I've been in London for just over a month, and everything is fantastic! Maybe I'll make a list of my favourite (notice the UK spelling!) things....
- how international the student body at the LSE is. In one of my seminars of 15 people, five continents are represented. You get so many new perspectives on the issues that you study.
- finding new places in London that are really cool. Like staircases all over that lead down into the river. Not that you would ever want to wade in...
- fish and chips
- markets; there is one near where I live where they hang rabbits and chickens by the neck for sale. There is also a stall to buy goose liver fat, yum!
- dinner with flatmates
- walking around at night (in a safe area, no worries!) and seeing the things you see everyday, but with no one around
- having a cuppa (tea that is!)
- riding on the top deck of the bus (extra special if I get the front row seat)
- getting to the point where I often see people I know on the LSE campus--not everyone is a stranger anymore!
- that I'm getting used to being a student again--pasta for dinner 3x a week, updating my blog at 1:00 AM, willing my eyes to stay open in morning lectures, reading for classes whenever I get a free chance...
You gotta love Westminster Bridge!
Love the big red buses!
Isn't this a lovely image of peace? What we're all working towards...
Big Ben is always a favorite
Another vantage point of the houses of Parliament
Autumn sort of crept up on me here, because I'm used to the extravagant Virginia leaves changing. This is a lovely park
Creepy looking stairs leading down to the river--these kinds of staircases are all over the city. On this particular one, we saw a very very sick bird who had come to this place to die. Classes
The past month has been fantastic, as I've said. I've gotten into the swing of classes--they are definitely intense! You have to do a ton of reading, it's very independent-research based. I'm taking a class on globalization, a class on complex emergencies, and one on foreign and security policies of Russia and Eurasia. They are all incredibly fascinating, and it's great when I can make connections between them. Like how a lecture/seminar in global ethics is relate-able to discussions on perceptions of war. OK, not everyone's cup of tea, but I love it!
Day trip to Dover
Today Ty (a next-door flatmate) and I took a day trip to Dover, England. I really just wanted to go somewhere and get out of the city for a bit, and chose Dover rather randomly. It's a couple of hours southeast of London, and is where the chunnel begins, leading to France! We had a bit of trouble getting there (canceled train, connection, etc) and didn't end up arriving until almost 4:00. Oh, and of course it was a rather crap day in terms of weather. So it was rather late and dark, but Dover was great! There is a huge castle sitting on top of the cliffs, overlooking the water. The white cliffs are really famous and spectacular. I would love to go back again, when the weather is nice and there is actual daylight!
Ty takes her first train ride ever! We bought a giant box of cookies from Marks and Spencer (the best food store ever!) for the ride
playing around with the color accent settings on my camera
a great little church in Dover
So the Dover Castle is on top of a really big hill, and as it was getting dark (and OK so we're lazy) we didn't want to walk up, so we tried to hitchhike a ride. No one wanted us, though!
a cool looking little street
Dover is where the chunnel to France is!
Posing by the water--it is the Straight of Dover, and in the way way distance is France
Ty and I! It was quite windy
The white cliffs--gorgeous!!
1 comment:
Great blog Michelle, but I am going to tell everyone my niece's favorite (favourite even) thing about London is the goose liver fat! Keep those pictures coming.
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