Walking around the Tower of London - History Class

For my History of London class, we went walking around the City of London. We met up at the Tower Hill Underground Station and walked from there to other monuments and buildings in the area. We stopped by the monument to the Merchant Marines who died in WWI and WWII. It was right next to the Tower of London, which has an interesting historical context. The tower was built in 1066 by William the Conquerer, and the areas around it were known for both public executions and being a "free" area of the city. People who would run to certain areas of the city to avoid being arrested or to avoid debts. Near the water was known for ruffians and other scandalous sorts of people. Interesting enough.

The memorial to the Merchant Marines was impressive, as there were wreaths of poppies (a tribute from the Battle of the Somme and later Armistice Day) everywhere. At the Vietnam Memorial, I haven't noticed such a prevalent presence of people paying tribute, merely tourists.

We then went to the Church of St. Olave - a Norwegian church that had an integral position in organizing the Norwegian rebel underground during WWII. It was amazing to walk in, realize that all of the statues to ships in the church was because Norwegian shippers were part of the rebel underground. During the Great Fire of London in 1666, there were so many people who died that the cemetery was overpacked with people. There were steps from the church up to accomodate for the number of bodies buried there.

It's incredible to me so walk around the City and realize that almost every building has its' history. Anything that was built before, and is still standing 1666 (Fire) was related to something that shaped London's future. We also went to the first synagogue in London, and the Guildhall. The synagogue provided refuge for immigrants during the 20th century. The guildhall allowed for different craftsmen to unite and provide support for each other. Later, the different guilds gained enough power to challenge the monarchy.

Unlike my personal history of the churches in America, the churches in England all have their unique and influential history. They can be tied to different pieces of European history. While the churches in US can be styled off of traditional Victorian or Tudor architecture, the English churches are the original.

There are ruins of Roman walls that surround the original City. I love Roman ruins and history, and seeing actual evidence of them juxtaposed with the modern buildings like the Gherkin and Lloyds was incredible. Overall, the depth of history in London is mind-blowing and I can't wait to explore more.

First Encounters at London Met

On Monday, I went to my first class at London Met. My campus is City, which means that it's based in the official "City" of London, not Greater London where my flat is. Moorgate is surrounded by business offices, and it's a really interesting dynamic. Instead of the more casual people I've seen walking around Regent's Park, everyone is in suits and look quite official.
Only 4 other people showed up to the seminar for my class (Industrial Economics), out of an expected 16. My professor was a little miffed about that, but carried on with the discussion at 12:00 promptly. I can't place her accent. She ran over the syllabus, and I'm really excited for the semester. We have a big coursework project where we have to analyze the market concentration of Hollywood, and the competitiveness of the market. (Yes, it's nerdy. It's also awesome.) My grade is determined by only two grades, the coursework and a final. I'm leaving early, so I'm going to have to take an alternative assessment for the final. I'll talk to her about that next week.

The hour between the seminar and the lecture, I walked around the City. I was amazed to look at the people going to lunch. Compared with my personal experience of the "Business World", it was so low-key. I noticed that a lot of people were walking in pairs and absolutely no one was on their phones. It seemed that when they take a break for lunch, they aren't still tied to the office. They can actually take a break. It's amazing. I wish that I could have done that last summer, even as an intern.

Lecture was filled with people who knew each other (three years in an Economics program would do that to you), so I didn't have many people to talk to except for one guy from my seminar. My prof went over the syllabus again, and added that the coursework was an optional group project. This seems to be an amazing opportunity - I can meet with other people in my class, and also get a better feel for how work is done here. I am a little worried about how to write papers here, as the standards definitely seem to be different than in America.

She also added "You are all adults, you can decide how you want to approach the coursework, and who to work with." This was also amazing to me. In America, I feel like all of my projects were either individual or group - no exceptions. Having the ability to choose how you wanted to is awesome. Related is the reading list. They give you a list of books to browse, not specific chapters to read. It places the responsibility of working and how to study on the student, not the teachers' instructions. I love the responsibility that's been placed on me.

The rest of the lecture was pretty consistent with what I was familiar with, but I'm still so psyched about the chance to work in a class that I'm fully excited for. Also, I have the chance to meet British students in my class. How great could is this!?

Queen Anne Street

I love how there is a separation in architecture at the end of the road, from the older traditional style to a more utilitarian apartment building. Emphasis on the traditional buildings because, well, they're more attractive. Just to the right is Welbeck Street, which is pretty awesome as well, it has a more obvious difference at the end of the street, with modern-looking office buildings. I just couldn't get a good shot of it without getting run over by a car. I'll try again later.
Today was 10° C, or 50° F. Pretty fantastic, especially for January.

First Days Alone in London

Yesterday, I checked in to my hostel (while bringing my bag over to here via the Tube, I suddenly had a feverish heatwave and was pale and sweating. When I showed up, I was completely drenched. I looked like the silly American stereotype, lugging too much baggage.) I finished The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood in the lobby, watched some snooker and then decided to go explore a bit when I was feeling better. It was drizzling slightly, but I persevered to endeavor south. I walked through Covent Garden and down Oxford Street, stopping into a coffee/bookstore to pick up another book since I had just finished my last. However, I failed to notice that the quaint little nook I thought that would be perfect was Russian. As in, every single sign and label and word in the place was Russian. So much for finding a book to read. (I did consider getting the Hobbit in Russian for a funny memento). Continuing down Oxford, I found a Waterstones and popped in. I thought it interesting to see people holding To Kill a Mockingbird and saying "Mum, I have to read this for my class" (In accent, of course). I guess great books are great everywhere. I picked up the first book of the Mistborn series by Brian Sanderson.

I returned to the hostel and did not move off the couch for the rest of the night reading. I finished it around 11pm (Hard to tell without a watch, but I like it that way) and headed to bed. My room had the other 5 beds full at the time, and none of the guys spoke any English nor seemed interested in charades. So no bonding stories, sorry. I woke up at what I thought was around 12 noon, but it turned out to be 8:30. I slowly got up and ready, returning to the couch to read amidst the hubbub of people checking in and out in the morning. I jumped on my computer and made sure that I don't have any emergency emails. Also, my charger isn't going to work here, the plug socket for the converter is wrong. Then I went back south to Oxford Street. I caught my reflection in the windows of some stores, in my jacket I look really English. It's awesome. 

I walked into a big department store like a Nordstroms on Oxford Street. It was quite upscale, but my jacket helped me blend in. I strolled by a computer department, so I picked up a new charger for my laptop. It was silly, when I was talking to the salesguy, my words came out in an English accent. It kind of tripped me up for a second, and then I realized it didn't sound strange to him, so I continued on with it. I figured it would weird him out if I switched accent mid-sentence. After all of that, I walked over to Hyde Park and enjoyed the scenery before turning back to the hostel. I grabbed a chicken avocado sandwich from Pret a Manger which I'm about to eat. And here I am!

I believe that has summarized the fun I've been having in London so far. Also, notice I only mentioned the sandwich at Pret? It's because I forgot to eat yesterday/this morning, too excited. Silly Mark.