Fog is generally known for its ability to obscure your view and make you lose your bearings. Fog is what I felt as I walking into the Atlanta airport. I had never been to this airport, never flown for more than 3 hours, never crossed the Atlantic, and never left the country. I didn’t have my bearings, and my view of the coming weeks was not visible. Luckily, I was traveling with three other Normandy Scholars, so at least we all got to feel the fog together. Only one of us had been abroad before, so there was a good deal of nervousness among us as we boarded the plane for our transatlantic flight.
As we arrived in London, we were greeted by the rest of our cohort, all of us tired-eyed but excited for the day to come. On the bus ride from the airport to the hotel, we got to see much of the more residential side of London. The apartments and townhouses were beautiful, and it was exciting to think about the history of the area we were in. This level of excitement and London’s similarity to a big city in America relieved some my anxiety and cleared my fog. though it seems worlds away and frightening to be in such a new place, you can always find common ground.
Our first days consisted of walking tours and trips to museums that taught us about aspects of war from the British point of view. Tomorrow we plan to visit the Imperial War Museum and the Cabinet War Rooms and continue to learn about the British involvement in WWII. I’m excited to see more of the nitty-gritty history of the war and reflect on my experience in London as a whole as we close out our stay tomorrow evening when we take our ferry to Caen. Off to France!