Today marked the first day of classes, which meant 6 hours in the same classroom this afternoon and evening. Two three hour classes, with the same professor in the same room with a lot of the same people was pretty unique for me. What was interesting as I looked around the classroom, was that there was only about 10 or 12 people in each class. This setting is what I’ve been looking for, so I am pumped for what’s to come.
On Saturday, a group of us took the second leg of a bus tour we started on Thursday. We were looking specifically for Westminster Abby and Buckingham Palace. Thankfully it didn’t rain this time around, and we saw City Hall again as well as the Tower of London. We were hoping to get into Westminster Abby for free, but apparently, you can only get in if you’re going to worship with them (which obviously doesn’t include a tour). I’ll go back soon and pay for a tour, I think it’s worth it. At the palace, the flag was flying high, so the Queen was home, but the guards with the big hats were not. I was frustrated to say the least. Whether it was the wind or the rain or they were just lazy, I was disappointed. We did pass the royal stable, and there are some pic’s in front of the horses and cavalry guard. Here's one of my roommates, Stephen Pelletier, seeing if he has what it takes... This past weekend the group took the LDR (automatic train) under the Thames to Greenwich, home of the prime meridian and the National Maritime Museum as well as a Naval Hospital and corresponding chapel. The prime meridian site was underwhelming, the line to get your picture taken over the actual meridian was disgustingly long and the gift shop was filled with chachkies like clocks and photocopied certificates that proved you went to the meridian. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I went, but aside from the actual meridian, the most intriguing thing there was a statue presented by Canada in the 30’s that still had significant flak damage from the Blitz in WWII. We also visited the Queen’s House, a relic of the Victorian era, adorned on the interior with maritime artwork as well as art depicting the royal families that occupied the residence. These attractions are exactly what I was excited to see, history is my thing and I ate-up the Naval Museum like a good slice of French toast. One of the exhibits was dedicated to Admiral Horatio Nelson, hero of the Battle of the Nile and the Battle of Trafalgar. One of his uniforms was encased in the exhibit, which I would have snapped a picture of – but couldn’t for security reasons or something like that.
Here are some more pictures of this past weekends adventures:
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| Inside The Chapel next to the Naval Hospital |
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| The Palace guard that was supposed to have a tall furry hat... |
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| Dennis, Alyssa, Carol and Stephen in Trafalgar Square |
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| In front of St. Paul's Cathedral |
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| Our R.A. / SLC (student life coordinator) Konstantin |
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| Dennis and I in Trafalgar Square |
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| "I....I can't...It's a bad signal, call...no I'll call, yes hang up.."[me at the Maritime Museum] |
First day of classes was a blast. My professor, Poppy, is a Greek national who’s teaching my COMM and POLS courses back-to-back as well as some law classes over in France. She was very entertaining and engaging. I enjoyed the class and it looked like most everyone else there was too. I’m excited to visit the BBC next week, which will be awesome. Later this semester, we’re going to the cinema to watch The King’s Speech (which if you couldn’t already tell, is awesome). It’s a unique way to teach a class, with the majority of it driven by discussion with little emphasis on exams, and I’m excited to see how it goes.
All in all, this is awesome. 'Nuff said.
Stay tuned...
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