Quick Update

Here’s a quick update on what’s been going on here. Over the weekend I went to the British Museum (the Rosetta Stone, mummies from Egypt), which was really interesting. Of course my camera died after maybe 5 pictures.

This week is midterms, so I've been studying for those. But, last night I got to tour Parliament, as part of my British Politics class. We saw a vote in the House of Commons on a Defence Bill (yes they spell Defense differently over here), in which I believe the Conservatives defeated the Labour Party. We then got to see the House of Lords, which was an interesting room but had a dull discussion going on (the word uhhh was used prolifically by the Lord who was talking). It was cool to go in the little passages between the buildings. We started out at 1 Parliament Street, the least fancy of their buildings. From there we went over to the newest building, which I don't know the name of. However, they spent something like 250 million GBP on this building, so 1 million a room. We just saw the center part of it, and it looked really nice. Then we moved over into THE building. Apparently we weren't supposed to take pictures, but I will admit I snapped one or two, I just won't be putting them online anytime soon.

Today is mainly studying for exams, and getting myself ready for my trip. The plan is Marseilles for a night, then on to a hotel near the Cinque Terre (5 little towns in Italy) hopefully seeing one or two of those towns while there. Then on to Florence, then to Venice. And flying back a week from Friday. And hopefully I'll get to go to church in the Duomo, the big cathedral in Florence. Should be an adventure.

Classes, a club, and some history

Classes have started, things are getting underway, but it's still a little wild to think that right now I'm in London. I will say it's nice not to be jet lagged anymore.

Last night I went to a club for the first time in my life. I didn't really do much there: hung out with some people at a table that usually costs an inordinate amount of money but was somehow paid for by the people here who planned the "start of term party," talked to some people, and walked around the place. I'm glad I went, but I came back and watched the first period of the Capitals v Penguins game, glad we won that.
Here's a picture of said club:



Today I saw the Tower of London, which was much bigger than I seemed to visualize it as from the outside (it's probably just me but it didn't look huge from the outside). For all you history people reading this (all 1.75 of you) someday you should visit this place, it's packed full of history and I know I won't do it justice if I try and describe it. I do have some pictures up on Facebook.



One of the things that has struck me about London is that there is so much history, and historical architecture, located right around modern architecture. There's a fantastic contrast between old and new, and in many places a great blend of the two. A place like New York City compared to here it doesn't have a whole lot of history. It doesn't have a 2000 year old wall left over from the Romans, located right next to a Tube stop. Even Washington, DC, with it's history, can't measure up. American can't either, unless of course we talk about the Native Americans. According to Wikipedia Jamestown was started in 1607. Comparatively, it says that the White Tower, the oldest part of the fort, was built in 1078, and the Crown Jewels have been kept within the fort since 1303. That's a long time. And yet you can look across the Thames, as well as in the other direction, and see glass-clad buildings that you would expect in a very modern city.





Of course there's always some complaints. The rain, the tiny amount of space in my room and in the shower, the amount of noise in the mornings, all that isn't fun. But it's worth it.

And really I owe a lot of people thanks for getting me here. Warning, this might be a bit sentimental. Obviously the people on the top of my thank you list has to be my parents, because I wouldn't be here in London without their help in so many ways, nor would I be the person I am. My brother and sister, for not hindering me in coming over here, and of course for being great people. The Moss grandparents, who have been a huge part of my life. Of course the Lyons grandparents, and the rest of my family like Aunt Mary Beth and Uncle Charles and all those other great people. And then there's my neighbors, I mean I've lived near them for 15 years, how can my life not have been affected by them (definitely in a positive manner on the whole). The other friends I've had throughout my life, even somehow staying friends going to different schools. My friends at Clemson, who, over the space of maybe a year and a half, have already had an impact on my life. This isn't meant to sound selfish, but the list would be long and I don't wanna leave any of my friends out, so we'll leave it at that, you know who you are, even if you aren't reading this. And if I've missed anyone, I'm really sorry and didn't mean to, let me know if I did. So thanks everyone. Now, anyone wanna get me a job this summer??

Orientation

I'm writing this at about 7:45 in the morning. I woke up about 5:45 and have slept on and off since then. Against the advice my mom gave me before I left, I laid down a few times yesterday, and so I think that threw my sleep off. Our room is also very warm, and I don’t think we can turn down the heat. We’ve left a window open, which has helped, but that also lets noise in.

Most of the day yesterday went to getting orientated (is that a word?).

I went on a walking tour of the area I'm in, Kensington. Apparently the homes across the street are really really expensive. I also found out that TS Eliot lived very close to here, and apparently Dustin Hoffman has a place close by. The number of nice cars I spotted around here is just crazy: most people in this neighborhood seem to drive either a Mercedes or BMW, with a few Porsche's thrown in there. Seriously, it seems like every other car (not counting cabs) is one of those makes. I also saw a Ferrari and a Rolls-Royce Phantom, and someone pointed out an old Rolls-Royce to me.

We stopped in St. Mary Abbot's Church, which I believe the lady said was built for William and Mary originally, when they built the palace here. The lady also pointed out the Catholic Church near here (I had found one online, but this is closer I think). It’s actually a Carmelite church, and I think the Carmelites is an order of nuns.

At the end of the tour we went to an orientation meeting

Today on the agenda is meeting with the class advisor (actually I just did that, I'm posting this later than I wrote most of it), going on a bus tour of London, and getting some supplies. I woke up this morning and saw snow (not much of it, but it was still there) on the ground, so we’ll see if London still panics even with the amount of snow they’ve had these past few weeks.