London Calling

Happy Snow Day to all of those in London right now. To all of those not in London, we got a record amount of snowfall today. Well, maybe not a record, but the largest amount of snow in 13 years. All of us interns woke up and thought it was pretty and went to work as usual. Most of the Tube (underground) was somewhat delayed, and the ENTIRE bus system was cancelled, but we played the role of dedicated interns and went anyway. We arrived at a nearly empty office, although people trickled in throughout the morning.

I was getting assignments from my editors working from home until about 11:30 when everyone told us to go home because the snow was supposed to get worse and the police were advising all of us to stay in. It was ridiculous in my opinion. It wasn’t even that much snow, but it was pretty thick. It would have been nothing in Chicago. It would have been a pain to deal with in Columbia but I doubt classes would have been cancelled So, we are all back at the flat now just hanging out and catching up on errands that we didn’t do over the weekend since we were gone.

The snow is perfect packing snow. All the kids are home and making snowmen and throwing snowballs at cars, which I think is rather rude, but apparently it’s perfectly acceptable here. Now that I have a whole day free with basically no transportation and my errands all caught up I have gotten to think about my time here in London.

I’ve become very accustomed to this city. I now call mailbox: the post box, line: queue. I have come accustomed to English money and no longer take a long time to pay for things because I don’t have to read how much is on each coin. I know the Tube well and the streets surrounding me. Confused Tube-goers ask me for directions occasionally, so I take that as a good sign that I look like I know where I’m going. My impersonation of an English accent has also improved dramatically, although it wasn’t that good in the first place. I’m settling in at MSN and know pretty much what I’m doing. I’m sure I’ll be a seasoned traveler by the end of the trip considering we’ve already planned our weekend in Paris in about 2 weeks and are beginning to plan our Spring break in Italy in about a month.

London is such a great city that is so international. There are all different dialects spoken all the time and it is great to hear. Being in a different country just puts into perspective all of the things about home. Home being the U.S. But working as a journalist in another city really makes you realize how much the world revolves around the entire United States. It’s no wonder that we’re stereotyped as arrogant because we are such a big country that there really is no immediate need to travel outside it. In the US, international news is rarely reported when it doesn’t directly affect US citizens, however, US news is always mainstream here. We are literally the center of the universe and everyone knows it except the people that live inside it. I knew how much of an effect the US has on the rest of the world, but not to the degree I realize it to be now.

Anyway, sorry if this was too analytical for anybody. It’s always on the lazy, snowed-in days like today that make you think about the greater world around you.