My last week at LSE was a study in balance even more so than others weeks. By this, I mean my aim was to balance as much going out and exploring as possible with class and studying for the final examination. In my Development Economics course, we finished up by looking at how social networks, regulation (a very broad concept, I suppose... we focused on labor regulation), and barriers of entry in markets affect growth and productivity. Class was canceled on Thursday to give us time to study for the final on Friday.
And outside of class, my friends and I did our best to put as much effort into London's nightlife as we did into our classes (I promise I made responsible choices and studied enough for my final, Mom and Dad). On Monday night, we had dinner with the staff of my abroad program. At Wagamama, a chain of healthy-ish Asian fusion restaurants, the staff checked in with us AND paid for our dinner (with money we already paid them, I guess). Later, we headed to a brewery in Covent Garden and tried a really awesome beer called Honey Dew.
On Tuesday, we saw the new movie 'Inception' at the Odeon Theater in Leicester Square, which is a pretty famous place that occasionally hosts big premieres. My thoughts on this cinematic experience are as follows:
1. Movies in London are really overpriced. I'm not sure whether this is because movies in big cities are expensive, movies in England are expensive, or both. It was worth getting to see how the British do movies, but I'll wait to see any more movies at the theater at home or through Netflix.
2. Instead of showing a couple of commercials, a couple of previews, and then the movie, the theater showed 20 minutes of commercials and previews, followed by a 10 or so minute break (from what, I'm not sure), followed by the movie.
3. Movie theaters here have assigned seating. This is bad for young people who buy their tickets separately and then have to search around the theater and negotiate with other movie watchers to sit together.
4. 'Inception' is really creative and exciting, but the dialogue is pretty crap. I definitely enjoyed it a lot, but people are talking about it like it's the greatest thing that ever happened to the arts and entertainment world... it's not.
On Wednesday, after a bit of afternoon finals studying, we hung out in the gay bars of the Soho district. Here, I was saddened at the thought that the guys I went with would be hit on much more than I would. Still, we were having a wonderful time observing the chaos of Soho when a lovely sloshed lady ran into one of my friends, yelled at him for being rude, quickly forgot that she was annoyed with us, and promptly offered us 'Charlie'. Charlie is cocaine. Pretty soon after that, we headed towards home. We went to our local O'Neal's, a chain of pubs in London that stay open later than most other places (pubs in London generally close around 11 PM since most people start drinking right after work at 5 PM). After a half pint of black currant Strongbow cider, it was time for bed in preparation for Thursday's studying.
After final exams on Friday, we enjoyed one of the greatest things about the British university system: finals parties with open bars. In litigation-happy America, schools would never, ever, EVER welcome 3000 or so college-aged students into a university-owned bar for free drinks and food. In litigation-happy American, most universities would never even own bars in the first place. LSE has three, not including the one in my dorm, all with significantly cheaper prices than the average London pub. We mingled with professors in the main walkway of campus for about an hour, and then left for a proper dinner.
The Development Economics crew, with our professor in the middle in the striped shirt.
On Saturday, a few girls from my class and I woke up early to go on a tour of a few English landmarks outside of the city. The first stop on our bus tour was Windsor, a small town a couple of hours outside of London that is home to Windsor Castle. From what I can tell, the town of Windsor exists primarily because of the need to staff and support the tourism at the Castle, which is the Queen's primary residence.
The Castle is basically what most would expect from a castle. It is surrounded by really beautiful gardens.
It also has lots of fancy towers.
This is me directly in front of where the Queen stays when she's at Windsor.
The state apartments inside the Castle are the coolest part of Windsor, but unfortunately, it's also the part that tourists cannot photograph. Everything about the state apartments, the formal rooms where the Royal family still hosts guests and events, is ornate. From the big stuff like the ceilings, chandeliers, and art, to the small stuff, like door knobs, rugs, and furniture, everything about Windsor is pretty breathtaking. After watching 'The Tudors', it's also cool to think about a Jonathon Rhys-Meyers-esque Henry VII stomping around the Castle. He's buried there, alongside his favorite wife Jane Seymour, but we didn't have a chance to see their tombs.
The next stop on the tour was the city of Bath. I didn't really know anything about Bath before this weekend, but I now know that it's one of the neatest places in the world. First of all, the drive there, through the storybook English countryside, is amazing. Upon arriving, the little town of Bath is beautiful. We stopped at the Bath Abbey.
The Abbey is located next to the reason for Bath's name and fame, the Roman Baths. When England was part of the Roman Empire, the Romans discovered hot, bubbling pools fed by hot springs. The pools seemed to have healing effects-- the sores of leprosy healed upon regular use of the baths. More significantly, the baths became a sort of resort area for most of Europe. Since people didn't really bathe at the time, it was considered really luxurious to spend time at Bath and lounge around in the pools.
Now the bath houses have been turned into a museum that shows off the amazing channels the Romans built to harness and direct the water from the hot springs.
The final part of our tour went to Stonehenge. Although it's pretty mind-blowing to consider how people might have constructed the spiritual center/burial ground 5000 years ago, Stonehenge is a little underwhelming. I don't know that it's necessary to see it to appreciate the coolness of it-- a postcard will pretty much get the job done. It might sound like I'm becoming jaded by all the historical stuff I've seen in the last couple weeks-- Big Ben, the Louvre, lots of castles and museums-- but I think it might just be that Stonehenge, as something that humans constructed when they probably shouldn't have been able to, is awesome to consider, but not that great to see in the flesh (in the stone?). This may have something to do with my tiredness level at this point in the day. Still, I suppose it's pretty cool to say that I've SEEN Stonehenge.
However, there was one shocking thing about visiting Stonehenge, and that is how close the road is to it. 'Oh sure... it's 5000 years old and super famous... let's put a road 25 meters from it... no big deal'. I can't imagine driving past it everyday, or, say, going on a morning run past it. Even though it wasn't my favorite part of our tour, I can't fathom being in the presence of that kind of importance at home, as if were just part of the landscape.
Finally, the bus rolled back into London, and we took the tube back to our station from the bus stop. I finished gathering up my things, and took a cab to my new dorm.
I would have really liked to have stayed in my previous dorm, now that I know the people and the area there pretty well, but the entire building was booked for the second session of LSE summer school. My new dorm is less than 2 miles away from where I was, in a relatively quiet financial sector of Central London. I know I'll get to know this neighborhood and continue to hang out with my friends from LSE on a daily basis, but it's a bit scary to be alone in this big city. I have always lived with either my parents, in a dorm, or in a house with five other girls. I love time alone, making my own schedule, and having space to think, but I have never been so totally on my own in my whole life. It's terrifying and empowering at the same time. I am really excited to explore the places that I haven't been able to see in London-- the Jewish Museum, and all the markets, Harrods, and a million other things-- but I can't say that this week and a half alone won't be a bit of a challenge.
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