Goodbye London...

So tomorrow I head off to Caux, Switzerland for the Initiatives of Change conference, "Addressing the Root Causes of Human Insecurity." I am extremely excited about the conference and before I move on to my Swiss experience I want to complete my London experience!

I absolutely LOVE London. I had a wonderful experience riding the Big Bus tour bus for two and a half hours around London and seeing everything from Big Ben, the Westminster Parliament, the Westminster Abbey to the Florence Nightingale Hospital. The Big Bus tours are given in about 10 different languages and a ticket includes a pass for 24 hours, a free City River Cruise on the Thames River, and three guided walking tours, which include seeing the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace.

Riding on the Thames on a beautiful Thursday morning was quite an invigorating experience. Since I was a little girl, I've loved the water and the Thames was no different. I never imagined in my life that I would actually see Globe Theater, famous for Shakespeare's plays or the London bridge. How beautiful to see the bridge opening and closing in front of me! This cruise and a ride on the London Eye, the largest observatory in the world, is definitely a must for all tourists.

Today, I spent the entire day walking around LSE, doing the self guided tour, the library tour, speaking with professors in DESTIN and the Government department and getting a feel of the University. I absolutely love it and thank Allah everyday for this amazing opportunity that has been bestowed at me... to study at the world's leading social science institute. It truly is a dream come true.

Finally, many thanks to my best friend, AB, who kindly invited him to stay with me, introduced me to London, enlightened me about Third Culture, and accompanied me to some of the best restaurants in London!

First impressions, London!!!

It was difficult saying goodbye to everyone. I couldn’t believe that I was leaving all my BFFs in the United States and moving to London. It seemed like such a scary move and I found myself on the plane to London quite ambivalent: excited to be in London, but sad to leave Washington, a place I’ve loved from the very first day I set eyes on it.

However, I was pleasantly surprised by the people I met in London and their small but most welcome acts of kindness: the Somalian lady dressed in the burqa at Heathrow who assisted me in connecting both suitcases; the Indian Hospitality undergraduate student I met on the tube; the young British gentlemen who all so willingly and eagerly assisted me with transporting my suitcases; and the extremely kind cab driver who drove me to Greencoat Place.

In my journey to finding my path to peace, I’ve met various people along the way and thanked Allah tremendously for those angels He places in my path. On the plane, I was a wee bit worried about getting to Greencoat Place, toting suitcases and all. But, as always, Allah provided for me. Now I sit here in this beautiful Initiatives of Change center in Victoria, London surrounded by the philosophies of Frank Buchman and the work and initiatives of IofC. It already feels like such a warm and friendly place that I could see myself spending a lot of time here and initiating various programs for youth and women in IofC London. It’s all very exciting.

Funny how when you move to a new country you experience all these oddities and yet I felt very prepared. The journey through the tube was much, much easier than any other journey I’ve had through the New York Subway. So I’ve decided I like London. Next stop: Westminster Parliament. I’m excited to see where Gordon Brown works and where all these decisions that affected my life and the life of all those in the British colonies took place!