Not a City Girl

 

 

I don’t think I am wired to be a city girl.  I guess that’s why it’s a blessing that I live a bit out of London, but it still has it’s own system of buses, noises, and business.  Everything and everyone here is just so busy.  The buses sigh “go, go, go” as they pull into a stop.  The people briskly walk down the sidewalk and ignore the walk signs, risking it to get to their destination a few seconds earlier.  The Tube is packed because it moves faster than the buses, but the buses are also packed with people who want to move faster than walking.  The cars zip and weave in and out of each other, causing mini heart attacks to someone used to things a bit slower.  Even in the parks there are people moving fast and the sounds of the hubbub invade.

I just want to slow down…

Breathe a bit…

Escape from the noise…

Watch the stars…

Listen to the birds…

Walk slowly…

Take it all in…

That’s why I am meant to live in the country.

Public Transportation

 

Today I feel accomplished for navigating public transportation fairly successfully.  I come from a small enough place that I’ve never used public transportation; I rely on my car, bike, and feet.    Today I made it into central London and traveled around the city with some of the group and we figured it out.  On the way home, my housemate and I had a bit of a fun trip though.

We  left the group in central London because she needed different shoes and I was getting tired. We took a bus out of central London to get to a tube station that would be free for us to use. We got to our home tube stop just fine , stopped in the grocery, then…we were taking the bus back from our tube stop to the house, missed the 9:07 bus so we had to wait for the 9:37 bus. took that and missed our stop (because it was dark and we weren’t sure of the name.  Remember it’s only day 2 of this experience). The kind bus driver was going to drive us back to the right stop but there was a passed out drunk in the back that he couldn’t wake. He had to call an ambulance so he said he couldn’t take us back. We walked and got here about 10:30 pm.

I enjoy the tube rides though because I love to people watch.  I like to watch and listen to the people and try to decide what their lives are like.  It’s exciting because I will never really know the truth so I can imagine all sorts of scenarios.

All in all, once I figure out the logistics of reading maps and bus schedules and learn the layout of the city better, I think I will be able to travel fairly easily.  It’s going to be fun and a great learning experience.