We'll figure it out...

I have this new weird obsession with the color purple... luckily, it's been appearing a lot this season so I've been able to find it on many different items, including my new sunglasses which I bought especially for my trip to London! ... I'm not deluded, I also bought a new umbrella.

Speaking of London..... I flew over earlier this week with one of my very good friends, Molly, who is also spending the semester here, though at a different school. Ever since I arrived here, all I can do is compare what I've encountered to what I'm used to. Molly & I quickly noticed a catchphrase coming to life as we wondered how life would be different in London and how we would learn to deal with it: We'll figure it out....

So lets see - What's different?

My dorm, which is primarily a freshman dorm - though fortunately it also houses a large number of international affiliate students also from the States - is completely co-ed. Accustomed to the single sex floors of Villanova I've been living in the past two years, sharing a bathroom with probably thirty to forty other people, including BOYS is actually very different. I find it kind of strange that I think this difference is so strange... but I can't deny these feelings. I haven't run into any benefits/consequences of this situation - but I'll note any that arise since this oddly interests me.

Being a study abroad program and needing only a C in order to transfer my credits without affecting my GPA at Villanova, you could imagine my surprise when the Political Studies Department handed me over 100 pages of policies and probably seven syllabi that are longer than any others I've ever seen. Here, an A is considered anything between 70 and 100 percent... but an 80 is considered extremely hard to get, as it denotes work worthy of publishing! Holy geez. Not only that, but the grades are based entirely on one or two essays - class participation is not considered. Even worse - the professor (or tutor, as they've been called) is but only one of potentially three (but definitely two) people who grade the paper so that there is no favoritism or grade inflation "as there is in the States," as the department chair explained to my shock and horror... GREAT! Hopefully, I miraculously know the material and am able to do well without too much effort even though I've literally never seen so much suggested & further readings listed on syllabi in all my years of schooling.

When I was first browsing through a store- Tesco, which is similar to CVS - I thought to myself, "why does everyone say London is so expensive?!" I found wine for 3.62, fruit bowls 2 for 2.00, meals at decent restaurants for 8.95, and drinks for 1.50. It took me a few days - and the depletion of my wallet - to really impound in my head that the pound is nearly double the dollar, which is unfortunate. What a cruel tease!

The drinking age! Being ID'd without that nervous knot knit in the pit of my stomach is one of the most happyyy feelings... even better is not being ID'd at all. Wine with dinner, beer at the pubs and with burgers (for only 3.95, which, again, originally seemed like an unbelievable steal!) ... it's been fun. This next week is considered Fresher's Week at UCL. The first week of the term, there are no classes... only university sponsored events at some of London's "best clubs," which I so far, know nothing about. When I bought my tickets, they stressed how strict the clubs are about having a legitimate ID for being 18... no problem!

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On a sidenote, I've met great people, I'm enjoying city life, I love my location (it reminds me of a more modern/clean-cut version of the area south of Washington Square Park in NYC), I think my school is going to be great, I can't wait to travel, and so far, I seem to be figuring it all out quite nicely. I even learned that my favorite game of "Hey Cutieee!" translates to "Hey Fittieee!" here... watch out, the game is going international.


Peace. Love. London.