Galbreath dives into all the guests she entertained abroad. (Courtesy of Grace Galbreath for The Fordham Ram)

The time difference from London to Philadelphia is five hours. To put that in perspective, when it is morning in London, the city of Philadelphia is asleep. On the contrary, when it is time for dinner in Philadelphia, it is time for bed in London. The difference is only a few hours, but the change seems substantial when trying to find a time to call family and friends. The reality is a serious game of phone tag. 

Two Sundays ago, I spent my evening on the phone with my mom, while I sat on the abandoned (and partially stacked) picnic tables of a nearby restaurant that had long since closed for the night. The restaurant was closed because it was nearing 11:30 p.m. (which is only 6:30 p.m. in Philadelphia). 

So far, I have conquered the time change. In celebration, and despite many missed calls and several accidentally unanswered texts, I welcomed an influx of visitors to England last weekend. Finally, a week without any timezone math!

My week began with the Ram’s Editor-in-Chief Sofia Donohue visiting. Although she did not spend much time in London, it was great to see Donohue, even for a brief amount of time. 

Then came England’s own Evan McManus. It was great to catch up with McManus at a pub. After spending time in England, I can assure you that his British accent is very accurate.

The week was a bit of a Rambearables reunion, although we missed our dear friend down under, Matt Colucci. (Colucci is studying in Australia — talk about time differences!)

By the end of the week, I welcomed my third group of visitors (and most anticipated): my family. As the Galbreaths touched down in London, so began the start of my short career as a tour guide. Having only spent a little over three months in the city, I was not the most knowledgeable guide, but I did my best. 

We hit all the major spots: Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the Tower of London and Kensington Palace. We even embarked on a double-decker bus tour along the River Thames. We also visited several pubs and my parents quickly fell in love with London’s pub scene. Who wouldn’t?

Of all of London’s neighborhoods, the fan favorite was Notting Hill. My sister loved the colorful houses and bustling streets. My parents, who are both huge fans of the Julia Roberts film, were excited to stroll the streets once walked by Anna Scott and to visit William Thacker’s infamous Travel Book Store. Even my brother loved the markets and shops sprinkled throughout the residential neighborhood.

To be a good tour guide, it is important to keep a positive attitude and be patient, even when things are not going smoothly. My family asked lots of questions (some of which I knew the answer to, but most I did not). We also had our fair share of difficulties over the weekend. On Easter Sunday, we stumbled into a church that delivered the entirety of the service in Italian. I should probably mention that no one in my family speaks Italian. It was a bit confusing, but we prevailed!

It was nice to spend my Sunday talking with my mom face-to-face. Instead of calling, we were able to sit at the restaurant together (on unstacked picnic tables)!

My week as a tour guide came to an end all too soon, and now I am back to worrying about time zones. Don’t worry though, I think the time difference is making me smarter. I have gotten really good at subtracting five from any number less than 12.