One of my favorite things to do is meet Londoners and tell them that I’ve never done *insert common Londoner thing*. They become a bit red in the face and take it upon themselves to personally see to it that I experience that thing.

Before coming here, I had never been to Tesco, or had pie & mash, or had fish & chips on a Friday, or a cheeky Nando’s. Since being here, I’ve been taken to see the Tate Modern, Whitechapel Art Gallery, Westminster parliament and the financial district, no less than three public protests, seen a handful of bustling markets, overstuffed pubs, Greenwich’s Cutty Sark and observatory, and the pie, mash & eel shop by the DLR station that has been there for 130 years.

Everyone I’ve talked to has true pride for England and it’s really endearing to have each of them care so much that I experience their true version of London.