Eight weeks with TripTide London

59 Days

Fifty-nine. That’s the total number of days that I spent in London. I am not quite 20 but I have managed to go and explore this beautiful city on my own, leaving friends and family behind for a while. I have visited many places off the beaten tourist routes and spent a lot of time talking to local people. The reason I’ve done this is that I am required to do an internship abroad in order to validate my 1st year of International Sales, in France. Since English is my favourite language, it was obvious that the country of my choice would be here and if you are coming to England, then it has to be London. Originally, I wanted to go to Ireland because I heard about how great the ‘vibe’ was. But then, I had an opportunity to work for Triptide London, here in the capital of the United Kingdom. And I took it with both hands

It was probably the best decision I have ever made : these past weeks, I’ve learnt so much whether it’s about digital marketing, digital sales, or just using a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system; I’ve also learnt how to code some things for the website, and I improved my English writing (and map reading) by posting a lot of blogs and creating web pages (they call them TripToids) for lots of small suppliers .
This adventure was definitely one of the best experiences of my life, and it made me grow not only as a person but as a young adult.
To be alone in a foreign country for the very first time where people don’t speak your language can be really hard at first, but I found my level really quickly thanks to the lovely hospitality of the Londoners.

The truth is, I had some of my classmates here in London so I was not completely alone – or ‘on my Todd’ as they say colloquially. Every weekend, we would go out, make unforgettable memories and meet some amazing, kind and open-minded exchange students from all around the world. This was definitely what made my journey so incredible because even though we did not have the same first language, we were able to communicate all together – and particularly with those who didn’t have a great level of English – and I had the chance to learn their language such as Italian, Russian, Turkish, etc…Maybe it was the alcohol, but I’m pretty sure that we would not have got along without it. I did not struggle to make the first move to start any conversation because they were all very friendly. However, what I struggled the most with was the transport and finding my way around. I did not know how the system worked because it is complicated and really different from that in France.

When you are here for more than a week in England, you can buy what we call an Oyster Card at any station or local shop. There are two types: the weekly ones, and the monthly ones.

Additionally, you have to choose which zones you want to use it in. Whether you go there for work or for vacation, I recommend you to find your accommodation in zone 2 (or zone 1 if you are lucky). That way, it will be convenient and cheaper because transport is really expensive here.

As I am writing these words on July 2019, the price of a monthly Oyster Card for zone 1-2 is £135 (approximately 150€). With this card, you can travel as much as you want whenever you want to go in these areas by taking the tube (subway/metro), the tram, the bus.

The great advantage of using the bus is that even if it is the slowest method transport (other than walking), you can use it wherever you want, even in the zones that you do not pay for initially.

One of the other things you will have to get used to is British food. Since a lot of the people eat eggs, bacon, toasts, beans, etc… (the great English Breakfast) in the morning, there is, unfortunately, a thick choice of biscuits. Furthermore, they eat a lot, like A LOT of food for dinner which brings me to my next subject: lunch. They do not really eat that much during that meal, it’s a balance between the lack of food at noon and the exorbitant amount of food in the evening. I would recommend the English breakfast at least once to try and discover how it feels to eat meat in the morning (spoiler alert: it feels super weird). The best place for this particular delicacy is Andrews Restaurant in Holborn

At present my first love is museums and there are a lot of them in London. They are mostly free which means there are always plenty of tourists, but it does give you an opportunity to get close to a lot of art, culture and history.
I have not always been a big fan of museums and art in general. But since I visited some of them all by myself, I see art with a different eye now and there is plenty of beauty to be found.
London is very famous for its parks. From big parks like Green Park, St. James Park, Hyde Park, The Regent’s Park, to small parks like Clapham Common, Haggerston Park, or Victoria Park, there is a lot to see in this giant city where you can find anything that you need, anything that you would like to see.

As my adventure is coming to an end, I must confess to having had a wonderful time in this city. The last time I was here, I decided that I would never go back here again. And yet, here I am, writing this in my English bedroom, not wanting to leave the city. Will I live here in the future? Maybe.

Will I come back again to say hi to the kindest boss and awesome mentor who is Peter Richards and who has taught me so much in a short time?