Lessons Learned in London (the Hard Way)

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Originally uploaded by awolice89

So I made it!! I'm finally in London - this is actually the start of my second day here and I've managed to survive my first night here and somehow, I still miraculously have 15GBP in my pocket - thanks in part to over a half a dozen stolen sandwiches and sodas and my mom's decision to pack crackers & candy into my bags before i left..

as expected, i've already made an ass (arse?) of myself on several occasions being culturally ignorant and having no sense of direction. ive already had close encounters with a few cars thanks to my inability to remember to look RIGHT and not LEFT first before crossing the street..

I've also learned that, unlike in DC, the subway system closes at midnight regardless of whether or not you've already paid 5.60 for a roundtrip. The toilets here are incredibly difficult to flush (and incredibly easy to clog.. although I didn't find that one out myself, thank you). You tip 10% NOT 20% (oops) and for cab drivers you round up to the nearest pound, nothing more (even though paige tipped ours about 8 pounds lol). Fries are chips and chips are crisps and whatever the hell prawn cocktail chips are.. they're quite possibly the most fabulous flavored "crisps" around. Diet coke cans are WAAAY too small to support my daily caffeine intake. A bloke is a man, not something you smoke. It's freakishly cold here and traffic is always bad when you're paying for a cab. It's a bill, not a check and you have to ask for it, otherwise you'll be sitting there like a fool for a long time until they ask you to leave. Hard apple cider is AMAZING and i don't understand why we don't sell it out of the tap in America. I thought I learned that a "note" is the equivalent of a dollar bill, but evidently you cant shove 50 pounds into a "note" slot at the self check-out. Food goes "off" (expires) more quickly here than in America, and I'm not sure what kind of mayo-like spread they put on BLTs, but it is FABULOUS. Also, a cheddar & pickle sandwich - isn't a sandwich with cheddar and pickle(s)... although I have absolutely no clue what it is/was. Also, if you buy a BRITISH travel hairdryer, evidently it will still burst into flames - which more or less literally happened to me last night. So now, I will either be airdrying my hair or I will have to live life on the edge and try to stay conscientious of when flames are about to spurt from my dryer again.. sad thing is, the USD-GBP ratio is so bad that i'm leaning towards picking the latter option until I basically run the risk of either burning my scalp or setting off the fire alarm.

However, London is amazing.. I haven't really had the chance to go out and see the city, but we did go to the pub and to some clubs last night which turned out to be a lot of fun.. especially since I didn't buy any drinks at the bar (otherwise i'd probably would have overdrawn my account)... Cheerio!