The London Accent

Cheers! So far, London has been home to the nicest people I've had the chance to meet on my trip. They're kind, helpful, happy, and the accents are to die for.

I boarded a late evening plane out of Barcelona, and like most Ryan Air flights, it was delayed, bumpy, and cramped. It sure is cheap though, so that's what really counts. I had the good fortune however, to sit next to some young women who were just finishing college in Greece and heading home to London where they had both grown up. They were wonderful, teaching me British slang and forcing me to do my best British accent. We parted ways as we arrived at the airport, and Alec and I traversed our way through customs for the next hour. After a bus ride, we came to our hostel around 3:30am and immediately crashed.

The next morning, (and by morning I mean 2pm because that's how long we slept) we were lucky enough to meet up with my good friend Jamie. It just so happened Jamie was studying abroad in London and was kind enough to tour us around the city. We saw the sights, went to the free museums, and ate the food. We were the perfect tourists.

The best part of the London experience in my opinion, was meeting an admirable group of people our second night. The 3 of us were hanging out on our hostle's balcony when a small group, all in their early to mid twenties, joined us up there. Once we dove deeper into each other's stories, we came to find that they were all part of the peace core and had been living in Liberia for the last few months. Unfortunately, Africa is currently experiencing the worst Ebola outbreak in history so their entire crew was immediately evacuated in the night to escape the disease. Many of them had sold most of their possessions expecting to live overseas for the next 2 years, but now they were headed back, probably to stay with mom and dad before they were reassigned somewhere else. They told stories of the struggles and joy they had seen in a country they briefly called home. They shared cultural differences and norms that surprised us. My best wishes go out to their group and, of course, their host families back in Liberia. I'm still amazed every day by the people I have the honor of meeting.

Our last day in London consisted of traveling to Parliment Hill park which overlooks most of the city. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to do something in London a little more off the beaten path. Later in the evening we met up with Jamie again as well as her friend Emmee, who, interestingly enough, I had met only a few weeks prior due to us crossing paths in Florence, Italy.

A missed bus and short plane ride later, I've touched down in Amsterdam. Turns out my hostel is located in the red light district... That's what I get when Alec does the booking I suppose. I'll do my best to stay out of trouble mom.

The more I travel the more I understand that it's the people, not the place, that really matters. A week from now I'll be back in the states my friends.

With love,

Rhett