[P] London and Notting Hill. July 2nd – July 4th.

           I arrived in London with a group of newly befriended, fellow students and minimum jetlag. We stayed in a hotel in Notting Hill for the weekend where we had orientation, explored the area, and enjoyed the selections of nearby pubs. My first day I enjoyed some delicious toffee and date pudding and my favorite World Cup game so far – Ghana vs. Uruguay. 

The next day we took the underground to central London. On our walking tour I won a pint of beer for being the first to guess the answer to the Beer Trivia question… The tour ended at the theater where we watched the play 39 Steps, adapted from the Hitchcock film. Afterwards I ate dinner with a few girls and enjoyed the crowds that Gay Pride had brought to town.  Later that night we returned to Notting Hill and met the gang at a pub. At midnight we celebrated the 4^th of July and then returned to the hotel as the pubs close around 11. We discovered that the hotel basement turns into a club and karaoke bar on the weekend. There was also a Filipino birthday party that had the place full, including a woman who wanted to hit on and dance with me.

We headed back to central London on Sunday to move into our rooms and register at the London School of Economics. I live a short walk from school in a single door room. I share a nook offshoot from the hall with four other students equipped with a common (but single) shower, water closet, and kitchen. I’ve only met two of my neighbors – a girl from Portugal and a boy from Greece. That night we had pizzas for dinner and then returned to our residence for a welcome party in the bar we handily have downstairs. LSE also boasts several other cafes and bars on campus – all subsidized to be more affordable. (Disclaimer: I do not take advantage of all the opportunities to drink.) I then headed to bed to be ready for class the next morning.

London is a wonderful city. It has beautiful buildings with plenty of plants and parks, is easy to get around, and is extremely diverse. On the plane we were told that it has the most spoken languages of any city and later an Englishman told me that 2/3rds of Londoners are foreign. I love being around so many types of people and hearing different languages. However, I am also noticing a lot of differences including a lack of air conditioning, water fountains, plumbing, and customer service.