Getting the Hang of it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aVbJhg23Ao

I thought the song would be fitting...

So, yes, I am on my way towards a beautiful relationship with my temporary city.  Have I established a good sleeping pattern yet?  No.  Do I have all of the appropriate groceries for cooking and cleaning? No.  But beyond these small practical concerns, I feel like I’m now starting to actually get to know London.  And so far, so good.

A lot has happened in three days.  I’ve seen two more West End-style mega musicals: Phantom of the Opera and Wicked.  Both were huge in every sense of the word.  They were great, they were cheesy, they were moving, they were over-the-top and I loved them.  Phantom played in the theater right by the London Center, Her Majesty’s Theater.  Wicked played at the Apollo Victoria theater, about a 50 minute walk from the flats on the other side of downtown.

I’ve done my fair share of exploring, too.  Some of my flatmates and I traveled along St. James Square for our Global London class requirement.  Going down Jermyn street we saw tons of high-end men’s clothing shops.  I saw a pair of corduroy pants for 20 pounds…might have to make a purchase in the near future…

We also got to see some very interesting monuments.  Apparently, the area around St. James Square was devoted to a lot of military planning in WWII.  We saw monuments to Eisenhower, a statue of De Gaulle, and a huge stone homage to George and Elizabeth.

Didn’t get a chance to see the changing of the guard…but Buckingham palace is beautiful all the same.

And, believe it or not, this week began the whole “studying thing” as we like to call it.  I’ve had a ton of reading already.  Francis Bacon is not the easiest reading to start with, let alone a class away from the comforts of home.  But, we’re managing.  As everyone is. 

My London Theater Center class is amazing. It is my favorite so far, and I cannot believe how engaging and knowledgeable our professor is.  My least favorite class, no surprise here, is our required “Global London” course.  Our first discussion group went very poorly.  Perhaps the lowlight of the class came when the teacher asked us: “Do you know what social inequality is?”  I feel like I’m back in kindergarten.

Right now I am sitting in the beautiful London Center Library.  It’s not too cold outside, and I’ll have the chance to take a leisurely lunch with maybe a nap mixed in there for good measure.  No plans for tonight (yet).  This will likely change in the next few hours.  Who knows? Maybe I’ll just see another play…