Study Abroad: My first few days across the pond

You most likely know the crosswalk on Main Street between Athletic and Central.
I mean, everyone who has ever been in Burlington knows that crosswalk.
It’s the one where students cross whenever they feel like it because, hey, what car is going to hit a pedestrian in the crosswalk?

Study Abroad: My first few days across the pond

Study Abroad: My first few days across the pond

There is a general mentality of invincibility around that crosswalk that I find slightly inspiring for its fearless confidence, but mostly absolutely terrifying because of the potential death I envision every time I approach it.
That mentality would definitely get you killed in London.
Anyone who doesn’t obey the traffic rules gets run over.
And even if you have the green walking man, there is a good chance that a car is uncomfortably close to you as you cross.
But other than the daily near-death scares, London has been an experience.
I stayed near Paddington Station, which, while technically in Westminster, isn’t far from London.
But the public transportation is top-notch there, so it’s not that big of a problem.
London is a fascinating mixture of old and new, much like Burlington.
There are skyscrapers and the bustling traffic, but then you turn down a side road and suddenly the city is behind you and you’re in a little pocket of old-fashioned, old-world London.
It’s like walking from the Davis Center to Old Mill or Waterman.
You go from a bustling, modern epicenter to quieter, old-fashioned buildings.
The 14-story hotels and giant shopping plazas hide the cute English countryside that you see in movies.
For a country girl who enjoys the city from time to time, it’s quite charming.
Almost as charming as the British accent.

Courtesy: The Vermont CTNIC