Today was the last group day. This morning I prided myself on not getting lost during the trip. It would have been a huge accomplishment, knowing how I am with directions. I congratulated myself too soon.
After leaving Westminster Abbey, I was thoroughly lost from the group. Luckily, I was with Eunjee! We arrived at Westminster pier, but we didn’t see anyone from our group. Before panicking, we searched all along the pier, by the streets, and even in one of the boats. Nobody was to be found. We tried calling people, but we couldn’t get the call to work. We asked the people around if they had seen a group of people from the states getting on the boat. Finally, it was 20 minutes past the time the boat was supposed to leave, so I tried my best not to get too frantic and started to plan another way to get to Greenwich. Thank goodness again at this point for Eunjee because she remained cool, calm, and collected the entire time. We were going to try to get on the tube, but we weren’t sure whether we could take the DLR with our current tickets. Then, Shauna texted us how to get to Greenwich! What a relief! After this, everything was much less stressful because we knew for the most part where we were going.
It was still quite a challenge getting off at the right spot and understanding which direction to go after leaving the DLR. At this point, an kind, older gentleman helped us out. We showed us how to avoid the long lines for the escalator and the many flights of stairs. There was actually a hidden lift farther away that we could take to get out faster. This man then proceeded to walk us to a spot near where we needed to be. I couldn’t believe how nice and adorable he was. Kind strangers are such a pleasant surprise in a big city like London.
After this, we managed to make it to the royal dining hall before the group left! I definitely learned many lessons from this memorable experience. Firstly, always write things down. Meeting times are very important and easy to mix up with other times. Secondly, I learned how to navigate the tube in a more efficient manner. Thirdly, I was reminded that it is always important to help others and be patient with foreign travelers. I’m sure the older gentleman that helped us had many other things to do, but he took the initiative to ask us if we needed help, and that made a world of a difference and a lasting impact. I’ll always remember this experience.
Getting Lost
Today was the last group day. This morning I prided myself on not getting lost during the trip. It would have been a huge accomplishment, knowing how I am with directions. I congratulated myself too soon.
After leaving Westminster Abbey, I was thoroughly lost from the group. Luckily, I was with Eunjee! We arrived at Westminster pier, but we didn’t see anyone from our group. Before panicking, we searched all along the pier, by the streets, and even in one of the boats. Nobody was to be found. We tried calling people, but we couldn’t get the call to work. We asked the people around if they had seen a group of people from the states getting on the boat. Finally, it was 20 minutes past the time the boat was supposed to leave, so I tried my best not to get too frantic and started to plan another way to get to Greenwich. Thank goodness again at this point for Eunjee because she remained cool, calm, and collected the entire time. We were going to try to get on the tube, but we weren’t sure whether we could take the DLR with our current tickets. Then, Shauna texted us how to get to Greenwich! What a relief! After this, everything was much less stressful because we knew for the most part where we were going.
It was still quite a challenge getting off at the right spot and understanding which direction to go after leaving the DLR. At this point, an kind, older gentleman helped us out. We showed us how to avoid the long lines for the escalator and the many flights of stairs. There was actually a hidden lift farther away that we could take to get out faster. This man then proceeded to walk us to a spot near where we needed to be. I couldn’t believe how nice and adorable he was. Kind strangers are such a pleasant surprise in a big city like London.
After this, we managed to make it to the royal dining hall before the group left! I definitely learned many lessons from this memorable experience. Firstly, always write things down. Meeting times are very important and easy to mix up with other times. Secondly, I learned how to navigate the tube in a more efficient manner. Thirdly, I was reminded that it is always important to help others and be patient with foreign travelers. I’m sure the older gentleman that helped us had many other things to do, but he took the initiative to ask us if we needed help, and that made a world of a difference and a lasting impact. I’ll always remember this experience.