My Semester Abroad

Everything is so quiet. Tom left Saturday for Washington D.C. and I didn't feel like starting on my essays, so I filled my day with nonsensical things like a Jack the Ripper tour of London, and seeing "Capote" after Chinese food with friends. The walking group tour guide made everything very sensational. There are quite a few Jack the Ripper suspects — there are more than 10 people who could have done it.

Everything was still much too quiet, though, so I was really happy when I got a call from my friend Sarah (not the same Sarah I traveled with), who is going to the London School of Economics for the semester. I've known Sarah and her family since I was 8. Her parents were in town so we made plans for Indian food the next day. Her friend Renee came too; she went to Seattle Prep. I've got a whole Seattle posse with me in the U.K.

Over Indian food, Sarah, Renee and I discussed how people like to study abroad to challenge themselves and experience different cultures. But once you get to your new city, you tend to cling to people you already know. Americans hang out with Americans and exchange students from other countries. You really have to go out of your way to meet locals. In fact, I had just missed a bonding experience with my British Frisbee people, most of who are in York for a tournament, because I couldn't make the train at the designated time.

After dinner we went to Renee's apartment near London Bridge for the view. It was raining softly and everything — the castle near London Tower, the bridge, the boats on the Thames — had lights enveloping them. I stayed to chat with Renee and browsed her Time Out, a weekly that lists the going-ons of London. We made plans to see Spitalfields Market on Friday when the amateur clothing designers come to sell their wares.