At the start of the summer, the University of Missouri Concert Chorale set out on a trip to London. Our choir of approximately 40 students, under the direction of Dr. Brandon A. Boyd, endeavored to celebrate Black choral composers in a large concert combined with other choirs, plus do a little sight-seeing along the way. Since we only had a week in London, we had to quickly learn how to navigate their public transportation system, especially the underground, more popularly known as “the tube.”

Similar to many large European cities, London has a sprawling public transportation system that both tourists and native Londoners can use to get pretty much anywhere. We had prepaid Oyster Cards, like London’s subway or metro cards, which made it easy to get into the tube. All that was left was to figure out how to navigate it.

I had my first adventure on the tube within a few hours of arriving in London and without the help of a large group. My girlfriend and I had booked a sight-seeing river cruise for our first afternoon in the city. Our departure from the airport and arrival at our hotel were delayed, so we barely had any time to figure out the underground. We frantically speed-walked to the nearest station, hoping the system would be easy enough to understand.  Thankfully we made it, although we were nearly the last people to board the boat.

Between only one spotty cell phone connection and the newness of the underground, those first few tube rides were quite stressful. After a while, though, we got pretty confident with our ability to ride the tube. Although we did board the wrong train once or twice and on one occasion had to spontaneously resort to the bus system because tube stations started closing, we always adjusted and made it to our destination on time. Overall, the tube is fairly self-explanatory, with maps in each tube and clear instructions on signs and through the speakers about each train’s destination. The expansive and relatively simple transportation in London helped make our week of singing and exploring a thoroughly enjoyable one.

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Learn more about this blogger’s study abroad program: I Dream A World: Concert Chorale Performance in London