First Week in London

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Somewhere close to Kensington Gardens...

Well, I've been simply awful about keeping up with my online journal entry so this is my attempt to catch up before I get home! My time in London was awesome. I lived in the neighborhood of Kensington which is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in England. That means our area was safe but a bit pricey. We managed thanks to a grocery store called Sainsburys and Sandwich World where you could get a sandwich for only 2 GBPs. Not a bad deal! Our flats were located just 10 minutes from Kensington Gardens next to Kensington Palace which flows into Hyde Park.

In our first week, we went on a walking tour to become familiar with the area, a bus tour to get our bearings about London in general, and all sorts of orientation meetings. A great part about London is that all the museums are free to the public. We definitely took advantage of that. In the first week, I went to the Science Museum which was interesting. They had a lot of material on the Industrial Revolution as Great Britain was key in that development. I saw the musical, "The Lion King" which was amazing. The costumes and scenery were remarkable. I also went to Buckingham Palace because it is only available to the public for 2 months out of the year while the Queen is taking her summer vacation. I couldn't take any pictures inside but it was extremely elegant. In the dining room where State Dinners are held, there is a secret panel that hides a huge elevator for waitors to bring food up from the kitchen in the basement. Also, there is a secret door in the "White Room" so that the Queen can just walk from her room to the White Room. I would love to know how many other secret door and passageways exist in the palace. I guess the Queen is kind of a big deal. On Saturday, I went to Portobello Market which was bustling and selling all sorts of things from food to clothes to antiques. I embarrassed myself by asking how much a jacket was in a vintage store... 590 GBPs. Wow. That's just a bit out of my price range. haha!

I took just one class in the first 5 weeks, Sociology in Multicultural London, and it's pretty interesting. We learned about different groups and their influence on Great Britain. We also had to go on class-required field trips to the Docklands (a new area of development in London), Brixton, South Hall, and Brick Lane. We also went to a mosque while in London, the first I've ever been to.

In general, people in London keep to themselves. Apparently they don't like it when or if you ask too many questions, and they are very private people. We have learned that it's the "English reserve" that makes this distinction. Well, more about London to come. Pictures will be added sooner or later. haha! Cheers!

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