Hi again! I’m back to tell you more about some challenges I’ve encountered while being in London.
I have had a hard time getting used to the direction cars drive on the street. For most of my life, I have only seen cars driving on the right side of the road. Now, I’m in London for three months, where I have to remember what side of the road cars are coming from before crossing the street. I will often look at both sides multiple times to ensure I am able to cross the street. But recently, I have been remembering to look right-left-right before instead of left-right-left like in the United States.
For my internship and classes, I’ve found the commute itself a bit hard to assimilate to. I have to leave at least forty-five minutes ahead of time to go to my internship or class. I have to walk to the tube station, take the tube, and walk out of the station to my internship or class location. At home, I was used to leaving ten or fifteen minutes before the class time. I would simply walk over to the class building. I have to wake up a lot earlier than I’m used to as well, so I’ve been learning to prepare for the next day the night before. For example, I will pick out my clothes and pack my lunch the night before the internship or class, so I don’t have to waste time in the morning doing either. I’m not the best at waking up early either but by getting into the routine of waking up at six in the morning, I have definitely gotten better at waking up early.
I have faced a few, small difficulties at my internship so far. For example, the way in which the British write their dates is day/month/year. That can be confusing as I might read a due date the American way. So, at the internship, anytime I read a date that is written out only in numbers, I try to switch the month and the day around when reading to see if that would make more sense depending on what the date refers to. I have also learned to write dates the British way as it is easier for both myself and my coworkers. I chose to do this especially because, after I leave in April, my coworkers will still be here and might need to use what I worked on in the future.
Unrelated to my internship, I am also getting used to navigating a new city. I’m not used to needing my phone to map out where I need to go, but slowly, I’ve started to memorize where tube stations are located and where shops are in my area. Initially, I was overwhelmed and a bit anxious at the thought of learning to navigate a new city. But now, I’m now more comfortable not using my phone to travel everywhere.
While I have faced some initial challenges in London, I’ve found that patience is my best friend in overcoming these obstacles.