While everyone at Northwestern is celebrating the end of fall quarter, I’m writing papers. It’s a rather miserable existence especially because while researching, I’m discovering all these new bakeries, shops, museums and other sites in London I’ve never gone to but desperately want to. Sadly, procrastination and I are shacked-up in a slightly Spartan love shack.
It just goes to show, even when you think you’ve seen “everything,” — at least according to Frommer’s — you really haven’t. Sort of like when my friends are graduating one by one and then visit Lincoln Park Zoo for the first time they’ve been in Evanston. There’s always more to discover.
Not to say that I don’t miss Northwestern. Challenging classes are going to be both a blessing and a curse. As this week has shown, I can barely write papers anymore, but it’ll be great to feel enthusiastic about learning again. With each of my classes lasting only two hours a week, hardly anyone does the reading before discussion sections and lectures introduce the idea of the Reformation — I know this stuff, I’m a European History major. It’s partly my fault. I took classes with the words “London” and “Europe” in them, meaning they are full of exchange students who wanted to experience London more than the London education system, myself included.
Going back to Americaland won’t be that different. British culture is quite similar to American culture, except they are very polite about standing in line. The hardest part will be not being able to go to another country so easily. Here, a 45 minute bus ride and a one hour plane ride later, you could be in Berlin. But when it comes to food, the most important factor, things will be pretty much the same. Fried chicken surrounds my Mile End dorm room and in Evanston, I live above Buffalo Joe’s.
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