I'm in class from 9-11 A.M. and then from 1-3 P.M. Then our professor assigns us homework that can take anywhere from 1.5 to 6 hours. It can get a little frustrating for all of us...here we are in this amazing city, and many of us are confined to the flat do homework and study for much of the week. Our Stats course is very condensed--essentially we are fitting a week's worth of material into one day, every day, Monday through Thursday.
My class and I haven't let that stop us, though! So far, every day has had at least one adventure. My good friend Rachel and I went on a walk and discovered that we are just 15 minutes away from the mighty Thames River, which is host to the London Eye, Parliament, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, and much more. Here is perhaps one of my favorite views of the skyline:
There you will see the Gherkin which is the one that looks like the bullet, the "Walkie Talkie" and the "Cheese Grater," whose appearances are self-explanatory, and the original House of Customs, which is the older building at the bottom. This is where every single good that was brought into London used to go through hundreds of years ago. Oh, and you see the black square on the Walkie Talkie? Yeah, that wasn't supposed to be there. They had to put it there because the building's shape caused it to melt cars during the summer by reflecting the sun's heat. London Fun Fact!
My favourite thing about this city is the juxtaposition of the new and the old.
My first true weekend in London, however, was not in London. I went to Manchester to see my brother, Johnny. Manchester is about 4 and a half hours north of London by bus.
Manchester is so incredibly charming! It's MUCH easier to navigate, and I got to interact with some pretty awesome people from all over the UK. Perhaps one of the most notable things about Manchester is the "Curry Mile," which is an entire road dedicated to Arabic and Indian cuisine. Johnny and I went out "for a curry," and for 10 quid apiece we had an exotic, delicious meal among people who were drastically different from us. Also, we went to the cinema and saw Wolf of Wall Street. It JUST came out here--much later than in America. It was an excellent film, but I wouldn't recommend seeing it with your parents. Even seeing it with my brother was a bit odd.
Well, this post turned out to be a tad bit long...I'll try and post more often! For those of you who read this, I really appreciate you guys. Hopefully my exploits are exciting enough--though I'm leaving quite a bit out. ;)
Cheers, everyone!
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