Tower You Doing?

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Yesterday morning, we had a short orientation session (by short, I mean over two hours) dedicated solely to politics and social/economic issues in Britain. Lord Taverne, a Labour MP and former Treasury Minister who left the Labour Party to help establish the Social Democratic Party, led the discussions. Very engaging man - originally a lawyer, he was appointed Queen’s Counsel and was recently appointed to House of Lords (kind of like Senate in America). He embodies exactly how I envisioned older British men: tall, sort of lanky, distinguished-looking, speaks really quickly, no-nonsense kind of guy.

It was really interesting to hear firsthand what people here think of America. In sum, our government is largely unpopular (surprise, right?). Palin’s existence in our politics is simply baffling, although McCain - while not by any means liked - is at least sort of respected for having integrity. Emphasis on the ‘sort of.’ Obama is basically a rockstar, and everyone is absolutely thrilled about him (again, no huge surprise).

‘Left wing’ has a completely different meaning here. What we would call ‘left’ in America is the equivalent of 'moderate' here, if that gives any indication to how liberal the politics and social viewpoints are in England. Religion simply has no place in politics, and for all the churches that exist on English land, less than 8% of the population actually attends a regular church service.

I really enjoyed the discussion today. It was interesting to hear a British person compare and contrast (heavy on the contrast portion) American vs. British government and to give insight into how American politics are viewed elsewhere. The only thing that we seem to have in common: neither country’s major current leaders are popular with its people (supposedly, Gordon Brown is vastly disliked, although I am unsure as to exactly why that is - I’ll have to look it up once I have good internet). In any case, I am looking forward to discussing the upcoming election with British students, as Lord Taverne told us that students here are absolutely enthralled by American politics and love good discussions, especially over a few pints at the pubs.

Anyway, after the morning discussion, we were free to explore London again. My new friends and I took the tube to the Tower of London, which is enormous and completely intriguing with all the history behind it. We paid for a guided tour, and the expensive ticket turned out to be money well-spent. Our tour guide was really engaging and was very personable; he seemed to know a fun fact about everyone’s country (about 8 different countries were represented by people who were also taking the tour), as well as each US state. I was teased for being the only Wisconsinite there; it was funny to hear “Why, a cheesehead amongst us!” exclaimed in the charming British accent.

I also really enjoyed the tour because I tried to brush up on some English history before coming here, and it was fun to hear a recount of some of the things I learned over the summer (especially the drama revolving around Anne Boleyn) and to see - as well as walk around - the actual places where certain events happened. It was also a bit unnerving, I admit, to step on grounds that long ago had been used in large part for frequent beheadings. I think just about every story that was told ended with some version of “…and then his head was chopped off as punishment.” Nice.

Afterwards, we wandered around London on foot and then split up for dinner. Sydney - a pre-law student from Brandeis - and I went to an amazing Thai restaurant. So far, I haven’t really had real English food, but the ethnic food here has been great. Sydney is interested in law revolving around healthcare, as well as malpractice lawsuits, and we had a good time talking about our common interest in medicine. After dinner, we took the tube back to the hotel and relaxed before heading out for the night. We decided to stay in Notting Hill instead of taking the tube back to central London again, but restaurants and pubs surprisingly closed pretty early (11:30). However, it was probably a good thing since we had to be up early this morning to be whisked off to Norwich.

We took a coach bus to Norwich, which took longer than it would normally because we had to stop for lunch and also because there was a major road accident involving two semis. It was a bit scary since the crash happened just two miles ahead of our bus. But we made it to UEA safely and registered into the flats fairly quickly. Speaking of living here, I was provided with a personal postal address:

Huong Nguyen
University of East Anglia
University Village
C/O School of Biological Sciences
Norwich, UK NR4 7TJ

…just in case anyone would like to snail mail me a beautiful picture of yourself or something (I do miss everyone at home). I don’t know; food might be appreciated as I just remembered that I have to cook for myself this semester (I envy my Macalester friends and their sweet Café Mac meal plans right now). Just kidding, but I thought I would post my address just in case someone out there besides Mom and Dad is interested.

After dumping all of my stuff in my room, I walked around campus to try to familiarize myself right away. There are a lot of trees and parks and a lake nearby, so I hope that once autumn comes the colors will make everything really pretty, like Macalester’s campus. The University Village, where I am living, is a really neat set-up. All of IFSA-Butler’s students are located in the area, but none of us are together in a flat, so it is nice to have my American friends nearby, but I’m also really excited to live with British students.

All of the buildings on campus that I saw were made of concrete, which I hope won’t look too drab once the weather starts getting dreary and gray. So far, England has been quite sunny and actually nice - completely different than what I expected - but I have heard that rainy weather will come soon enough. But UEA campus is really unlike any that I have ever seen; the architecture is strange - lots of sharp corners, and the science buildings, especially, have a “let’s get down to business” feel.

I confirmed my courses (or ‘modules’ as they say here). I am registered for Biochemistry, Human Physiology, and the Psychology of Risk. Because UK students normally enroll in only one university, I am officially in the School of Biological Sciences. I got into the psych class only because of the way American schools work, but if I were an actual student here, I would be taking all bio classes (yikes). British students usually decide in high school - sophomore year, usually - what they want to study at university, so by the time they get here…I guess you could say they don’t mess around. It’s a difficult concept to understand because it’s not uncommon for even college sophomores back home to be confused as to what they want to study, much less high school sophomores.

Funny story: after I registered/confirmed my courses, I wandered around the biology department to try to get a feel of where I need to go on Monday. Well, I found myself in the atrium, which is really posh and has a bar and couches. There were lots of people crowded around talking, and I saw a sign that said “Biology Reception.” I was like, hey cool, and poured myself a glass of wine and joined a circle of people. They were really welcoming and friendly, and I was having a great time. I guess I didn’t really notice that they all looked a bit older until one of them said something about her dissertation and research adviser. I nonchalantly asked the guy next to me what degree he was going for, and he said his master’s. Whoops. It was a welcoming for post-grads, and I had just crashed my first English party. I was pretty cool about it, though, and finished my drink and casually mentioned having to meet someone and got myself out of there before people could ask me what my research involved.

So, after that incident, I decided to go back to my room and unpack so I wouldn’t again accidentally wander into a party not meant for me. It feels soooo nice to not be living out of suitcases. My room is really cute - a bit small, but I have a huge desk area and my own bathroom connected. So, the flat is six of these same rooms with a common area and kitchen. My view is not too great; there is a huge bike rack right outside my window, and I am facing all the other buildings, so not too much scenery to take in, but once it is gray and rainy I don’t think it will really matter much.

I haven’t met my flat mates yet (I don’t think any of them are here yet because students here don’t move in until this weekend), but Sydney met one of hers, so we are cooking together and then going grocery shopping afterwards. I feel so domestic; it’s kind of cool. So I’m going to go do that and go out tonight probably - check out the campus (by the way, there are pubs on campus…England is so sweet).

Till next time! Cheers.

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Photos

London Tower Bridge
not to be confused with London Bridge..

tour guide
standing where Anne Boleyn was beheaded

Anne's Courtyard
Henry VIII built this courtyard just for Anne. Unfortunately, he had her killed before she could even move in.

Thai dinner in London
Sydney and me having dinner in London

Cafe Diana
Cafe Diana in Notting Hill

Comments

[Bill Leahy]

Great blog entry
Huong, What a great blog entry - you really covered a lot of ground already and I can hear the bubble in your voice (or is it the English Pub Syndrome) as you speak about your first adventures. Thanks. Bill Leahy

[Schleh]

First Party?
I am very impressed that you happen to have a party wherever you go! Schleh

[Nikki Lange]

See some sites for me!
Cheers... (I saw you were trying to get in the habit of saying it, so I thought I would help you out.) Pictures are great and you explain everything so vividly, It's like we are there with you. It is good to see you are experiencing so much and having fun in the process. Hope your studies are going well...(have to say that for your parents sake). Miss you... oh and .....CHEERS! Nikki, John, Amber and Alex