A Break from Pictures! [Day 7 in London!]
So many things are in motion!!! For one, I booked my first trip! I'll be traveling to Paris from February 6th to the 9th to visit my friend studying abroad there! I finally decided to go with Megabus, since it was a good 30 pounds cheaper than flying there. The ride is approximately 9 hours (!!!), but it actually ends up working out. I end class at 5 on Thursdays, so I'm catching the bus out of London at 9:30 and I'll get to Paris in the morning, so I have some time to sleep! Also, since I don't have class until 6:30 on Mondays, then I can leave late on Sunday night as well, maximizing travel time YAY!
I'm also trying to plan out my Spring Break, which is two entire weeks! I know I want to spend at least a week of that time in Italy, and I know I want to travel to Greece as well, but those plans will be finalized soon.
I'm planning to travel to Dublin for St. Patrick's Day also with one of my best friends! Of course, I think it'll be interesting considering every American college student studying abroad has the same plans. No matter, still excited!
I'm also trying to figure out a good time to travel to Prague, Barcelona, Amsterdam, and Munich, among others.
Of course, there's some exciting stuff that NYUL has planned for us as well! We were given 100 credits to sign up for as many activities as we wanted, and while some sold out very quickly (i.e., football and rugby games!) I was able to get a few cool trips and activities! Including:
A day trip to Stonehenge & Salisbury
Fuerzabruta (which I have been dying to see for years now!)
A day trip to Dover Castle & The White Cliffs of Dover
A day trip to Brighton
Matilda the Musical
Additionally, my Global Orientations class has a few trips and activities planned as well, including:
A sightseeing/walking tour of London
A visit to Kensington Palace, home of William and Kate and the Royal Baby!
A visit to the BBC
A walking tour of Brixton
Comedy Night at the Comedy Store
A tour of the National Theatre
A tour of the Houses of Parliament
And there are a few more trips planned for my Cultures and Contexts: Contesting British National Identity course!
A (second) tour of the Houses of Parliament
A trip to Southall Sikh Gurdwara
A trip to Lord's Cricket Ground
Not to mention all the trips for my Architecture and Art & War courses!! Fortunately, dear reader, I won't list them all here.
So yes, lots to look forward to in the future! But what about classes, you may be asking? Well, I've only had two so far, but so far I love them! We've been discussing Britain's sense of nationalism and patriotism, and how its citizens view themselves. It got me thinking about my own sense of national identity and how one is formed, which brought back fond memories of obligatory recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance (and the Texas Pledge, one year!) every single day in elementary school. Maybe Americans are so "in your face" about their own patriotism because they were brainwashed as children into being patriotic? The lecturers also spoke about how a lot of terrorist attacks in Britain have come from inside the country, while most of America's have come from outside the country, giving Americans a common enemy to rally against, while the British rally against...themselves? Furthermore, he said that there are still Americans willing to die for their country, but not so much the British, with Scotland making efforts to separate completely from the UK at a referendum in September. I won't go too much more into this, as this post is now very, very long and I still have more to say, so if you see me on the street, ask me to finish this opinion!
Anyway...
Laundry in my flat is THREE POUNDS PER WASH AND ANOTHER THREE POUNDS PER DRY. I thought I could outsmart the system by finding a Laundromat, but that's FOUR POUNDS FOR EACH. THAT IS OVER $12 FOR ONE LOAD OF LAUNDRY!!!! I have no idea how these Londoners are able to keep their clothes clean. I'm strugglin' man. Good thing I came here with an overweight suitcase full of clothes!
I've been trying to work out more since I've been here also, but I tend to forget I walk approximately 3 miles each day just going to and from class. Plus I've been taking the stairs everywhere so I will have buns of steel by the end of the semester without even trying!
Living so close to King's Cross Station, I've also decided to let my inner nerd out and begin rereading the Harry Potter books. I have the attention span of a banana, however, so we'll see how that goes.
Okay, I think that's it! That's all I have to say for now! Look for more soon :D
