up-scale movie theater company, with 21 locations around the United Kingdom.  I am working in their finance and accounts department, and I am doing a lot of different tasks to assist the department.  All of the employees have been very warm and welcoming.  The work environment in England is a lot different then the environment in the United States.  They employees are a lot more relaxed, they talk about anything and everything, and work ends once they leave the building.  You will rarely find someone taking work home or checking their work email after hours.  I am very excited to learn more in the finance field, and I am very thankful for this opportunity.

My first week in London has been amazing, and I cannot wait to see what the rest of the trip entails.  Thanks for reading!!