London transplant hasn’t the foggiest

I have a confession to make. I am no longer a virgin to snow.

During winter break, for two glorious days, I saw snow fall to the ground for the very first time.

Contently watching from indoors while white powder peacefully rose above the windowsill like the ocean tide, the L.A. native inside of me wept for joy. That is, until I realized that four feet of snow equated to at least two hours of shoveling the driveway, a task as foreign to me as traveling more than 5,500 miles away to study abroad.

This semester, I will be living in London, the capital of the United Kingdom and one of the world’s largest financial centers.

Located on an island comparable in size to Alabama, London is estimated to have a population of about seven million (three-fourths that of greater Los Angeles).

With a history spanning more than 2,000 years, London has survived plagues, fires, wars and terrorist attacks. The Romans conquered the area in 43 A.D., naming their town Londinium and building the famed London Bridge.

By the 1660s, London was the largest city in Britain, but, in 1666, it was stricken to ashes from its first Great Fire, which blazed through the center of the city. In 2005, London was rocked by bombings that targeted the public transportation system, killing 52 people traveling during the morning rush hour.

The city has withstood so much damage over the years, I think it can handle my presence for the next five months.

With such a long stretch ahead, however, living abroad seems like almost as much backbreaking work as digging my car out of snow. I don’t have any experience with either, which leaves me feeling a little unprepared — like I’m running naked through the middle of a blizzard.

But as much as I feel like assuming the fetal position and crying for mommy at the thought of living in another country for the semester, I know that the beginning of a journey always seems the toughest. So to ease some pre-departure anxieties, I decided to consult my friend and confidante Google.

Like Los Angeles, London has the cultural necessities of any urban city — music hubs, shopping, parks and museums — but its novelty comes from the fact that these attractions have a history incomparable to anything on this side of the Atlantic.

Music lovers can appreciate walking across the famed Abbey Road or heading over to Denmark Street to investigate the birth of musical geniuses. Also known as Tin Pan Alley, the area houses music shops and studios where musicians, such as the Rolling Stones and The Kinks, recorded in the 1970s.

Hopping on the Tube, the underground subway, and stopping at Oxford Street will take you to one of the busiest shopping areas in the city. Everything from the U.K. department store Selfridges to American favorite Urban Outfitters can be found on this side of the fashion capital.

Unlike the suburban sprawl of Los Angeles though, London is an urban landscape full of parks and open spaces. Just a short walk away from Oxford Street is Hyde Park, a Royal Park of London that houses a memorial to the late Princess Diana. And the National Gallery which boasts the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Vincent Van Gogh.

Currently, the United Kingdom is experiencing one of its coldest winters since 1963. On average, the temperature has been teetering near freezing — a degree unheard of in Los Angeles.

Although January might not seem like the best time to be in London, it’s actually much easier to sightsee in the wintertime. Most attractions are still open, and the weather drives away the pushy tourists that blind you with their Bermuda shirts and flashy cameras.

Winter also lets you visit some of the city’s most famous tourist destinations in a way accessible only once a year. You can glide past the Tower of London, Somerset House or the Natural History Museum, while you practice your spins and triple salchows on outdoor ice skating rinks only a stone’s throw away.

So despite being one of the first to complain when it dips below 60 degrees, I’m hoping that by the time spring comes along and melts away the snow, I will have finally warmed up to the city enough to call it a second home.

As I stared blankly at the untouched driveway covered in snow, pondering how to approach my current dilemma, I once again turned to my trusted Internet source to point me in the right direction. It furnished me with an insightful piece of advice that applies to more than just shoveling snow.

“Make a pathway with your own footprints … This may be more easily said than done.”