Because why else would I have stood in the cold and wet of a steady London drizzle for six hours on a Sunday? This weekend is that much-anticipated event: the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, celebrating the 60 years since Elizabeth II took the throne. It’s been talked of for months in London, and for weeks storefronts [...]
Its architects hope it will become “the next Eiffel Tower.” For now, it’s the puzzling centerpiece of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park—which I was lucky enough to visit several days ago. The park itself wasn’t really the highlight of my tour: I didn’t find it that spectacular. The stadium is, at best, functional and minimalist. [...]
Believe it or not, classes are already nearing an end. I will update soon with a series about the actual “studying” that goes into study abroad. But for the moment, I’m a little bit more focused on what I’m going to do with all my newfound free time. I’ve seen quite a bit of London. [...]
This past weekend, I met quite the collection of people. 1. Olive Boy. Friday afternoon, my friend Sara and I were wandering the South Bank and happened upon a market that we’d never seen before. We decided to wander around it, because we always check out new markets when we find them, and decided that [...]
So, you’ve found a place you want to eat at. You walk in, find a table, open the menu… now what? Scenario 1: You’re at a pub, and you’ve heard that the food’s great, the service is fast, etc. So why have you been sitting at your table for fifteen minutes looking like an idiot [...]
When you arrive in a new country, there are—of course—going to be some cultural differences. They will be things that surprise you, things that amuse you, things that inconvenience you: they are inevitable. But hey, that’s the point of study abroad, right? Though I might write about pretty churches and yummy food more often, the [...]
First off, if you are a girl who has not seen the film Notting Hill, go watch it right now. Then come back and read this post. Go on, I’m serious. All right, now that you’ve done that, we can move on. In my first post, I listed advice I’d been given by friends, family, [...]
This is my 13th day in London. It feels weird to say that. It both feels like I’ve been here forever, and like I’m on holiday and it must be coming to an end. I think it was last Thursday, as I was emailing my parents my London snail mail address, that it first hit [...]
Well, the first week of classes is complete, and so far they’ve been quite interesting! On Thursday, I had an absolutely amazing Shakespeare lecture with a really talented guest lecturer, and I only wish that the class had lasted a little bit longer. In general, actually, it seems that UCL classes don’t meet all that [...]
Note: This entry was written in the JFK airport several days ago, but due to technical issues and Internet woes, I was not able to post until today. I guess I kind of thought this moment would never come: I’m sitting in the JFK airport, bulging carry-on backpack in the seat next to me, about [...]