Feeling like home

Yesterday after work I decided to go to the National Gallery. When I got out of the tube station in the middle of Trafalger Square I took out my camera to take pictures of the Gallery and Trafalgar Square and I felt like a tourist again. As I left the Gallery I was walking around Leicester Square and saw all the restaurants, shops, theatre, statues, and signs and I realized again that I'm in London. This may sound like an odd relaization as I've been in London for the past month, but it's easy to forget sometimes. Every day I go to work and go home and I usually take the tube so I don't see any of the city. I go grocery shopping and the other night my main concern was doing a load of laundry. I'm living here rather than just being a tourist, which is exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to come over here and stay in one place for a while and see what it's really like to live in another country instead of just seeing the sights and being a tourist (although that will come later). I enjoy seeing the sights and doing the touristy things, but it's also really great to be working and living here. It's nice to have a home-like place here, especially after spending 2 weeks in a hostel and another week and a half in a place I didn't like staying. I still miss my home in Iowa City (my own big room, bathroom, a washer and dryer, my kitchen, the space and only having to share with one person). But now I feel more like I have a home here and I will appreciate my condo in Iowa City much more when I return.