Three Week Mark

Three weeks down in this amazing city, and I am still in awe that I am here!  Much has been accomplished since my last post, so I figured I'd catch all of you watching at home up.  

The weekend of January 17th was one for the books.  Friday night, my roommate, Athena, and I met up with two of my friends from school, Rachel and Katie, in SOHO for dinner.  We found a fun-looking bar, ordered our fish and chips and some drinks, and sat and chatted for hours.  After a very eventful tube ride back to my dorm, we decided to go out to the University of London Union (ULU) which is the "place to be" on a Friday night since it turns into a club-like pub.  The University of London is the umbrella to many universities in London, including University College London, Queen Mary's, King's College, etc.  After seeing the (no joke) mile long line, we decided to head to our usual spot instead, our University College London Union (UCLU) pub. 

Me, Athena, Rachel and Katie at UCLU

Best friends reunited in London!

Saturday the 18th was my friend Haley's 21st birthday, so we had to do something special!  The day was filled with shopping at Primark (only the fanciest), Starbucks, and cheap pizza for dinner.  That night though, our friend who lives on Haley's floor took us and some others to the Paramount Sky Bar that overlooks all of London.  The sights were absolutely breathtaking.  Athena and I practically had to continue to pinch ourselves to make sure it was real life.  After the Sky Bar, we cabbed it across the River Thames to a club called Lightbox.  Owning up to it's name, the walls and ceiling were covered in tiny lights that flashed, created patterns, and changed colors to the electronic music the DJ was playing.  It was unlike anything I had every experienced before.  We danced the night away until our feet were sore!  

London from 35 stories up 

Athena and me at Paramount

The group at Paramount

Lightbox

Week two of classes were more comfortable than the first, even though lectures are pretty much the same as they are at Illinois.  Getting used to having only one final exam or one final essay will take awhile for me.  After class and readings were finished, I still had time to do more London exploring!  Wednesday, I went to the British Museum which I was impressed with considering the amount of history in one place.  For my Renaissance Art in London class, we go to a museum almost every week.  Last Thursday, we went to the National Museum right on Trafalgar Square.  Art museums are my favorite.  With my very, very limited artistic abilities, I cannot imagine creating these masterpieces that are all hundreds and hundreds of years old.  With my class, we walked around and learned about many different paintings: what they're made of, who painted it, the significance, etc.  We learned about the use of perspective and foreshortening since it was being "discovered" during this time period.  

British Museum

Trafalgar Square

National Gallery

This weekend, my friend from home, Karly, and her friend, Bailey, who are both studying in Coventry, England this semester, came to London!  After attempting to track each other down, with no way to communicate and in the rain, by the train station, we dried off and again attempted Friday night ULU.  With the rain continuing to fall and the mile long line not even budging to half a mile, we splashed back to the UCLU instead.  (I think we may have a new tradition.)  It was great to be able to show Karly and Bailey my school, though!  Saturday, Karly and Bailey had their own tourist itinerary to get done, so Athena, another guy in our group, and I went to Kensington Palace for a free tour through their museum!  Before you ask, we did not see the royal family... But we saw the outside of where they actually live, so that was pretty exciting!  The other part of the palace was turned into a big museum about Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Queen Anne, King George, and the more modern royals.  The whole exhibit on Queen Victoria was absolutely fascinating.  We learned about Victoria and Albert's love, children, and lives.  The displays were very creatively set up and informative.  There was a gallery that had dozens of dresses that the Queen, Princess Diana, and other royal fashionistas had worn.  I absolutely loved Kensington Palace, and it was a perfect day outside, which was a plus! After the palace, we got lunch, and headed towards Harrod's and Hyde Park, which were both beautiful, yet overwhelming.  We also got the chance to see St. Paul's Cathedral that night before heading to a pub for some needed dinner! 

Me, Karly, and Bailey at UCLU

Athena and me at Kensington Palace

Queen Victoria's Dancing Shoes!

The King's Gallery

Queen Victoria's Wedding Dress

Diana's Dresses

Hyde Park

Hyde Park

St. Paul's Cathedral

As we see more and more of London, our group is preparing to journey off the island, or around the island, and plan some exciting trips!  It has been wonderful getting settled into a new school and city without getting right up and leaving, though.  I feel really blessed for the experience I am getting this semester because I am an actual UCL student, taking courses and living with British and International students.  I'm looking forward to coming back to the US with some new slang words and an accent ;) 

From Tourist to Student

Thinking about week one in the dorm, I have realized how easily I am navigating London.  Though I haven't ventured too far from my home and campus, I feel autopilot turning on as I walk to where I need to be.  When I cross the street, I feel confident rather than skittish from the possibility of oncoming traffic (the black ones don't stop).  Maybe I am feeling more like a student rather than a tourist because classes began this week, or maybe it is because I finally got a handful of the tourist stops done last weekend. 

Last Saturday was another beautiful London day with blue skies and the sun shining.  No sarcasm there, it actually was beautiful out, so my friends and I decided it was time to see the sights.  I took many shameless selfies with the historic London buildings and monuments to create some memories I will never forget.  The London Eye, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, House of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garden, and SOHO were all crossed off our bucket lists in one long, but wonderful day.  We stopped in China Town for dinner and headed home to The Court, a pub down the street from my dorm.  Closing time came and the group decided to hang out in our dorm's lounge for a little while.  In came many groups of British students that were nothing but welcoming and excited to meet some American exchange students.  Majority of the time, we just laughed about how they have different words for many objects.  It was a blast getting the chance to meet some of the British students though, and to see some familiar faces in the dining hall this week.  

Classes started this week which has been a bit of a wake up call as to why I am in London for five and a half months.  Registering for courses has been a nightmare for every student I have talked to.  They pretty much have only showed us the website to register on and told us to take two courses in our main department.  Being a Psychology major here, I already had my two courses picked out before getting to UCL, but that did not mean that I automatically would be placed in them.  Psychology of Individual Differences and Developmental Psychology will both be very interesting and useful courses for me even when I return to U of I.  My two other courses are electives.  So, along with every other study abroad student, I hoped to get into a History of Parliament class and Renaissance Art in London Collections class that take field trips around London to show you exactly what you are learning about.  On the first day of registration, all the history classes were filled.  It was really a miracle that I got into the History of Art class, though.  I enrolled for an Introduction to Moral Philosophy class which I attended on Monday to only find out Tuesday night that I could not take it for some unknown reason.  After waiting for my advisor for a half hour today, then having to email her instead, I got my schedule worked out to take a History of Philosophy class.  I have a friend who was registered for it before me and she said it was already confusing.  Wish me luck!  I am just relieved that my courses are all worked out and I can hopefully get back into the swing of reading, studying, and attending lectures.  Though, culture shock again has come upon us and I realize how different reading, studying, and attending lectures is over here.  Reading for a class means at least 50 pages a week in a book that no one buys, but goes to the library to borrow.  Studying means having a week break mid-February to catch up on course work and a four-week Easter break to study for a four-week final exams period.  Attending lectures means, usually, one lecture a week and, if you got unluckily, a seminar once a week per class.  As of now, I do not have class on Wednesdays, and only one class on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  

Today, without a class to attend, Athena and I decided to actually wake up at a decent hour (noon had become our usual wake up time), and have a productive day.  Fed, showered, and errands run, by lunch time I felt the day had been a success.  This afternoon, though, I ventured into Covent Gardens with a group of three other girls in my group.  One had heard about a cheese shop that let you sample as many cheeses as you would like.  It was amazing.  A big cheese-lover myself, I was in heaven, and of course ended up buying some to bring home.  Walking around Covent Gardens was really enjoyable.  All of the cute shops and interesting people made it worth the 20 minute walk in the rainy wind.  Definitely, another great day seeing and experiencing London.  

The First Couple Days

    Have I really only been in London for four days?  I feel as if I have been here for weeks already.  And I say that in the best way!

    The plane ride was not bad.  Got a few hours of sleep.  But I knew, as soon as we were preparing for landing and I looked out the plane window, that this would be an adventure of a lifetime.  I saw the London Eye and all of the thousands of lights that lit up London, even at 6:15 am.  I could not have been more excited!  Getting through customs and getting my Student Visitor Visa was a breeze, contrary to what I was imagining.  As I was trudging through the London Heathrow airport trying to find where to meet my group, I noticed another college-aged girl looking at the same paper I was.  Turns out, we were both in Psychology at UCL and through the same program.  It was perfect!  Together, we eventually found the group and were transported to St. Giles hotel in London.  After orientation that night, I decided to meet up with two friends from University of Illinois that are studying at Queen Mary's University in London for the semester.  We walked up and down Oxford Street to Regent Street where the streets were filled with people and amazing stores.  We found a pub, sat down, got a drink, and caught up.  Jet-lagged and exhausted though, I went to bed soon after.  

Regent Street

    Tuesday, we had orientation all day where I got to meet more American students going to University College London.  That night, we got to go to Spamalot at the Playhouse Theater as a group which was hilarious and such a fun outing.  

    Yesterday, we finally got to move out of the hotel and into our dorm room!  My roommate, Athena (also from U of I), and I were extremely excited to get settled into our double room and maybe meet some of our peers.  Dragging our two huge suitcases behind us while climbing up and down stairs, in and out of elevators, and through doors would've been quite the sight to see.  We finally made it to home sweet home, room 191 in the Rome building of Ramsay Hall.  After a trip to Primark (a hybrid between Forever 21, Target, and Home Goods), we got sheets, towels, hangers, pillows, etc. for very cheap.  The linen packs the dorm gave us were comparable to hospital sheets.  After official enrollment at UCL that afternoon, I had my first fish and chips experience at a pub down the street.  I do not think I will ever get tired of that meal.  Earlier that day, Athena and I kept joking about the freshmen having an "Ice Cream Social" like the dorms do at U of I.  To our surprise, that's exactly what there was last night for the international students.  Finished with our ice cream and awkward mingling, our group went out to pizza and back home to our clean sheets and surprisingly comfortable beds.  

University College London 

   This morning, we had a couple hours of UCL specific orientation.  But, before orientation, Athena and I experienced our first major incident of culture shock.  Afraid to go into the co-ed showers on our floor alone, we decided to shower at the same time before orientation.  Each in our own stall, we realized that the water only stays on when you are holding down the button on the shower wall.  We tried many tricks, turning the knob, pressing it in twice fast, etc, we gave up and just came to the conclusion that getting used to having one hand shampooing and one holding the knob down while showering will just have to happen.  Our next mission after lunch was to figure out the phone situation.  You would think the two options of 1) getting a UK SIM card for your American iPhone and 2) buying a cheap UK phone would be an easy thing to figure out.  Nope.  Hours later and phone store after phone store, I ended up with a cheap phone and cheap data plan only to communicate with friends here with other UK numbers.  Tomorrow, I register for classes and meet with all the department heads while classes start on Monday.  

    My first four days have been unbelievable.  The weather has been great, besides a few random rain storms.  My dorm is comfortable and the food not terrible (I've had worse dorm food at U of I).  It still is not real to me that I will be living here for the next five months, but I have never felt so comfortable calling a new place home as I do London.  There is MUCH more to explore, considering I have not even had time to do the touristy things (this weekend's plan), and am starting to get comfortable with this area.  London, I truly do love you already. 

Departure

Today is the day!  Off to London I go, after a quick layover in Boston.  Checking two suitcases and still having to carry on a backpack and Longchamp bag was not part of the plan until I realized late last night how impossible it is to pack for 5 1/2 months in one suitcase.  But, we rolled, tucked, and zipped everything up and I am finally ready.  Boarding passes and instructions as to where I'm meeting my transportation at London Heathrow airport have been printed, toiletries in 3 oz. bottles bagged, and Kindle has been charged.  I will be arriving in London at 6:35 am Monday, January 6th, jet-lagged, but eager to explore!  Say a few prayers that the cold and bad winter weather do not slow me down!

Preparation

Only 51 hours until take off to begin my adventure to London and my packing consists of a couple piles of clothes on the ground and my entire closet in the washing machine.  Only now did my mom and I realize how much laundry needed to be done in order to bring a fresh-smelling wardrobe abroad.  The list of errands needed to be run seems to only grow longer, while the time is slowly ticking away.  I am not worried though!  I know I will be more than prepared to begin this amazing adventure I am very thankful to have.  That being said, I must begin the day and end my first, semi-rough blog post.  Stay tuned for more in the near future!