Megan’s abroad in London, England, until Dec. 13.

It’s day two of orientation, and I’ve finally shaken off the jet lag. So far, I’ve been walking the streets of London in total disbelief that I’m here. My friends and I definitely agree on this: when we saw Big Ben immediately after hopping off the Tube, it felt like we were in a theme park, where everything is fake. To see something you’ve seen in movies and read about your whole life is surreal. It doesn’t help that American companies have infiltrated England. Everywhere you go you see a Starbucks, a Subway or even a KFC, so London can sometimes seem like an American city — just one where everyone drives on the wrong side of the road.

Even though London may seem like the U.S, it’s clear that I’m not like the other people around me. In one of our orientation meetings, a staff member summed it up by saying, “There’s something that makes you guys stick out. I can’t tell what it is; it’s the way you dress, the way you walk, something.” Essentially, Brits can spot us out even before we open our mouths. Maybe it’s the way we look the wrong way before crossing the street, or the way we students are recreating freshman year by walking in packs of eight.

No matter what it is, I know everyone knows I’m a tourist. The perfect example? When our group visited the Tower of London, a street performer switched from a melancholy song on her accordion to the Chicken Dance. As soon as we were out of view, she went back to her original tune. Often I’ve been warned that locals may try to take advantage of me, whether by ripping me off in stores, giving me wrong directions or even robbing me. I’m sure nothing terrible will happen, but it’s still scary.

I’m sure in the next three months I’ll learn to blend in more. I’ll learn pub etiquette, identify British celebrities and pick up some slang terms. But for now, since I’ve only been here two days, I guess it’s normal to be viewed as a tourist. At least as a tourist, I can openly appreciate that I’m living in one of the coolest cities on the planet.

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