By agoudsward
My first few hours in London have been a whirlwind. It's a unique experience landing, for the first time, an ocean away from home on a completely different continent with about 40 minutes of sleep under your belt.
Everything should be, and truly was exciting from riding the train past the post-card worthy thatched roof houses in the English countryside and riding The Underground for the first time to eating my first meal of fish and chips.
It was at times almost too much to process all at once, especially after traveling for about 12 hours and only getting a chance to shut my eyes for a few minutes while waiting for my connecting flight in Dublin.
I probably sound like such an amateur traveler, but I think the most interesting thing about this first day abroad is that London finally feels real. You can learn about a place all you want, watch movies set in London or English soccer matches, but until you actually visit a place, it's still sort of a figment of your imagination.
Of course you know places exist out in the world, but at least for me, London didn't become real until I saw cars driving on the left side of the road, traveled past those thatched roof-houses and heard the famous and ubiquitous English accents.
This city is no longer something I've read about online or seen on a TV screen and I think that's been the most illuminating part of my first day here.