It's always strange living in a new place.
The familiar palm trees and suburban homes replaced by rows of Georgian buildings and trendy designer shops.
People marching to their destinations: work and friends and pubs and places they have established as home while you disorientedly make your way through strange streets back to the flat that will be yours for the next 4 months.
Every street looks the same. The only thing keeping you sane is the pocket pop-out map your best friend convinced you to buy. How could a quick trip to the grocery store turn into a two hour journey trying to get back to familiarity?
Cigarette smoke and double decker exhaust as thick as the London Fog makes you lightheaded; it will be a month before your nose gets acclimated and stops leaking black smudge.
Is that the same Starbucks I passed before?
The pavement radiates with the heat of an Indian summer that has Londoners excited and tourists confused.
You duck into an alley to check your map. You don't want to look like just another tourist. This is your city now too.
That street looks promising.
You keep going. You can't help but think that despite the frustration and fear there is something special about getting lost among these cobbled streets.
You love the overwhelming clash between the stone and glass, the new and the old. The people walk through the streets like blood pumping through your veins and the cacophonous city sounds ring through your ears like music.
It makes the fear worth it.
Finally, that wonderful red circle, a beacon of hope.
UNDERGROUND
"You can get back easily as long as you find The Tube," they said.
Next stop: Tottenham Court
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The goal of this first post was to establish the location by getting back to the location the blog is titled after, Tottenham Court Road in London. I chose to do this through a second-person narrative of someone lost somewhere in Central London trying to get back home. The layout of the blog is very simple, with the text in red, white, and blue, a color scheme found often in the UK and on the Union Jack. The background image is a picture of London street art depicting a local woman valued in her community. I chose to make it the background image of the blog because I like the idea of London being made up not only by it’s history, but by the different people who live there today.
ReplyDeleteThe page is dark and contrasts with the text. The title however is dark enough to blend in and is difficult to read at times when I am scrolling through the page. I really enjoy the text. As I am reading, I feel that I am that confused tourist on the street trying to avoid eye contact from the locals, so I do not seem out of place. The dark background defines the alleys to me. Since the page is darker it seems to have a hidden horror-esque feel that makes the audience want to read more. The picture is bright and draws the eye to it. I feel that the placement of the picture is perfect in accordance with the text because it is as if the reader and “seen the light” and can finally find a way to get where they are trying to go. The way the text is spaced out makes the writing feel that it is a poem. When I read, I am waiting for the rhyme at the end of the sentence, but never find it. Each sentence stands alone leaving room for interpretation of the reader, but at the same time I almost disconnects the story line. The sentences have a scene within each, but sometimes it deters from the way I am reading the story. In all, I really enjoyed the story. The way it was written makes me feel that I am there experiencing what is happening. I felt that the picture is placed perfectly in relation to the page. When you scroll down while reading, you find an image that creates a stopping point and an eagerness to read until the end and find out what happens. The simplicity of the page allows the story to talk for itself. I look forward to reading more of these posts in the future.
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