By agoudsward
My first week in London has been a bit of a roller coaster ride. It has been a whirlwind of new and unique experiences. Each day almost feels like a week in itself.
First of all, if you're planning to study abroad in the U.K., I'd highly recommend not coming through Ireland. I did because it was a cheaper fare, but it was a mistake. If you come through Ireland, you don't go through immigration upon arrival in the U.K. which means I wasn't able to get my student visa on arrival as I planned.
It wasn't a pleasant experience landing alone in a foreign country for the first time and having customer service at the airport tell you that they "don't have a clue" how you could get a visa that you need to enroll at your new University in three days.
Luckily, after consulting with GW England staff I was able to get the visa, but only after taking a last minute EuroStar train to Paris and then returning to London the same day so I could reenter the U.K. and get the visa, the night before I had to officially enroll at UCL. I know, you don't feel bad for me that I "had" to go to Paris and truth be told the city was magical... during the 90 minutes I spent there.
It is more frenetic than London, a bit more chaotic, but its reputation as one of the world's most charming cities is well deserved.
I expected to make some mistakes traveling abroad for the most time, but that was a rather big and stressful one to make especially my first few days here. So again, don't come through Ireland if you're studying abroad in the U.K.
The rest of the week has been pretty great though. From a boat ride on the Thames under Tower Bridge to night time festival in Trafalgar Square, London has so much energy and amazing old-world charm.
It's also incredibly multicultural, more than any place I have ever visited. Even my residence hall here is 75 percent international students. One thing you realize interacting with people from all over the world is we all have remarkably similar feelings on starting school at UCL, similar hopes and even similar fears.
I was struck by a conversation I had with an international student from Greece. Growing up in the United States, you always assume it's the safest place on Earth, sheltered from the chaos of the rest of the world. She told me she wanted to visit the U.S., but was afraid to. She didn't think she'd be safe there because of the recent spate of mass shootings.
It's interesting, no matter how safe you perceive your home to be, for someone else traveling to the unknown always brings a certain amount of fear. Although, after a week in London, I'd say it has its virtues as well.