Once I stepped off the plane at London Gatwick, I felt as if I was in the middle of dream. Everything was different. The people talked funny and the signs I had to follow were different than the ones in America. Flash forward almost an entire month and I still feel as if I’m catching up to my new home for the next few months.

London was great. Buildings from centuries ago and skyscrapers that are still being worked on. When I think of London, I look back to Westminster Abbey and then I think of the financial district with its booming towers of money. There’s no better city where the old mixes with the new and cultures clash, creating a melting pot of foods that all taste like a slice of heaven.

Leicester is a different story. The campus is compact and is surrounded by rows of never-ending town homes that become more of a mirage when you stare at them from a long distance.

The weirdest thing is that no one cares about Alabama football. When I say where I’m from, students from across the world don’t even bring up American football in any part of the conversation.

The teaching format is very similar to that of UA with long lectures and small discussions. Its been hard going without Dreamland barbecue for so long but Ive replaced it with a family-run fish and chips place thats a few blocks away from my dorm.

I’m just beginning to familiarize myself with my surrounding and I am excited for what is to come.