Following their study abroad trip to London over winter break, students Linda Marinetti and Cheryl Limoncello of New Jersey sat down with The Scribe to talk about their experience.
Note: This interview was recorded and then transcribed at a later date. Due to the thick Jersey accents of the interviewees, some sentences are not transcribed verbatim. Most sentences have been edited for clarity.
Abigail: Thank you, ladies, for sitting down with me today. I’d love if you could introduce yourselves and say your major.
Linda: Hi, I’m Linda. I’m studying fashion merchandising. I’m in my sixth year.
Cheryl: I’m Cheryl. I’m studying turtles. They call me the Jewel of Jersey.
Linda: Cheryl, no one calls you the Jewel of Jersey.
Cheryl: Here, I can be anything I want to be.
Linda: And you’re choosing to be delusional.
Abigail: I heard that you just came back from London! How exciting. What was your favorite part?
Cheryl: You know what I loved? Those little bears.
Linda: What little bears?
Cheryl: Y’know the ones with the little hats? And the boots?
Linda: No.
Cheryl: And the little coats?
Linda: OH! The one who likes jam?
Cheryl: Yes!
Linda: Paddington?
Cheryl: YES! I loved Paddington!
Linda: You know what I loved?
Cheryl: What?
Linda: The tube.
Cheryl: I hated the tube.
Linda: What? But it’s so pretty and there are all those lines for the trains in all the colors!
Cheryl: It’s confusing! I never knew where I was. And it was too loud.
Linda: Speaking of loud — y’know what else I loved? Their accents! They were so cute!
Cheryl: SO CUTE!
Linda: They all sounded like ‘‘allo guvnah!”
Cheryl: They did! They did!
Abigail: It seems like you ladies had a wonderful time. What was your least favorite part of London?
Cheryl: Tube.
Linda: Yes, Cheryl. We know you hated the tube.
Cheryl: Too fast, too many colors. I can’t keep track.
Linda: You could if you tried. You know what I didn’t like? The pigeons.
Cheryl: UGH! The pigeons.
Linda: They’re not like New York pigeons.
Abigail: How are they different than New York pigeons?
Linda: Well, first of all, they were rude.
Cheryl: Yeah, only the people are rude in New York.
Linda: The pigeons in New York? They’re just dolls!
Cheryl: The pigeons in London look weird, too. When I went to the sea, there was this one pigeon, it was all white. It kept getting closer and closer to my bag, and I swear I could see it smirking at me.
Linda: Cheryl. That was a seagull.
Abigail: Birds aside, how did you find the people in London?
Linda: Oh, they were lovely. Couldn’t understand a word.
Cheryl: Not a nicer group of people in the world. Especially not in Jersey.
Linda: Well, your mother’s in Jersey!
Abigail: Alright. You say you went to London to watch some plays.
Cheryl: Yes, we’re art afficionados.
Abigail: Are there any shows that stood out to you?
Cheryl: That one show…that man with the legs.
Linda: Cheryl, you gotta be more specific. There were a lotta men with a lotta legs.
Cheryl: There sure were!
Linda and Cheryl laugh raucously.
Linda: That was the show where we lived like kings — remember, Cheryl?
Cheryl: We had that box right next to the stage.
Linda: The man, the one with the legs, he gave us a thumbs up.
Cheryl: HE DID.
Linda: He loved us, Cheryl.
Cheryl: He did, Linda. He loved us.
Linda: Such a funny show.
Cheryl: Who knew the Brits had a sense of humor?
Linda: Oh! And there was that other man… the one with the eyes.
Cheryl: Linda, I think they all had eyes.
Linda: Yes, Cheryl. I know they all had eyes. This one had such sad eyes …. like that man we met in Zurich.
Cheryl: WE DON’T TALK ABOUT ZURICH.
Linda: Okay, okay… jeez.
Abigail: Okay, ladies, thank you so much for your time. I just have one last question for you.
Linda: Alright, make it quick. I have a hair appointment in 30 minutes.
Cheryl: It’s about time.
Linda: And what is that supposed to mean?
Abigail: Ahem! What advice would you give to people traveling to London?
Linda: Don’t get a phone plan.
Cheryl: That way, you don’t have to call your husband.
Linda: Cheers to that.
The National Gallery. Photo by Abigail Katharin.