Personal Narrative Homework – Leena Althekair (Grade 11)
Anything is possible. So many times, we’ve heard that sentence. So many times, we see it on cat posters and social media bios. But do we really believe in it? Well, I didn’t – until I walked almost six miles in under two hours through mid-London with my then-new Slovenian friend. Yeah, it sounds pretty insane – and it was!
During my stay with Oxford Summer Courses, we had a day trip to London on a cheerful, partly cloudy Saturday. Our buses dropped us off near South Kensington, and the group leaders let us go as long as we were back before we had to head back. Barbara, Dora, and I spent the morning in the Museum of Science; however, Barbara had to leave us around noon to meet a friend of hers. Dora and I found a shady spot and sat down to have lunch, thinking what else we could do while we were in London.
“You know, I always wanted to see the London Eye,” I commented mid-conversation. “And Big Ben – oh, Buckingham Palace, too!”
“I’ve always wanted to see River Thames,” Dora added. “My mom has told me so much about it.”
I sighed with a smile. “Well, I guess it’s a shame we won’t be able to go.”
Dora’s face looked at me with what seemed like a mixture of confusion and surprise. “Why not?”
“Because it’s like …” I took a moment to check the walk duration on my phone; “Fifty-five minutes away! And we have to meet back here in two hours and a half!”
“Come on, it’ll be fine,” she got up and pulled me along with her. “We’ve got nothing to lose, Besides, there’s loads of time before we’re due to head back to Oxford.”
“Nope. The River Thames is too far! We’ll never make it!”
“Come on, Leena! Don’t be a sore!”
“I don’t like taking too big risks, Dora.”
“Oh my god, okay, sure … but let’s see Buckingham Palace at least?”
“Fine … let’s go.” I eventually gave in and viewed the location via Google Maps. “Forty minutes; sounds safe enough. Looks like we should be heading that way.”
As we began our walk, I was filled with a sense of excitement – perhaps a little rebellion. Okay, a lot. We had agreed not to tell our group leaders in case they say no. What could go wrong? We’ll be there and back before they know it, and nobody will come to any harm.
Oh, sweet oblivion. If only I knew.
A few turns later we were out on London’s main streets; blaring, horns, busy shoppers, overflowing shops, and me and Dora. It all felt surreal. I texted my parents to let them know what we were up to just to get a kick out of their reactions.
What was going on through my mind as we made our way through the busy streets was simply, how on Earth did I end up here? Just me, walking through a foreign city with my foreign friend, feeling alienated in the midst of Londoners, going about their daily business. It was incredible.
I kept gazing up at the skyscrapers, towering so high they seemed to be slicing the clouds as they slowly passed by. The occasional peek of sunrays somehow making their way through an otherwise cloudy sky gave me a pretty accurate experience of British weather. I couldn’t stop thinking about how incredibly lucky I was that I got this opportunity, and that my parents trusted me to the extent they’d let me travel on my own.
“I still cannot believe this is actually happening,” I casually stated. “I cannot believe we’re actually doing this!”
Dora looked at me with a smile. “What – first time alone in a big city?” she teased.
“Yes, and I still. Can’t. Believe it!”
She laughed and we picked up our pace, passing ampler traffic lights and even more crosswalks and cars.
Before we knew it, we were standing in the roundabout facing the one and only Buckingham Palace.
I didn’t notice it at first; I was too busy shielding my eyes from the sun and waiting for the light to turn green. I felt Dora nudge my side and point in its direction before I let my jaw drop and drank in the reality of the situation.
“No way – I’m at the actual Buckingham Palace!” I couldn’t help gawking.
I could tell Dora was constantly being humored by my over-the-top reactions, but I didn’t mind. This was how I felt, and I didn’t mind showing it!
Dora and I took turns in taking pictures; her of me and me of her. There were so many tourists around us that it was literally packed, despite the fact that we were outside. However, I didn’t even notice them – I was too absorbed to pay attention, or care, really.
“We made it here earlier than expected,” Dora commented when we were done. “I think we can make it to Thames.”
“Dora,” I groaned. “It’s too far.”
“It’s literally fifteen minutes away from here.”
“Yes, but from there back to Kensington is an hour. We won’t make it”
“It’s worth a shot,” she rolled her eyes at my adamant behavior. “You didn’t want us to come here yet here we are! And I was right.”
I couldn’t help but sigh and give in. What other choice did I have? She was the only person with me and I’m too scared to walk alone through London to head back.
As if my agreeing flipped a switch in her, she grabbed my hand and began almost jogging to our next destination.
“Slow down!” I tried to tell her when I couldn’t loosen my wrist from her grip.
“Nope – if we want to make it, we need to go fast.”
Nice. This is gonna be fun. Or not. Either way, it was a one-way road and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There really was nothing for me to do except sit back and enjoy. Well, run and enjoy. But let’s not get too technical.
I inwardly began praying she’d change her mind and go back because I knew there was no way in heck that we’ll be able to go there and back again in time. We’ll be in trouble, or worse, forgotten in London – money-less, contact-less, and absolutely alone.
Not a pleasant thought.
However, I began thinking that the odds were really in my favor today; a few minutes away from the palace we had to stop because of a protest – and I mean a protest.
People were standing everywhere, wearing blue and yellow, screaming and holding up posters. There were a few people on what looked like a stage, with many banners and posters up behind them. The entire thing took up the square and cars were crowded along the edges; I’m not sure are they the cars of the people who showed up, or the cars of people late for something and probably cursing at the jam ahead of them.
“A real-life protest, huh,” Dora commented, surveying the area. “Alright, we’ve seen it. Let’s keep going.”
“What? No! there’s a whole protest and we cannot go through the crowd and going around it will take at least half an hour. We need to turn back.”
I silently thanked God when she gave in a little too easily and agreed to head back. Fortunately for us, Google gave us a way through the park. Much closer and less scary than the city route we took on our way here.
My headscarf was soaking by now, and the shade the trees were providing me through the park path were a true bliss. I was not wearing walking shoes and was beginning to feel blisters on the sole of my foot, begging me to stop.
Absolutely not! We had to be back in less than an hour and I didn’t know if I could walk that fast to make up for lost time if we stopped.
Fun fact: Dora is a gymnast. She has the stamina of a racehorse and can run insanely fast. So, the walk back was more pleasant for her than it was for me. Or perhaps of equal pleasantness, since she was also grabbing my wrist and prompting me to walk faster.
I got this. We can do this. I kept telling myself and distracting the galling of my feet by admiring the trees, birds, and nearby lake. At some point Dora left me and told me to go on while she ran to get a picture with said lake and came back to join me a few meters ahead. Like I said – a gymnast.
Fifty-seven minutes and twenty-six thousand steps later, we were back on South Kensington’s main street, and the Museum of Science was within our line of sight.
“That was fun, wasn’t it?” Dora grinned as we approached our group.
“I want to disagree, but I can’t,” I laughed. “It really was quite the experience.”
“What have you two been up to?” Katie, our group leader helper, asked us when we approached her and Group 4. “You look like you ran a marathon.
Dora looked at me with a smile before we both replied in unison; “We walked to Buckingham and back.”
“And yes, I’m exhausted!” I added, making them both laugh. Katie wouldn’t believe us, when we retold our tale, she looked amused and lowkey impressed.
Barbara joined us a couple of minutes later with her friend whose name I cannot recall. When we told her what we’ve done, her face twisted and – like I expected her to – expressed how glad she was she had left us to go meet someone, or else she would have died.
She also called us crazy, and I don’t disagree!
Looking back at it now, I really am thankful Dora forced me along to go that far and see London. It was an incredible experience that is unlikely to be topped anytime soon.
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