First Time Blogger

First off, the title of my blog, "Adventures of a Very Awkward Girl" does not necessarily suggest that I am an awkward person. I was telling my sister and her boyfriend about my adventures and strange encounters in London, where I currently reside and study. I shared with them an underground tube station story:

There were no more seats available, which is happening more frequently (big sigh--standing can be so tiresome), so I wrapped my fingers around a pole and positioned myself where I wouldn't flop over to the other end of the train or lose balance. I had my head phones in, listening to "Nelly-Grillz," a song that is so fun to listen to, and you know, just minding my own business. Like myself, most people on the tube occupy themselves with music, reading the daily newspaper or an interesting book, and sometimes, they even fall asleep. Towards the end of my Nelly song, I heard this loud THUMP. I thought, that's not  part of the song. hmm. To my right, I caught sight of the tail end accident of the guy who had completely dozed off to be suddenly awakened by hitting the back of his head against the glass window. The people surrounding did not seem to witness this. But I did! Instantaneously and simultaneously, I bursted out in laughter and threw my hands over my mouth. I knew I needed to control myself, but I couldn't and I didn't really want to because it was just too enjoyable. The guy had a shy, embarrassed grin on his face. He looked around to see if anyone noticed. I was less than ten feet away from him; I don't think his scoping range was very wide. I looked down at my Ipod, pretending to scroll through my music list, when really, I needed a distraction. He went back to his normal, awake state after he realized that no one seemed to notice or care. For the next ten minutes on the tube, I would have random spurts of giggles, thinking about how the man clumsily hit the back of his head against the window. I received more weird glances than he had. 

To me, this is very normal. I was entertained by this and the man maintained his dignity. No one was harmed in the making. I told my sister and her boyfriend several more stories about my strange encounters...and consequently they said if I were to ever write a book about my study abroad in London, I should title it "Adventures of a Very Awkward Girl." Since I'm not going to write a book, I decided to start a blog, especially for my time here. 

I should have began this the first week I was here but figuring out this blog-thing and navigating through the site isn't my favorite past time activity and I don't have the patience to sit and scroll through things, type things in, verify my password through my email, and all that jazz. But! But since, I felt the dying need to have a virtual outlet for my thoughts, I finally scratched the itch and went through with it. And surprisingly, it was really quick and easy. So far, I'm enjoying this. I guess I just didn't want a blog before, but now...that's changed.

I have been here in London for two months, give or take a few days. In a brief explanation, I love and hate being here. I have many love's about London. But I'll just name three love's that first come into mind. I love my professors here; my study habits are improving tremendously (all hail my amazing professors). I love the endless avenues for exploration. And I love the underground tube station. AH! and I love the sexy, seductive, and potentially scandalous British accents. (...I know that's four love's, not three...)

My hate's? Well, I hate being away from my family. I'm not terribly homesick, more 'sister-sick'. But I know this is an academic opportunity and also an opportunity for growth/experience, and I'm so glad to be here. I also hate not being prepared for the rain or the cold, but that's my own fault. It hasn't rained hard or anything, but fair warning: BRING AN UMBRELLA where ever you go, even if you know it's going to just drizzle. It's worth it. Nothing is worse than having your hair work as a sponge for that rainy afternoon. I mean, you wouldn't go to the beach without sunscreen, right? Right.