I don't know what everyone's talking about....the weather in London is superb!

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Well, I know I've been a little remiss in the updating department, so here goes. I've done lots of registration type things in the last couple of days, but the real excitement began yesterday. I had my induction into the International History department here at LSE, and then Natisha (a girl from Penn) and I went around the Freshers' Fair, a gathering of all 190 societies from the LSE Student Union as they try and vie for your membership. It costs about a pound to join each society so I signed up for Inns of Court (for those students who want to become barristers), Dance (if you're a member you get unlimited dance classes for two quid a class-that's only $4!), Indian Society (they're putting on a big cultural show, and auditions are coming up soon), and SPICE (an Indian cultural society). I'm still waffling on the regular Law Society (not limited to barristers) and Photography society, so we'll see. Dad's been in town so he and I went to dinner with a client Thursday night at a very swish place near LSE.

So, some more general info. I'm really loving my dorm, other than the size of my room. The food's quite good, actually, and I've been quite impressed so far. Tuesday night was the General Course boat party, where we all got to ride up an down the Thames on a cruiser, have free drinks (sooo weird for a university event to have alcohol-Penn won't ever serve alcohol to undergrads just in case an underage one manages to sneak a drink), and meet people, which I did quite well at, considering meeting new people is not my forte (perhaps the free drink helped). One girl I've met in the last few days and spent considerable time with is Aliye, who goes to Brandeis (not Jewish though) and we've done lots of tramping around London together. Our prime spot to meet up at (since she lives in a different dorm that fronts the same square as I do) is the Gandhi statue right in the middle of one of Bloomsbury's many formal squares. It seems to serve as some sort of shrine for the Indian community here, as there is always a bindi (dot) painted on his forehead and flowers at his feet, and I've seen a couple of people praying at the statue.

Today Aliye and I went on a LSE-sponsored coach tour of London which was quite fun, showed me a lot of things I'd like to revisit, and helped me regain my bearings. Most of the photos for today are from that tour (although quite a few are of my neighborhood and my walk to LSE). Speaking of my walk to LSE, it's not bad at all at about 20 minutes at a brisk clip, and there's a bus that goes directly there should it be raining. We haven't had too much of that, however. For about two days it seemed to be misting constantly, but the last day or two has been absolutely gorgeous-mid sixties and sunny with bright blue skys. Anyway, I'll update more as I start classes. I've managed to get a bank account and I'm getting my phone tomorrow, so other than figuring out where my lectures are and getting a few sundry items like a printer and, oh, say, a laundry basket, I'm all set. Lucky for me, I currently have Mondays off, so I'll give you a rundown after my first classes on Tuesday-Public International Law and International Political Theory. I've checked out a few books from the library (which is incredibly huge and has fantastic architecture), and I looooove the law books. Too bad I can't say the same for any of my other classes (which include Britain and India since 1700 and Political Geography of Contemporary Europe)-they seem to specialize in attracting academics who can't write an entertaining piece of literature to save their lives.

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Photos

Gandhi
Right in the middle of Tavistock square.

Tavistock Square
The building you see through the trees is a twin of mine, although mine doesn't make for such a nice photo-op as it's across the corner from Tavistock.

Standard London Bus
Not a great shot, but they really are everywhere, so I had to include one. This one is one I could take between LSE and my dorm.

On the Way to LSE
This also just happens to be Dad's hotel

Down Kingsway
This is my walk to school everyday.

Phonebooths and Black cabs
London really is very photogenic.

On the Way to LSE
This is High Holborn road, which leads straight into the City, the one square mile that is the actual City of London, and the financial heart of, well really, the world (our coach tour told us more money changes hands in the financial markets here than in NYC and Tokyo combined)

Tower Bridge
Not the London Bridge, as many think.

St. Paul's Dome
Over modern London

The Tower of London
Home to Ravens, Beefeaters, and perhaps most dazzlingly, the Crown Jewels.

Traitor's Gate
Many people were brought through here on the way to losing their heads...you can see the tide's out so the Thames is quite low.

Buckingham
What can I say? The Queen was not at home. Our guide thought she might be at Windsor.

Comments

[Abby]

oh my god, you really make me miss london. other than merida, mexico, it is the city i have spent the most time in outside of the US! (Almost a month, cumulatively.) I want to add onto that...

[aunt mina]

how fun!!!
What an experience you will NEVER forget! SO glad you are spending a year there...