england.

I'll admit, I spent the first 2 days of being in England kind of just... in Alex's house.

But today I went out with him and his cousin Danny to Thorpe Park, which was loads of fun in itself, but also good to just to soak up British culture.
I think I was a bit quieter today than usual because I was just observing and trying to take in everything I possibly could.
I'm now going to try to remember all of the little things I noticed.

1. This was really strange for me, as I have never really been outside of America (aside from Canada and Mexico) so consequently I have never really experienced being the "strange" accent. I speak basic Hollywood English, so I am really used to being "normal". I dont have to think about it. But every time I spoke today, I was hyper aware of the fact that if anyone walked by their ears would perk up a little to listen to me, and I was on constant alert of it. This was an entirely new experience and strange for me to have to think about this for the first time in my life.

2. Things in London are generally just kind of smaller than in America. Houses/Apartments are small and cute, escalators are thinner, food servings are smaller... Alex bought me an ice cream cone (it was cute, since I wrote it into the script) and it was tiny but I liked that better because who can eat a big enormous cone anyway? It was lovely ice cream, too. <3

3. I know this is going to sound VERY shallow and very typical-American, but I realized how big the world is today. America is just a country, and I just happen to live there. I was on the train and I was standing there, leaning against a pole, watching the landscape whiz by and seeing everyday people reading British newspapers on their way home from work... this all sounds common and average but that's exactly it. There are people just living life all over the world and I never stop to consider them ever ahhh I am such a surface level person and that needs to end NOW. I'm not going to stop traveling until I see everything.

4. When Alex came to Seattle he told me he felt very much a PART of my life instead of a spectator; he didn't feel like someone I was just showing around, which is amazing if you think about it. Two people can connect so well that being halfway across the world in a different culture can feel like home. I was afraid I wouldn't get that same feeling of inclusiveness here, just because I worry about things, but even though I feel embarrassingly American here, I feel like that's just something I can easily grow out of. I feel like a part of Alex's life and can see myself in his world, so that's nice. It's nice here. I like his Mom (Mum? Do I have to use it?) and his cousin and his funny red buses and doors that open in strange ways and black current juice and oyster cards and I'm not too keen on sausage rolls but I think I could even learn to like them. :D

Basically, I'm giving London two thumbs up and predictably, I dont want this week to end.