A More Personal Post and a London Day Trip

Hello, my fellow readers,

Today I will discuss my feelings and thoughts about my stay at Liverpool Hope University. I want other students that are considering going to Liverpool Hope University to understand the feelings that go into studying abroad. It is hard being away from families and friends while you are in another country but it makes the experience more enlightening. Making the decision of studying abroad for a full semester was something that I thought about for quite some time. Doing my research about the GO program and what I am supposed to do was informal and I could take some time to think about where I wanted to go for the GO program. I knew that I wanted to stay in another country for a long period of time instead of 2 weeks. Being in another country was something I have never done and I wanted to explore as much as possible and experience new things that would stick in my memory for the rest of my life. Deciding to take my studies at Liverpool Hope University was an exciting new step to take. The process was long but it showed me that it would be worth it because I will be learning something new about theatre in the UK. For the first two weeks, I couldn't believe that I was in England, it felt like a dream. It felt like an out-of-body experience and I was seeing everything from a different point of view. I was amazed about how far I have come to the point of being in another country to study the thing I love to do which is theatre. I had been upset about how my two younger sisters would go to other countries during their earlier years of high school and how I would think about how I have never done that when I was in high school, but looking back I now know that It wasn't the right time for me to experience my own adventure just yet. Being here in England for a month now has been full of emotions. I mostly felt the emotion of excitement instead of homesickness. I believe it is because I have been talking to my family once a day but really it is because I have nothing to be crying about or to feel any kind of sadness. I have been given the opportunity to be in a different country and I know that my family is extremely proud of me because I fought so hard to get to where I am today and that is not something to be sad about. The only time that I felt teary eyes was when my mother and grandmother sent me ingredients to make a bowl of Puerto Rican-style rice and beans. I felt emotional because I miss my grandma making me and my sisters food to fill our bellies up and it gave me so much join to have something that reminds me of home. There is a Spanish saying that goes like this, my stomach is full and my heart is happy. It sounds way better in Spanish but that is how I felt the day I had a piece of home with me.

Rice and Beans

I will never forget the moment of being excited to cook one of my favorite foods and share it with friends. Moving forward with this post, many of you would think why is this person taking this trip personally. This is part of a requirement of the university and there is no reason to be emotional about it. Well, ladies and gentlemen, they and them, this trip is a learning experience of not only your studies but of oneself. I have learned what it is to be an adult with responsibilities. I am still learning this lesson but I have been getting the sense of what kind of responsibilities I will be having in my life and I am grateful that I am learning this lesson my own way instead of with my family because then I will be relying on them for everything and this is something that I have to learn on my own. I am grateful for this trip because I am getting to know myself in ways that I have not experienced before and I am loving it.

Now, that was personal, but I also want to talk about my trip to London. London is a beautiful place to be in and a very busy one at that. I went on a Saturday with my friends and we took a 5am train to arrive in London at 9am. The train ride was cool because I haven't been on a train ride for a long period of time and it was nice looking at the different towns and landscapes we were passing through to go to London.

on the train

When we arrived we took an underground train to the Victoria train line. When we got out of the station we were in a park and when walking further down the trail we saw the gates to Buckingham Palace. I never thought that I would have ever seen Buckingham Palace in person. It was a beautiful sight and it was breathtaking. I was amazed to be standing in front of the Palace and getting to be in a place that I have seen so many times on T.V. was shocking. Since we got there early there were not many people at the Palace taking pictures so we were able to get closer to the Palace.

The Gates

Queens Park

Buckingham Palace

Here is a closer look

Here is a fuller look at Buckingham Palace

This is the statue that is in the middle of the road to Buckingham Palace

Right next to the Palace is Princessa Diana Memorial Park

This is the Fairytale look if one looks further between the trees.

After visiting Buckingham Palace we went to go see Big Ben. While we were walking I was amazed by the beautiful buildings and streets toward Big Ben. There were also Cathedrals that has beautiful sculpture markings.

Walking down the street

Beautiful Cathedral that one needs to pay for entrance.

Big Ben

Churchill Statue

The famous spot where people would take pictures of themselves in front of Big Ben.

The London Eye.

A full view of Big Ben

When we were done taking pictures and admiring the view we went to walk around the area and even stopped at a little place that sealed books, movie and album prints, maps, and many more. Then we ate at a little restaurant because we were starting to get really hungry, at first it was difficult because not many restaurants were open but we finally sat down to relax and be filled up well enough to continue with our activities. We started walking past many bridges to get to Tower Bridge and on our way there I got to see Shakespeare's Globe, a carousel, skateboard ranks, market place, and a street that felt like it would have been an inner castle wall street because there was a touring museum of the dungeons and how the people would get tortured and finally getting to see the Tower Bridge.

Carousel

Skateboard Rank

Shakespeare's Globe

This is the only little sneak peek I could get of seeing inside the theatre.

This street felt like I was walking inside the castle walls.

Little Market/ Restaurant Place

Tower Bridge

Games of Throne Starbucks cup making an entrance

Selfie With friends

Walking up the bridge

Golden Hour

After leaving Tower Bridge, we went to Oxford Street which has over 300 malls and it was wild. Many people were shopping and there were tourists there too. It was a very busy street and it reminded me of time square in New York. I even got to go into a big building that had many rich brands inside and I got to see the Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior stores. I was looking for a Louis Vuitton bag for my mother, but she told me to get out of there because it was too expensive. I have never felt so poor in my life than when asking for the lowest prices of a small bag that was 1,006 pounds. I went to a Disney store next door to lift up my spirits and bought my 7-year-old cousin an Isabella dress from the Disney movie Encanto.