In a blink of an eye, it's been a week.

A week into life in London has flown by, and at the same time, my arrival seems like ages ago. No matter how long it feels, these past few days have been packed with a city tour, Global Skills Training, my first few days at work, getting lost, finding my way home again, and of course, the World Cup. 

The flight to Heathrow wasn't anything too exciting, until the woman across the aisle from me thought she was having a heart attack. Thankfully, a tank of oxygen later, she said she felt much better. Nonetheless, the EMTs had to board the plane and keep us on the tarmac for almost an hour after landing. After that minor hiccup, I lugged my suitcase through Paddington and Kings Cross stations. 

As I flew in and then again as I made my way to the Nido housing, I began to realize how enormous the city of London really is. With so many distinctly diverse neighborhood, London offers incredible and exciting new things to do every day. I cannot wait until I've eaten Indian food on Brick Lane, taken a nap in Hyde Park, and shopped down Portobello Market. 

(London Bridge from the view of our bus.)

On the first official day of the program, we took a bus tour of London, seeing all the main sites from the comfort of one of many tour buses circling the city. We drove past the enormous Parliament building and Big Ben, through Trafalgar Square, and even managed to time a visit to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards. Since London's too large to cover in just one short tour, the bus ride was mainly a starting off point for the rest of my time here to explore. I know even 8 weeks won't be enough time to see everything worth seeing here.

(Changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace.)

Luckily, my internship is just north of Soho with some really great looking cafes and shops nearby, and it's only blocks away from Oxford Street, which is where every clothing store imaginable seems to have a shop. 

This summer I'll be working for a digital marketing agency called Head London. It's 20-something person agency that works in reworking companies' websites, logos, and overall branding. My first few days so far have been focused on getting my bearings. I've gotten to sit in on a lot of meetings with the agency's newest client. Since it's a meeting of only 6 people, I've gotten to give my opinion on everything from their logo redesign, the tone of voice of the copy, and look of the website. Soon I'll get to start working on Head London's own marketing strategy. The company's beginning a huge expansion, adding at least 10 more employees by the end of the year and planning on moving to a swankier and larger office soon.

I'm pretty excited to start the real work at Head. My supervisor seems really open to letting me try just about anything I'm interested in learning while I'm here. Everyone in the office seems to have their favorite sites to see in London, especially since almost no one I've met actually grew up in London themselves. They were all tourists at one point!

So from the wide expanse of the city to explore and the opportunities at work, suffice to say I'm pretty happy to be in London for 7 more weeks.

More to come on the other interns, my adventures of the city, and I haven't forgotten... the World Cup! (Think screaming Englishman in a pub with the roar of vuvuzelas coming though the television. It's good fun.)