Paying for Bathrooms

Well everyone sorry it’s taken me so long to post, but it’s been a crazy couple of weeks! I made it home safe from across the pond, and back down to camp. My trip to London was absolutely amazing, there was so much to do and so many beautiful places to go. We packed almost every day full so we could see, or try to at least, everything that we wanted to. There is literally something for everyone in that city, young, old, hipster, historian, ANYONE. It was honestly overwhelming sometimes the vastness of the people there. Even in our hostel that we stayed at, there were people from all over the world. If you want to meet people from all over, a hostel is definitely the place to do it!

I traveled to London as a study abroad trip which counts as an English credit towards my degree.  My favorite place was probably St. Paul’s Cathedral or the farmer’s markets that we went to while we were there. Spending 8 days over there was definitely a culture shock. Although they speak the same language, it is vastly different than the States. Although there were many funny sayings and words, my favorite saying was “Mind the gap.” They said this every single time the doors opened the doors on the tube (aka subway). This phrase was so popular that it was had its own merchandise line and was kind of the joke of the town. Also instead of saying “watch your step” they say “mind your step.” It took me awhile to get used to both that and the fact that they drive and walk on the left side instead of the right. Once I got back to the U.S. for our layover, I still found myself walking on the left side of the sidewalk, but I’m finally back to the normal way of walking and driving. Another element of my culture shock was the idea that you have to pay for bathrooms in public, I kid you not. there are gate type things outside of public bathrooms (called toilets in London) and you have to pay 30 or 40 pence in order to use it! They also have big green ovals on the sidewalks that are basically portapotties that you also have to pay for. Needless to say, definitely carry change with you when you travel to London. But on the bright side, most museams are free!

One trend that I picked up on in their culture is how different the restaurant service is in London. Considering I waited tables for 5 ½ years, I tend to pick up on trends in service. Over in London at pubs you seat yourself at a table and then go up to the bar to order your food and then sit back down, no wait staff, just bartenders and cooks.

            On the other hand, at sit down restaurants, the tips are usually included in your bill at a steady 12.5% no matter how good the service is. So needless to say, since the server’s tip isn’t reliant on the server’s attitude and service, from my experience it was not the best. Despite the different interactions, it was an eye opening experience.

            Another place we went was Harry Potter World. And WOW, my inner Harry Potter nerd came out. This place was filled with the real props that were used in the movies and the actual sets that all of the actor performed in. They had the double decker bus, the house that Harry grew up in, the flying car, and the Hogwarts sculpture that they used to create the life size image of Hogwarts in the movies. I also got to ride on a flying broom… well kind of. It was a broom that was attached to a block on the ground with a green screen behind it. Same thing right?

            There are so many other stories and experiences that I could share with you, but again, it would be way too much to type and for you to read. There are a couple pictures down below, but be on the lookout for even more that I will hopefully be uploading soon!! But for now it’s back to the camp life where the sleep is little but the view and memories are beautiful. The summer is in full swing and I’m ready to take it on full force and serve in any way that’s necessary. Thank you all for all of your love and support in my adventure, it means the world to me! Talk to you soon!