London 2010-2011

Here at LSE, all dates and assignments are discussed in terms of what week they are due. As it is now nearing the end of week 7, there are only 3 weeks left until Christmas vacation. For me, this will mean the end of the seemingly constant work and an opportunity to travel and relax.

Last week, I began tutoring at a local school as part of a volunteer scheme at LSE. What I find most interesting in the difference between the US and UK school system. In the US, school is only compulsory until the age of 16, but everyone is expected to complete high school and at least from my experience, attend college or what they would call here university. Regardless of your ability, high schools work hard to encourage everyone to at least apply to college. In the UK the situation is quite different. like in the US, school attendance is compulsory until 16, but for those deemed “incapable” formal schooling ends at 16.  After 16, students will either attend a technical college or pursue their A levels for an additional two years. In technical colleges, students are taught practical trades while A levels provide students with preparation necessary to attend university. In the US, each child is told that if they work hard enough, university is within their reach. In the UK, lower achieving students are told that if they are lucky they will gain admittance into a good technical college. For the students that I tutor, a university education is not an achievable option. Already at the age of 14 or 15, these kids are told that they are not smart or motivated enough to have a professional career. In the two classes that I tutor in, both teachers basically explained to me that the students are destined for menial labor. Despite this expectation, many of the students I work with are in fact quite intelligent  and motivated. Their only downfall lies in the fact that all of their parents were new immigrants to England at the time of their birth and few speak English at home. In the English class that I assist in, you can clearly tell that these students seldom hear English spoken outside of the classroom, even among friends, they converse in various languages. Interestingly enough, my second class, a math class, there is actually a teacher’s aide in the room who is responsible for providing Arabic translation to the students of the class. I am extremely fortunate to have been placed in this class seeing as I studied Arabic for two years at Hunter. I was even able to confuse them by answering a a question one asked in Arabic about the lesson.

Some trips I have gone on in the past few weeks:

Wales:

Tintun Abbey?

Castle

Paris:

Last weekend, when my parents came to visit we took the train to  Paris for the weekend. We saw the Louvre, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, and even the Jewish neighborhood and museum in Paris.

Louvre

Le Marais- Jewish Street

Eiffel Tower from the bottom

The view from the Towers of Notre Dame

Tomorrow I am leaving for the Milan so I should have good pictures.

Now that I am entering my fourth week of classes, I realized that it has been quite some time since I updated this blog. Now with actual work to do, I am less inclined to sit at my computer and produce an additional piece of writing. However, I have also realized that this is a great opportunity to procrastinate completing readings, problem sets, and essays. As a result, I could bore with a summary of the classes I am taking or complain about the paper I need to write on the validity of the Realist and NeoRealist argument in the wake of the proliferation of International Organizations; instead, I’ll try to focus on the more interesting aspects of my time abroad.

Stonehenge and Bath: Two weeks ago, I went on a LSE General Course trip to Stonehenge and Bath. The highlights of the trip included seeing Stonehenge and drinking really old dirt tasting water from a spring in Bath. I appreciated Stonehenge in that it is famous but to be honest I expected quite a bit more than I actually saw. It wasn’t really that big and had too many tourists around. And of course, the site’s gift shop provided anyone with a mere 10 pounds the ability to recreate Stonehenge in their own living room. I imagine that Stonehenge might have been cool at some point, but I would have been equally satisfied with a nice picture of the site. Similarly, Bath, a city located in Southwest England, had architectural and historical merit, but was plague swarms of tourists crowding the streets. We went to the Roman Bath Museum in the center of the city. The museum was interesting in that it provided historical context for the baths of Bath but it was difficult to understand the man speaking on the headset.

Roman Bath

Stonehenge

In addition to Stonehenge and Bath, I have seen a few really cool places in London-

Covent Garden: Covent Garden is actually right around the corner from my dorm. It is a combination open air market shopping area. In fact, in My Fair Lady and Pygmalion, Eliza Doolittle sold flowers in Covent Garden Market before meeting Henry Higgins. In addition to the convenience of having great shopping right by my dorm, the area is a great place to just hang out. Last weekend, I went with a friend to the market to have lunch. Throughout our meal of nachos and wine (classy I know!) we were priveleged to a magic show, classical music from violinists, and a musical review from a singer. Sitting eating lunch allowed me to really appreciate being in London.

Camden Town: This past weekend, I went to another open air market called Camden Town. Camden Town is in northwest London and is about a 20 minute Tube Ride from my dorm. The area had all different type of stores including fashionable clothing and very strange gothic clothing with spikes, etc. Much of the market reminded me of the holiday markets in Union Square and Grand Central. There are also all different types of food- one could eat a falafel for lunch and later have a crepe for dessert complimented by hot apple cider. The only thing I bought was a small poster of the Thames with Big Ben in the background.

Ice Bar:Lastly, there is a really cool bar in London that is made entirely out of ice. Last week, for my friend’s 21st birthday we went there to celebrate. All of the walls and tables are made out of ice. Also, the glasses are made out of ice. Everyone wears a black parka and gloves to keep warm in the room. Because it is so cold, you are only allowed to stay in the bar for 40 minutes.

For now, I am back to studying. I hope to write again soon.

LSE Library

It has been a while since I have posted but to be honest I have been quite busy. This past weekend, I traveled to Munich, Germany for Oktoberfest. I am not a big drinker and instead chose to look at the weekend as more of a sociological case study. Oktoberfest is held in a park called Theresienwiese. For the past 200 years, Bavarians and tourists alike have been celebrating the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese. There are tons of amusement park type rides and different foods to try. Most Germans come to the festival in traditional clothing. Overall it was a great experience minus the strange food. Usually, I try to be as accepting as possible when it comes to other peoples’ culture, but the food was just nasty. Breakfast consisted of a white sausage like object which honestly smelled like vomit. For the rest of the day, people feasted on ox knuckles. Bleh! In my opinion, Bavaria’s only positive contribution to international cuisine is pretzels.

Upon my return to London, I needed to prepare for the beginning of classes. I realize that I have no right to complain considering Hunter began about a month and a half ago; however, it feels very strange to be in school again. Here at LSE, I feel more like a Fresher (freshman) than a student entering my third year of undergraduate study. The campus is similar to Hunter in that there is no real campus but instead a collection of buildings. Yet, this is where the similarities with Hunter end. It is clear to see the difference between a public university funded by the City and State and a Private University with a hefty endowment. Although many of the buildings are quite old, the classrooms are immaculate and state of the art. Also, the school gives out free things like binders for no apparent reason. Classes here are also quite different from classes in the US. Instead of having 2 meetings a week totalling 3 hours of class time, each class meets as a lecture for only 50 minutes a week. The lectures can be as large as 500 students. Then, discussion classes meet weekly with a cap of about 15 students. There is weekly reading and coursework but no one really checks it nor does the professor care if you did the work. The Essays only purpose is to prepare you for the final exam in June. Also, the lectures are public so you can audit any course you wish. My classes are: Calculus and Linear Algebra, International Organisations, International Political Economy, and European Economic Policy. Also unlike in the US, professors and schools do not use the purchasing of textbooks as a way to make extra money or support their co-academics. Only one of my classes has a textbook, the other rely on articles that are free to read. There are no course packs like at Hunter where you have to pay at least $50 for a collection of papers you could have printed yourself.

The second major difference between LSE and American colleges as a whole is the attitude towards alcohol. Because just about everyone in University is legal, the consumption of alcohol is a regular part of academic interactions. In my first lecture, the last power point slide invited everyone in the class to a pub on a specific night so everyone could get to know each other. At my department party, it seemed as if the waiters were not allowed to keep a glass of wine empty. Even my academic advisor told me that he has a budget from the department to take all of his mentees out to a pub. Pubs even has student discounts.

Also, clubs or societies are they are called here are quite different. Like at Hunter, there is a club fair where potential members can find out information about different clubs. However, unlike at Hunter, a student needs to commit to a society while at the Fair. Once the commitment has been made, the tabler hands the student a sticker that he or she places on a paper the Student Union has provided. At the end of the Fair, the student goes to another room with students manning cash registers and the student pays the membership dues. Each society costs about 1.50 pounds.

Okay, thats enough for now. I need to get back to studying and problem sets.

My desk

As I am getting ready to go out on Saturday night, I realized (my computer just tried to correct my spelling) that I have almost been here for a week and more importantly people are actually starting to move in. Over the past week, I have tried as much as possible to explore my local neighborhood (it wanted to change that too) and as much of London as a whole.

On Thursday, I decided to take advantage of something called Sandemans New Europe Tours. The tours can be found all over Europe and Israel for some reason and are basically free except for the expected tip to the tour guide at the end. I took the tour in both Jerusalem and Amsterdam and found it quite enjoyable. However, on this particular day, the tour guide decided that it was too rainy to lead the tour  (ie- there weren’t enough people there for the tour and he would not be making enough money in tips from the tour.) Instead, I along with tour other fellow travellers decided to do the tour on our own. It was fun to be a tourist and see all of the sights London is known for. I felt especially proud while in Westminster Abbey because I was able to identify ninety percent of the people memorialized in the Poet’s Corner. The only other people I was able to identify were ElizabethI and Mary. I seemed to have missed out on the British Monarchy lesson in High School. I have included a few pictures of Big Ben and Trafalgar Square (big tourist sights).

For the rest of the week I decided to return to my quest of acclimating myself to London. I have officially found that both Soho and Oxford Street are quite close to my dorm. It is good to know that no matter where you live, you can still shop in H&M and Urban Outfitters and feel like you are on 59th and Lex.

Now that I have spent a week in London, the other people in my dorm are finally moving in. I have finally met other people and my dorm actually feels inhabited.

Tomorrow I will begin my year as an LSE Student with orientation…

Over the past three days, I have found myself feeling more at home in London than I have anywhere else in the word (except for NY of course!) London is just as large and interesting as New York and most importantly, everything is in English! And being a “city girl” myself (note: I would never actually refer to myself in this manner but someone once called me that and I think that it is apt in this situation), I have found it very easy to navigate around the city.

Yet, there are a few differences between NYC and London:

1- Cars drive on the wrong side of the street- this means that (a) I have found myself looking the wrong way before crossing the street and (b) most cars appear to have phantom drivers.

2- The keyboard actually looks different- basically, the ” and @ are switched meaning that it is taking me longer to type than it usually does

3- Tax is included in price- this makes paying easy and less like a mathematical exercise

4- Obviously they have different words for things than us:

ie. Alight- to get down or exit and “pardon” is preferred to “excuse me.”

5- Today, while looking for a Target-like store, we found something called Argos. Wikipedia- “Customers browse through the Argos catalogue, select items to purchase, pay for the items, and then collect the items from the in-store collection desk.” There are no aisles, you browse through a catalogue and hope that the store has in stock what you want.

Also, I have had some time to explore my surroundings.  There are cool shopping areas and I even saw Janice Dickinson doing a photo shoot! Most importantly, I finally figured out where my school is in relation to my dorm. It looks nice but I was curious as to why it was so crowded a week before Orientation starts, Hunter would be dead if there were no classes. There were even people in the library!

Anyway, it sounds like the bar in my dorm is starting to get busy, until next time!

Five days removed from the visa debacle (I may decide to explain it at a later point but right now I am still angry and annoyed when I think about it all), I am finally moved in to my LSE dorm and am in London to stay.

The past few days have been a quick introduction to Europe and British people. Upon arriving at Heathrow on Thursday morning, we made our way on the Tube to Picadilly Circus to waste time before our 10 pm bus ride to Amsterdam. Luckily we were able to find WiFi and used the time explore some of the city.

That night, we took a 12 hr long bus ride from Victoria Coach Station in London to Amstel Station in Amsterdam. In order to cross the Channel, our bus boarded the train at the EuroTunnel, it was pretty cool eventhough I slept through most of it. Once in Amsterdam, we relied on public transportation to get us to Centraal Station near our hostel. Overall, the trip to Amsterdam was great and I am happy that I was able to go. There was even a free walking tour that mixed Amsterdam’s history with its current reputatation. By the second day, I was almost okay with the constant smell of marijuana down each street but still could not dismiss the girls in the windows of the Red Light District.

Anyway, I am back in London and hope to post an update regarding my dorm and London life ASAP.

While everyone else has been back at school for a few weeks, collecting syllabi, purchasing textbook and reconnecting with friends, I am still at home (with my dog) waiting to leave for London. Because of the differences in the British University system, I do not actually start classes until the beginning of October. Trust me, I am not complaining but it is getting a little boring here. I would gladly trade the late nights of the West Wing marathon and dog walking along the streets of Queens, for the expected excitement of the streets of London.

My suitcase and everything that will not fit

With only a few days left, I thought I would start posting regularly. At this point, I am in the process of making the terribly horrible decision of which shoes and clothing I will be able to fit in my small regulation size suitcase. It is hard to think that I will be able to fit everything I will need in a year into my small com

pact suitcase. Regardless it will happen. Below is a picture of my packed suitcase and everything that did not make the cut. With the majority of my packing out of the way, the only thing I am waiting for is my visa. Yes, with four days to go I still have not received my VISA from the UK

Consulate. It seems that the barriers put into place by the UK to prevent terrorists from entering their country hav

e also lengthened my visa process. My advice to anyone who is looking to get a PBS 4 Student visa should start as soon as humanly possible and then pray.

The next time I post should be closer to my 7pm takeoff on Wednesday night. Hopefully by this time I will have been cleared by the UK Consulate for departure. Hopefully…

Although I am not leaving for another two months or so, I wanted to take the opportunity to begin writing about my preparations. I am in the process of securing my passport and getting everything together before I leave for Israel, where I will be for about a month.

Also this past week, another MHC student asked me about the application process so I have had time to reflect on the process. Looking back on the process, I am thankful that I have gotten to this point but there were times where I was not sure that this day would come. My mom likened my experience thus far to that of a pioneer. I know when she said this she meant the literal definition of pioneer in that I am the first person to do something but to me, the process seemed more like the historical type of pioneer. Trudging across the Hunter College administrative offices and communicating with London seems to me be to be about as difficult as trekking across the Oregon Trail complete with bouts of typhus and drowning family members.

The process started in September of 2009. I had attended an LSE information session and decided that London was where I wanted to be for my Junior year. Once I had made decision, I began the task of assembling all of the required materials for the application. Yes, one would think that this would be quite easy but it was far from that. I was easily able to assemble all of what I needed to supply; however, my professors, yes individuals who have PhD and I who I would assume are quite smart were unable to fill out the online recommendation without the help of a 19 year old.

Then, on that first snow day in February, I opened my email early in the morning to ensure that classes had in fact been canceled. In addition to that highly anticipated email, I recieved another email whose subject read UNCONDITIONAL ADMITTANCE from a British email address. To be honest, these two emails were probably the two greatest emails I have ever received in one day.

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