The Drury Mirror

Issue date: 12/12/05 Section: News

Media Credit: Amanda Brockus The Christmas tree at Trafalgar Square is a landmark icon for London. Study abroad student Amanda Brockus says she is happy that she is coming back to the United States for the holidays but says she will miss London.

Last weekend I traveled to Leipzig in northern Germany. Mostly, it is a pilgrimage site for music majors, but somewhere between the Mendelssohn House and the Bach Museum, I stumbled upon The British Store.

After a day and a half surrounded by people speaking German, I could not resist a store which promised something in English.

I walked in and felt like I was back in London. They had British tea, McVitie's digestives (a type of cookie), double-decker key chains, "Mind the Gap" ashtrays and little stuffed sheep playing the Scottish bagpipes.

I soon realized that London has begun to feel like home. In two weeks I will be back with my family in the States. I am looking forward to spending Christmas with my family, Christmas caroling, Christmas services, Christmas presents, Christmas dinner, but I know I will miss London.

I have begun to think that everyone looks out at Big Ben before going to bed, calls home from a red phone booth, and drops by Boots for lunch on the way to a concert.
I really have not missed driving.

When I climb to the top of a double-decker bus, my only concern is getting off of the bus at the correct stop. The driver can worry about traffic, whether there is enough gas in the tank, and whether the oil has been changed in the last 3,000 miles.

I like the convenience of getting on a train and arriving effortlessly in another city or catching a £30 return flight to the continent. Leaving London is easy and inexpensive and never involves road rage. In London I can go to a concert one day, the theater the next, and a service at Westminster Abbey the next. Somehow this bustling city is still charming. It is not a charm that is immediately obvious, but after months of wandering the streets I have begun to feel that I am part of the city.

The city is certainly part of me. I catch myself acting like a Londoner

periodically. I stand on the right of escalators. I have the tube map memorized. I expect cars to drive on the left side of the road.

The other day I caught myself just before I stopped to stare at a traveler with an American accent.

In the States, I will never need to know that Tower Hill Station is on the circle line. No one will ask me if I would like my tea white. London has been my life for the past three and a half months. London will keep going. It has for 2000 years, and it won't stop now. Neither will I, but I will be different.

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