One of the first things I noticed about Londoners the second I got off my flight was that they are quiet. This certainly came as a cultural shock after living for a month in noisy India and spending three semesters in outspoken America.

I’m not quite sure why this is the case, but on one of the Syracuse University London walking tours I joined, our guide said Londoners get as annoyed as the next person — they are just less vocal about it. Needless to say, I certainly appreciated this because it was refreshing to not be bombarded by unnecessary banter after an uncomfortable 11-hour flight.

Another observation I made during my hour-long cab trip from Heathrow to Faraday House, SU’s London center, was that Londoners are super classy. Elegant coats, stylish skirts topped with silky scarves, crisp suits and shiny shoes to match — the people in this city certainly know how to dress. It almost made me want to add an extra hour to my morning regime in order to barely reach their heightened sense of fashion awareness.

After receiving a warm welcome from SU London staff at the St. Giles Hotel, where students stayed until they find flats to live in during the semester, I was able to finally take a shower and relax for a while. Then I walked around the city and visited the Faraday House.

At my first general orientation, I learned three important things. Firstly, the Faraday House is an extremely sturdy building — so sturdy that it withstood several bombings during World War II. Secondly, wearing headphones while walking is a tempting but misguided thing to do in London — by tuning into our own world, we miss out on what is actually happening around us.

The next day, I was able to interact with other abroad students, both from SU and from other American universities. It was the perfect opportunity to find people to live with during the semester. I found seven people I liked and got along with, so we decided to go apartment hunting together.

SU London gave every student a packet filled with agencies and previous housing students had lived in. By chance, my group decided to go with the first one, and after speaking to the landlord, we scheduled a meeting to meet her that very same day. The apartment was a good 45-minute walk from Faraday, but we figured it would be a great way to explore the city, so we decided to take the pedestrian route.

As we walked under a surprisingly sunny sky, I discovered London drivers are crazy, and crossing the road is an art that only a select few can truly understand. Compared to New York City, London is certainly quieter, but is by no means less busy. All around me, people rushed to begin their day.

We loved the apartment so much we decided to sign the lease the very same day. Our landlord said we could move in that evening. I’m still a little surprised — and relieved — that finding housing wasn’t difficult. The rest of the day was spent packing up at the hotel and moving into our new home.

The days that followed passed in a whirlwind of class registrations, adjusting to the city, exploring London’s busiest areas and upping our Instagram games with aesthetic pictures.

It has taken me a while but this week, I grew a little more accustomed to the various Big Ben chimes, the freezing cold, the Tube’s not-so-complicated station system and the quietly classy nature that so many Londoners have perfected.

Saniya More is a sophomore majoring in international relations and broadcast and digital journalism. Her column appears weekly in Pulp. She can be reached at ssmore@syr.edu.

Published on January 23, 2017 at 10:21 pm