Guy Cheatham
London School of Economics
London, England
Fall 2016

Taking Time to Smell the Roses

I was going to my noon class for Public Policy Analysis this morning, taking my typical route to campus. I exit Bankside and make my way north to the river, cross the Blackfriars Bridge, and continue my commute alongside the murky Thames until I reach the Temple underground. I make my way across a roundabout to Aldwych St. to the LSE Garrick coffee shop, order a coffee, and begin to study game theory. This morning seems like a typical city commute; I was focused on getting to my destination and knew that like a typical day at LSE, I had a full plate for my day, and while I could talk about the rest of the day and my notable experiences in London thus far, I would like to focus on the observations I make on my commute and their significance.

Let us begin with the beginning of this walk. I walk outside my complex in the morning to be greeted with arguably the most illustrious modern art gallery in the world, being the Tate Modern. Though the gallery is not much to look at from the outside, the inside of the gallery contains a large collection of the finest pieces of modern expressionist art. The next part of the walk is when I get to the River Thames, where I am greeted by one of Sir Christopher Wren’s finest contributions to the city, being St. Paul’s Cathedral, an iconic landmark from the great rebuilding of the city following the Great Fire in the 17th century. I have walked a quarter mile at this point and have seen two world renowned landmarks. Following the walk on Blackfriars, I continue to commute alongside the river and can see the London Eye, Big Ben, The House of Parliament, The Financial District, and several other iconic parts of the city. When I go on this daily commute, I think of how my former college golf coach told me about how in this fast paced phenomenon we call life it is important to take time and smell the roses. I always go to campus early so that I can take my time and be able to enjoy city and its complex yet magnificent history around me.

The commute is not the only point of discussion worth including. When one moves to a new city, it is common for him/her (well at least me) to constantly make new observations about the new environment. London is a fast city, yet I can enjoy the luxury of walking at my own pace without getting trampled by a crowd of frantic folks. London style is certainly different from that of American style in terms of dress. People here enjoy wearing darker and nice clothing and typically pair their clothing with an upscale pair of tennis shoes, and considering the fact that I walk an average of six to seven miles per day, it is easy to take part in the Nike bandwagon.

The first few weeks have been quite eye opening and have been an absolute enjoyment. It is an environment that is politically active and consists of individuals from across the globe. The city has also emerged from its gastro-pub era (even though there are some still around) to a city with excellent food from across the globe (especially Indian and Asian cuisine). These points in which I have discussed have been just a small portion of my experiences so far, but with each day in London I learn something new, and this sort of experience continues to show the importance of becoming culturally educated in addition to understanding environments in other areas of the world. The commitment to being away from home for a year is certainly a gamble, especially in a place in which I have never visited before, yet I am more confident each day that this gamble will reward me in the end.