London Love

Only recently have I truly fallen in love with London. Before, I liked it. I enjoyed London in the sunshine; I was interested in London history. I liked London a lot, and I’ve been fairly happy.

But today? This past week? Despite days of pouring rain and wind, loads of homework half the tube lines being closed, I love London.

I am so thankful and appreciative of this opportunity. I love the London I get to explore and spend time knowing, that I will be able to say I can find my way around, any time, and that I will spend 4 months in, that will always have a place in my heart.

Yes, there are times I am homesick. Mainly when I try to find an affordable meal or I am missing people. But I do love London. It has become my favorite city. There is such a grandness to the place, it breaths this beauty, even in the dingy corners of the boroughs, there is life.

I love the public transit, which is unbelievably user friendly, despite inconvenient opening hours. I love the public parks, the constant street cleaning, the polite homeless people huddled with their dogs who won’t take your money, the castles and cathedrals and history that is seeped in every stone. I love the ritzy area I live in, the palace a short walk away, the use of sausage and French fries (crisps) in every single meal. Well, that actually just makes me laugh and miss eggs and bacon, but I’ve gotten used to it.

I am still “people sick”, and I’ve come to the conclusion that will never change. A city is simply a place to dwell without family and friends to make it home. The USA holds my people, my dog, and my house. I look forward to returning to PITT in the fall, professors and classes that bare actual weight on my future. That is where my life is: the more European cities I visit, politics I follow, living standards I observe the more certain I am I will always live in the USA. I have no desire to end up in Europe for any amount of time longer then the one I am experiencing. It’s a different way of life, and while many things are exactly the same, certain differences are too much to ignore.

Part of me that will miss the London that I have grown to know and love. A semester is a long time, day in and day out, and when you live somewhere, it’s unavoidable. I know my Royal Borough of Kensington. I recognize the school children and the man at the pastries counter of our local shop. I can point out the owner’s wife at the local pub.

London slowly became my comfort zone, a place I looked forward to returning after Paris, after Berlin, after a long day of classes.

It is hard semester, but that is not my schoolwork or London, it is an uncontrollable part of me: my heart. The separation is too much in the end, and it drives me home as fast as that plane can fly. London itself is a fabulous city. It’s beautiful and while I do not love it every moment, there is so much it has taught me already that there will always be a place in my heart for it. I am down to one month here though, and getting ready to go home.