NEW UK Citizen Reacts to Old Journal from 1st Time in UK (10 YEARS AGO!)

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Hi! I’m Kalyn, an American expat in the UK, and I’m super glad you’re here (yes, I’ve lived in the UK for almost 10 years and the word “super” is still very much part of my vocabulary!) Whether you’re thinking about moving to the UK or just visiting, I have plenty of information and other resources for you below, so make sure to find your section and let me help you make the most of your trip or your move to the always-sunny, beautiful, and historic UK (okay, two of those things are true, but if you squint really hard at the lights when the London Underground is coming into station, you can kind of pretend it’s the sun?)
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[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

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[@bonvoyage5377]

brilliant, absolutely brilliant, please, never leave

[@johndare3576]

I really enjoyed seeing your early days in the UK through the eyes of the 19-year-old you. I don’t think it’s that cringey. Well maybe a little in places, but really entertaining.

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Thanks for watching John!! I have a lot of respect for my 19 year old self who had the courage to go abroad and the cringe and the genuine discoveries and observations is definitely entertaining!

[@Psmith-ek5hq]

A bit cringey at times maybe, but we should cut Kalyn a little slack for a 19 year old!

[@deannaylor2576]

You have done so well coming from the States and completing your ten years and getting your citizenship. Not many people achieve what you have done. I tip my hat to you and say well done lass, great effort. I look at my postcards and letters I sent my parents from when I joined the Royal Navy at sixteen, from all over the world and think how lucky I was to visit those lovely places. Keep up the great watches.👍👏👏👏

[@lynnebrook5918]

That was a really awesome look back at your younger self and showed how you embraced the style and culture of our capital. I'm glad it was to your liking enough to bring you back cos I think the UK is a richer place for having you here. Congratulations honey and May you and your husband enjoy health, wealth and prosperity throughout 2022. Much love

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Thank you so much for watching Lynne. I am very grateful for what my younger self accomplished and the decisions she made! Many good wishes to you and your family for the New Year too!

[@lynnebrook5918]

@@Julia-uh4li thank you for your kind words. I'm sure you are appreciated by those that know you. I feel that anybody who shows a love for our country can only make it richer.

[@mosless1]

The strongest and most open people are those who are not afraid to laugh at themselves! Sooooo much fun. I sometimes laugh at my past naivety.

[@Psmith-ek5hq]

An ability to laugh at yourself: a very British trait.

[@jimneedham5031]

That was excellent. Now 10 years later you're sat here with a SAD lamp. Hahaha Welcome to Britain. 🇬🇧 So proud of you.

[@rachelmdiamond]

I studied abroad in London at 20/21 starting in Jan 2011. It’s my favorite part of my life and I miss London so much. I still dream of moving back. I found your vids recently because I’ve been pining.

[@Andrew_J_R]

I get your feelings. I spent a year teaching English in a French city called Grenoble. I was 23 I kept a diary on my computer. Years later on I found my old diary, and you have relived every thought I had reading my own. We're all very harsh on our younger selves, but they make us who we are today. X

[@jamesness9542]

The first time, I went to the States. My wife & I went to a Walmart. Right off the Las Vegas strip... We were so excited, being in an actual Walmart store for the first time!

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Haha, this was totally my husband too! Now he hates going into Walmarts because he finds them depressing, but he used to find it such a fun outing!

[@davidcook7887]

It was not cringy at all! Most people couldn’t bear to air theirs!😀

[@littleblacksambo8447]

The excitement of going into a foreign supermarket! I felt just the same in the USA: the different foods, the prices in dollars. And all the little differences in daily life, down to the electric sockets and bathroom taps!

[@BBKing1977]

“It’s basically like I’m Hemingway!” 😂🤣

[@shirleyk7647]

🇨🇦 So enjoyed this. My mother came from London and took me to meet my grandparents when I was 9. I went back later with my husband and culture shock hit me as soon as I got off the plane. I immediately felt like such a foreigner. The Commonwealth connection seemed totally absent. I turned on the TV in our hotel and flicked through the channels until I came to one showing something from Walt Disney. I had to keep watching as it felt so comfortable hearing *my* accent and I didn’t feel so culturally traumatized. I did adjust and enjoy my time in London and the south of England, although my American L.A. raised husband fared much better than I did and had no trouble fitting right in.

[@hippouk1]

That was so interesting! How many of us wouldn't cringe looking back through old diaries be they paper or electronic. Especially where we express feelings, hopes and dreams and reflect on our environment. We live, we learn, we grow. Some elements carry us through life with little change others take dramatic swings. It's what makes life challenging and worth living.

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

So true, Paul. I hope 10 years from now to be able to look at the content I'm creating here and feel the same pride and cringe!

[@stephenblack5848]

You were so sweet. Seeing your delight at coming to the U.K. congratulations on your citizenship. you can still exchange currency at the post office :-)

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Aw thank you for watching! I do like how excited I was - it's nice to remember that and use it to help me on the harder days of life abroad!

[@589steven]

I think that's Gloucester Avenue in Camden you are talking about but there is a Gloucester Road in Kensington. Sorry for the correction.

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Hey Steven! Could be! I also used to study on Gloucester Road in South Ken so it could be either - I'll give myself credit though and pretend it was the one in Camden!

[@Andy_U]

Hiya. Really loved that. Wish I'd had the discipline to write a journal/diary, but it wasn't to be. Now my life, though interesting in parts, will simply be forgotten. More of a shame, I think, rather than sad. Still, have a happy 2022, stay safe and all the best to you.

[@maxmoore3472]

You have just met ,the concept of KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON .

[@krisjonesuk]

Your video brings back memories to me. In the late 1980s I used to live near Gloucester Road and supplemented my income by working in a bar there called The Harrington (now sadly replaced by a bistro). It was very popular with American students who came here for a semester. Many students would help themselves to souvenirs, mostly glasses because they had a crown sign on them, but also ashtrays, beer mats, etc. Many were excited that they could drink here legally when they couldn’t back home but their rowdiness didn’t really match that of the locals. In particular I recall working on the night of 21 December 1988, when two regulars came in with the news that there’d been a plane crash. They wondered whether some of the students who had been celebrating their last night in London the previous evening, had been onboard. Regrettably they were right. It’s interesting how you spelt Gloucester Road, which is an approximation of how it’s pronounced. I once passed an American student giving new arrivals there orientation. “This is the Glue-keester Road”, he told them.

[@glastonbury4304]

I think for your100th comment for January 2022 is congratulations on your 10 years in the UK 👍💕

[@arthurerickson5162]

Happy New Year and Loved the video! I hear you regarding the culture shock. First trip to England was as a +1chaperone for a CIEE student exchange through my wife’s school, where we stayed with an English family (we are lifelong friends now) for 2 weeks. I’ve made many England visits since then, but CS really hit when I took my whole family on a Fulbright teaching exchange (SE Kent), staying for 18 mos. So many more things to consider than when on a tourist visa! Have returned as often as I can since then and feel comfortable in the UK. Also, “Baby Kalyn” definitely had an engaging writing style (much better than mine)! BTW, love WDW (DVC/AP family)

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Thank you Arthur! Happy New Year! Such a good point about culture shock coming in when you're staying for longer....I definitely had sooo many adjustments that I had to make when I actually lived here versus studying abroad for those 4 months, but my study abroad self would have probably told you that I had already adjusted and knew everything. ;) Love fellow WDW fans on here - I dream of DVC...one day!

[@arthurgatward7369]

Haircut looks fine, I think wearing that bridge on your head might have been a mistake though.

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

AH, so that's what throws the look off. Noted.

[@littleblacksambo8447]

@@GirlGoneLondonofficial I thought the bangs suited your face. Perhaps if they had been cut a little higher, to show a bit more of it...

[@neilturner6749]

Wow that was surprisingly emotional to watch. But funny too!

[@CrazyInWeston]

I've said this before as you mentioned lifts/elevators in another video, but how do you get the floors wrong? A: Each floor is clearly signposted and B: If someone tells you that its on the 3rd floor, it'll be on the 3rd floor, irrespective to how the US/UK names its floor. Press 3 in the lift in both countries and it'll take you to the "3rd floor"

[@littleblacksambo8447]

One of your best! Can we have some more extracts?

[@nachoshaw7084]

I wish i had done more of this documenting when i moved to the US from the UK. Living in the US for a while now, i have gotten more use to the way of things like the whole ground floor / first floor thing but other things in the US just dont work for me. for example: i personally believe my glasses are better from the UK and i can see better because of it so i only get them whenever i visit. I also stock up on computer keyboards because shift + 2 should never be an '@'. I still only eat UK chocolate and i find myself correcting people a lot on their English, in a typical British way of course

[@debpartin8737]

Clouds and rain are my main reason for living there

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Will send them all your way, Deb! ;)

[@chipsthedog1]

Did anyone else start reading the journal and try to scroll? Just caught myself doing it at the part about the keyboard. Doh!

[@MrPercy112]

How charming! I enjoyed that, thank you.

[@RobG001]

Bit late, watching this in Jan 2024, 2012 was the last time I was in London, my then GF got tickets for the opening ceremony for the para olympics, Have I missed London? nope, it's ok for a visit, but for someone like myself living in the countryside it is a living hell on earth. Great video, love your sense of humour. Best wishes from the Welsh countryside. :)

[@catherinewilkins2760]

You are now doing what most Brits do, live next door to a heritage site and never visit.

[@pauljohnson4871]

Happy new year to you & your husband. Love watching you and listening to your content Keep vlogging Your are great

[@annab6242]

I have something just like this from when I was a 20 year old on my year abroad in Germany 😄

[@annaburch3200]

I LOVED this look back at your past. I adore reading my journals from my first/second trips to France and my first trip to London. My impressions as a 17 yo, then as a 27 yo . . . And now I'm going back to London soon as a 47 yo . . . Those thoughts really define an era in your life and I too say, "oh, Little Anna! You were so naive!" 🤣 I'm such a different person now with a completely different perspective on life, travel, family and friends. I'm excited to take my 17 yo son to London for his first time abroad, and get his take on cultural differences and see how he handles it all. 1. He's not as dramatic as I was 2. He's WAY more informed about the world than I was (I think many kids his age are, these days) and 3. He has a travel-obsessed mom who studies videos (like yours) and gets all excited to share silly things like, "ohhh! We have to buy tea at Fortnum and Mason's because that's where the Queen buys her tea!" and he rolls his eyes. 🤣 His experience will be different, but hope it will be a good one and that he'll look back at his photos on Instagram one day (he'll think the same as you think about Tumbler) and have a similar reaction as we had to our past selves. 😊

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Another journal-er! That's fantastic - I would also be so interested to hear what your son thinks of London and the differences. It's so fun to see it through fresh eyes sometimes. Thanks for watching!

[@annaburch3200]

@@GirlGoneLondonofficial one of the funniest things in my 2002 journal in London is a little sticker from an apple we had at the cafeteria at the Tower of London (not even sure that's still there). It had the Washington Apple sticker (we live near Seattle) and I commented on how it was funny to be eating a bit of home while in London. 🤣 It's odd things like that, that make looking back on journals, fun! Oh!! And the Gypsy lady that put a curse on us at the train station in Paris before we headed to Lyon. She spit at my husband for not giving her money, scowled, mumbled something about rain and the rest of our trip we had crap weather! 🤣 Hand to God, it was the curse.

[@annaburch3200]

@@GirlGoneLondonofficial and I'll let you know what he thinks when/if we go. It's still iffy due to you-know-what. 🙄😛 So, we're waiting to decide whether we go in April or September. ((Sigh))

[@richardlincoln886]

If you get SAD in jan - plant snowdrops - they'll pop up and flag getting warmer early!

[@expatexpat6531]

Disappeared clothes - the clothes gremlins take them, e.g. socks. Acclimatization - When I go back to the UK, I stumble along, bumping into people on the pavement for the first few days, as people walk on the opposite side to where I live, and the pavements in the UK are so much worse. Extra caution is also required when crossing the road on foot... The general confusion comes from all the small things that you have internalized, but now your conscious mind has to re-engage with. It usually only takes a few days though.

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Ah, those clothes gremlins......they work worldwide apparently!!

[@matc6221]

That video made me think of my life choices.... 🤔

[@ItsMeJenBB]

“It’s basically like I’m Hemingway” I laughed so hard at this. 😂😂😂 The online journal trend from the early 2010s are so cringey now… Mine was full of terrible poetry.

[@debpartin8737]

Can't wait to move

[@woolvesv]

winning london...an Olsen Twin reference perhaps? haha also I now really wish I had journaled my one and only trip to the US now when I did a semester abroad at UNCW as a UK student. almost 12 years ago and my memory is getting hazy.

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Hahah!!! Yes, it was an Olsen Twin reference, love that someone caught that. I know, I can't believe how fast the time goes - I'm glad I have some memories of it written down but wish there were more because it was such a wonderful time!

[@woolvesv]

@@GirlGoneLondonofficial it's funny hearing about similar experiences we both had. I was 19 as well when I went over to the US...on my first plane ride ever and by myself! I had a fearlessness at 19 that I definitely don't have now! I got excited about going to Walmart and was so excited to see an American school bus 🤣 I just had to take a picture of it. As a 19 year old UK student I was very disappointed to find how hard it was to get booze in the US. I felt all those high school and college movies lied to me haha 😄

[@timhicks7897]

I would prefer being at Disney world with Emily over Trafalgar Square lol. Seriously this is a really interesting video. Congratulations on becoming a Brit.

[@lornasneddon9945]

Lol this was so funny. I find vitamin d also helps with sad xx

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Haha, glad you liked it! Oh yes, take that every day in the winter too! Super helpful. Have a great week Lorna!

[@catherinewilkins2760]

Why don't you buy vacuum bags for your packing, must get more in suitcase, as long as vacuum the other end.

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Great tip!

[@charlesemerson6763]

10 yrs, a long time. Well you'll have seen everything now so it should all be good. Always funny when you look back and yes some of the pictures will make you cringe.

[@glynnwright1699]

I recall having the same fascination with London when I was roughly the same age, even though I am English. Within two years I was longing for the weekend so I could escape to the country to stay with the parents of my then girlfriend, now wife. When I first went to San Francisco in the 80s I thought it was the Promised Land. There were a thousand new experiences that made me glad to get out of bed each day. I was there a couple of years ago and couldn't wait to get away. My friends, who are native Californians, also want to leave. They have a fancy apartment in downtown SF and a second house in Napa which was the family home of the last Mexican governor of California, complete with 'boutique' winery. It seems inconceivable that they would want to move, but when I asked them why, they said SF was dirty, dangerous and insanely expensive. As you say, our choice of location and lifestyle is a balance of what we value the most.

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

So interesting to hear your stories about California and your friends wanting to leave SF. We hard much of the same when we were there. Thank you as always for watching Glynn and your insights.

[@robert3987]

You're still looking young as nearly a 30-year-old. You must look after your body with a healthy diet. You're now a wonderful British citizen with an open, happy personality.

[@Jon1950]

Your tumblr blog is still up so I decided to read it before watching the video. When I began to read it, I thought why is she complaining that it's 20°, then realised that it was January and you were talking in °F. Anyway, I will now watch the video to see what you made of 19/20 year old you. *I have now watched the video* You skipped over the snow in London and your snowman. You probably thought that the video was going to be too long, but then like me discovered that the blog just stopped. It's a shame that 20 year old you stopped writing. A few final thoughts from London, followed by thoughts about the experience after you returned to the USA would have been good.

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Oh my gosh, that's true commitment Jon! There is definitely more cringey and fun content in there, maybe I'll make a part 2 and react to some more at some point!

[@matc6221]

You haven't aged in 10 years ‼️🎉

[@rachelmdiamond]

Little kids on scooters like that are rampant in NYC right now

[@raymondporter2094]

The posts by most 19 year olds would be FAR more cringey. I am still smiling though, after watching this. If you'd known then, when making those early posts, what your future would hold... You'd have been smiling too!

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

So true, Raymond. Can't wait to watch the content I'm creating now in 10 years and see how far I've come!

[@littleblacksambo8447]

Dead right! Not cringey at all; her command of English and facility of expression at 19 was enviable.

[@daveclarke1335]

Gloucester Road ,I’m from south Gloucester 😂👍

[@terencestrugnell4928]

Wow, the London skyline has changed so much in ten years.

[@dave_h_8742]

Got a SAD lamp yrs ago great thing. Changed the intro to duel nationality 😀 So it's YOUR FAULT the weather's been bad ! Karma

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Yes, totally my fault, I will take full responsibility!

[@dave_h_8742]

@@GirlGoneLondonofficial 😂

[@debpartin8737]

I remember moving to Moscow

[@jacobreapergaming6243]

Don't go Camden it's messed up or Islington or Ilford

[@jacobreapergaming6243]

I got stabbed there and shot in all these places trust me don't go there after 18:30 pm

[@rexwilliams7643]

I'm sure you've addressed this on your channel but I might have missed it so please excuse my asking. First let me say this is not a criticism in any way, as I love an American accent, but how have you managed to keep it after all these years in the UK?

[@littleblacksambo8447]

Why would you lose it? It might be softened, but would not disappear unless you made a real effore.

[@tonywilkinson6895]

Not cringy at all,it sounds like a love letter,what's wrong with that?

[@ianprince1698]

whilst most of what you say is English some was still American

[@sidrat2009]

Ahhh You roll just like me - tip it works just as well in a drawers as it does in luggage. I mean why wouldn't it? Certainly not the worst or even the most interesting dressed person in London.

[@zhukov43]

When you was 19, you’d have fitted into Cher’s clique in Clueless, 😂. Or you’d have easily been Ellen, in the absolutely awesome podcast, The Karen and Ellen Letters, haha.

[@markhosbrough9180]

What do you think of uk banks compared to the banks in the states

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Hey Mark! UK banking is better than the US when it comes to easily moving money around and getting newer technology sooner (ie, chip and pin way before the US)

[@markhosbrough9180]

@@GirlGoneLondonofficial yes I agree to me banks in the US are antiquated compared to UK banks I miss the way the bill pay they have made it way easier for me to budget because they would take the money out on the day you put so you knew what was left was for you to do what you want with. Chip and pin they don't really have it here in the states because certain transactions you don't put your pin in

[@gazinessex2]

Do you mean "acclimatised"? Of course, you do.

[@jp-um2fr]

I'm a 75 year old English male. I wanted girls and my wife kindly supplied me with two. My eldest daughter then followed with three more. My youngest daughter almost got it right but the second was 'A BOY'. How inconsiderate. (I joke of course) I really do find most men boring and I detest the macho thing. I suddenly realised that despite your American start in life you are really no different to the mayhem I help produce. (Minor part in that) I have not watched many of your videos yet- but I will. I cannot understand this new gender thing at all. I still open doors for females and carry the shopping and I'm not about to stop now. I do have a long term American friend, ex soldier and sadly rather ill. Actually his native American wife and I email far too much. She's been ill to. I'll report back young lady. I think your OK so 'no worries' - I'll be honest though.

[@eddiegaltek]

I have come across a few blogs over the years and they all do this, they just stop.

[@alexmctear5420]

I am interested to know the rough percentage of the nationality of your readers?

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Hey Alex! I would say my website skews American, maybe 60 or 70 percent, but my KZbin channel is about 85 percent from the UK.

[@akaski777]

Why London

[@barriehull7076]

Acclimate, I think you mean acclimatise. Acclimation and acclimatising. Gloucester. Liked the fringe, why were you wearing an h on your head in the photo.

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Hey Barrie! Acclimatize/se is preferred in British and Australian (and Canadian, I think) English, while acclimate is far more common in American English with the same definition.

[@britbazza3568]

Kaylin upper 30s and lower 40s lol that has to be farranheight because the British measure temperature in centigrade. 39° farranheight is 3.8 °centigeade Your blog is just the same as any Yank new to the UK would create because although it's not the Americans fault all Yanks think England or the UK only consists of London. Quite frankly a lot of people in the UK don't even think about London when they live outside of It. We have a lot better places to visit and go. London is smelly dirty overcrowded too expensive and depending where you go bloody dangerous at certain times of day! You sound like you loved your experience of London as a student. London is cool as a student though I studied in Whitechapel in East London and yes I spent a lot of time in the pub frequented by Jack the Ripper on Whitechapel High street where he actually killed his second victim in the back yard of the said pub. It's great you have chosen the UK to settle down in and even better you've settled down out of London the UK has so much more than London to offer people. Speaking from a biased point of view the UK is one of the best nations in the world to live if you don't think of the UK's politics at this moment in time but geographically the UK is one of the world's most beautiful nations because it is so green and everything is so close to each other from cities, mountains, forests, and coasts your never more than 3 hours away from a coastline in the UK

[@paulmidsussex3409]

Disappointing, you only found everything awesome here and not super awesome.