Courtesy of Laura GeggelI’ve now lived in London a little over a month, which means that I no longer flinch when minis and black cabs come careening at me from the left side of the road.
But studying for six months at University College London is amazing. It’s right in the middle of the city, a 15-minute walk to The British Museum, where I hang out on Thursdays getting free tours, and 20 minutes to Leicester Square, an excellent sprawling maze of theatres where I can splurge all my money on plays and musicals.
Taking the Tube is convenient but expensive, and with busses clogging up the congested streets, sometimes it’s just easier to walk. It’s so odd the things that make you feel American. Like passing someone on the right when you’re walking past them. Here they tend to pass you on the left. It’s such a little thing, but I’ve already done several dance steps with people – you know, when you’re walking toward someone and you step right and so do they, and then you try left and there they are!
Luckily I’ve been getting an excess of walking and map reading experience just by exploring the city. Camden Town, a huge expanse of flea markets, really has been one of my favorite places so far. I went there with some friends (and learned how to count to 10 in German – that’s the upside of hanging out with non-American people). Toward the end of the day all I wanted to find was a chair, but the others were happily wandering in and out of stalls and markets and little holes in the wall. The place is packed with good deals and imitation brands that you didn’t know existed, but find hard to ignore.
Classes at University College London are much more independent than I expected. Here, students enroll in only one or two subjects and take all their coursework in those areas. Each syllabus is around 30 pages and crammed with lists of recommended reading for each lecture. Most students choose only to read the required reading unless they’re writing an essay on the topic. Plus, almost all of the classes are year-long, which means that I’m jumping in at the halfway point and expected to transition into a time period about which I know nearly nothing.
Everyone has been very friendly, at least. The other students are more than willing to help me understand concepts and a professor, when I ran into him at the library, even helped me find the books I needed for his class.
In an effort to meet more Brits, I recently started reporting for the news department at Pi, the Student Union magazine. It’s hilarious; they have their news meetings at a pub! I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised, though, since I just joined the ultimate Frisbee club here, and when I asked what practice would be like on Saturday, the student coach said, “Well, we practice for maybe two hours and then play games until dusk. Next’s the pub. You coming?” And I almost laughed. As if I could play Ultimate Frisbee all day! I would be one quivering lump of exhaustion.
I skipped practice one day last week and went running in Hyde Park with a friend instead so we could work on our endurance. It turned out really not to be the brightest idea with the chilly wind blowing in our faces and the gray clouds threatening a downpour. We ended up having more fun watching the mallards, swan and loons compete for bread crumbs on the Serpentine.
I’m still making adjustments, like remembering that unlike Olin, the library at UCL isn’t open at all hours and you can’t even check out books after certain times or on Sundays. And the caf‚s and stores close here alarmingly early, forcing you to root out the better local haunts that have later curfews. But with the menagerie of accents ranging from the countries of Afghanistan and Italy to Ireland and Germany, London challenges you to plunge into its labyrinth of backstreets and a never-ending list of museums and landmarks to mingle with people from all over the world.