By maxikaplan
With only about three months left to my time in London, it’s really begun to hit me how long I’ve been here. I know that six months doesn’t sound like a long time, but recently, for one reason or another, I’ve felt that the next few months are going to go by quicker than I anticipate. With this idea breathing down my neck, my friends and I realized a few days ago that if we were to leave London today, we would not be 100% satisfied with the amount of new experiences and places we have discovered. So, despite our schoolwork, we’ll be taking almost every Wednesday and Saturday “off” to explore the UK and more of Europe as well. We have not yet planned where we will be going or what exactly it is we want to do at these places, but this is a plan that’s better than no plan, and I know that I won’t look back at my time at LSE and say, “I wish I had spent the day inside writing an essay rather than exploring the North of England with my friends.”
I am not sure if GW maintains the same level of involvement with other students study abroad experiences, but it seems that here in London there is another GW event every couple of weeks. On Thursday I’ll be having tea with the other students at the National Portrait Gallery, which might not sound like the most exciting event there is, but the Londoners appreciation for tea is pretty interesting. Some of the places that I’ve been to for tea have over 200 types of teas on their menu, and the food that they pair with it is usually a “biscuit” (dessert) of some sort that is absolutely delicious. If it sounds so far like my week hasn’t been filled with exciting new action, it’s because of two reasons: First, I had to catch up on the work I missed while I was on my mini-vacation, and second is that the highlight of my week was watching someone blow bubbles.
On Saturday, with a rare occasion of perfect weather, my two friends and I walked for hours along the Thames River through many markets and shops, and towards the end came across one of those giant bubble making contraptions street performers use. We stopped for a second, leaning against the rail by the water and not thinking much of it, but as more kids came around and were fascinated by this man’s talents, we found ourselves sucked in. It was an ephemeral moment that words can’t quite do justice to as we stood there fixated on their happiness, but it was akin to staring out at a landscape and feeling that time has climaxed, and suddenly stood still. There wasn’t anything in the world I cared about in that few minutes we stayed there, and watching these kids chase bubbles twice their size was, surprisingly, my favorite moment this week. It is moments like that where I know I’ll look back on these Wednesdays and Saturdays I’ll be taking off with nothing but joy.