Amber Jean

Hello everyone! Welcome to my blog for my London Exchange!

As some of you may know I’ve gotten off to a rough start. Long story short I was defrauded out of housing accommodation for my three month stay here. Luckily you all have helped me network and get the word out. The West Coast Swing community has gone worldwide. I’ve notified police, a USF St. Petersburg journalist who has ties with Fox 13 News, and plan to make a fuss about Western Union when I get back. My fake landlord crossed the wrong American girl.
Anyways, I don’t want to bore you with my unfortunate situation, because you want to hear about how wonderful London is, don’t you?

Well, first impression: EVERYTHING is backwards. Oh! I’m also freezing my tush off… and it’s only October. Something tells me I’ll be an Eskimo by the time December rolls around. Maybe I’ll just hibernate?

I’m a bit behind on keeping you all in the loop, so this post will be a bit of a “catch up”.

Since I’ve been here, I’ve been on a sightseeing tour of London, shopping in Covent Garden, and wandering in Brighton (Southern coast of England).
I’m summarizing here so I apologize for the brevity of my descriptions. London is gloomy but when the sun shines it’s lovely. Big Ben missed me, Parliament smiled at me, and the London Eye stood tall and waived. The Shard, which is the tallest building in Europe, simply comes to a point like a spike. Fun fact: London used to have gates around the city with spikes that held heads of those who committed worthy crimes. Hence, they built a skyscraper in the shape of a spike. Cool huh? I think so.

Covent Garden was filled shopping, street performers, sweet deals, musical theatres (notice the British spelling?), and a THREE STORY APPLE STORE. I was amazed. Definitely going back for some more shopping. I can’t wait to see Singing in the Rain in Theatre!!!!!! I also found Drury Lane.

I’ve gotten lost in Chinatown near Leicester Square (pronounced Lester) because the bus stop I needed didn’t exist. Suffice to stay I’ve gotten lost enough that I think I’m mastering their public transportation. Between buses (yes they’re double-deckers), the Underground or the “Tube”, the Overground, and Minicabs, I’ve had my share of traveling around the city.

Stay tuned for some cultural differences that you wouldn’t notice unless you left the States!

So, even though I’ve been scammed out of housing and taken advantage of in the worst way, I’m determined to show this city who is boss! All the worst things have happened but I can’t give up now. I’ve never been this exhausted, but in the end I know I’ll look back on this experience and appreciate it. After all you’ve got to travel through the valley to have mountain top experiences right?