THE CHOIR: MIND THE GAP

I cannot believe that I have been here almost a week! It's a strange feeling because I feel as though I was back in the good ol' VOT just yesterday, but then I realize all that I have done in the past 5 or 6 days and I cannot believe I haven't been here for months. The rest of orientation was dreadful, as expected. However, Thursday was our first day of class and it was glorious. I am a self-proclaimed nerd so I am in no way embarrassed to say that I was legitimately giddy on my way to 43 Harrington Gardens where most of the BU classes are. It is a decent 20 minute or so walk from the Crofton where I am living and is a really beautiful building. The class I had on Thursday was the core class that all Political Science & International Relations track students have to take. It is called British Political Institutions and is taught by the most precious man I have ever met in my life, Professor Cousins. He is witty and intelligent, something I was not expecting from his rather old looking appearance. Each class I take will have two four-hour sessions per week, so the dry humor will be much appreciated come the 3rd hour of each class. I actually took some notes during the first class because I thought you, my fellow Americans, might find some of it interesting. Basically, we discussed what Americans and Brits find to be odd about each other. After explaining to our professor why we though it was strange that they drove on the other side of the road, he gave us a list of things that he, along with most Brits, find odd about America...

1. Brits find the death penalty to be strange because complete abolishment of the death penalty has been a requirement for countries by the EU for 50 years.

2. Brits find the popularity of guns in the United States to be odd because there is very strict gun control in Great Britain. They do not understand the American fascination with guns. However, gun control is becoming a more prominent issue of discussion in elections in Great Britain because of the rising level of gun crime. It is not much, as there were 24 gun-related murders in all of Great Britain last year. However, in a nation where most cops (bobbies) do not carry guns on them, this number is viewed as jarring.

3. Brits do not comprehend why the U.S. is obsessed with displaying flags and badges that signify our nation. They don't see the point of flying the flag unless you are at an international sporting event supporting your country. While the U.S. utilizes its flag as a cultural icon, the Brits have the Queen as their cultural icon.

4. The Brits do not understand why there is so much controversy regarding religion in the states. In Great Britain, religion plays a different role in life and in government. In fact, something I did not know nor would guess considering Great Britain has a national church, the Church of England, an overall belief in God is not as high in Great Britain. In fact, only 7% of its citizens go to religious services regularly as opposed to a vast majority of Americans.

5. The Brits cannot see why we like the three sports that are barely, if at all, competed in across the globe. Great Britain's three main team sports are football (soccer), cricket, and rugby, popular sports that are shared with other countries as well. The U.S. however is most focused on basketball, football, and baseball, three sports that are nowhere near as popular at least as football (soccer) is around the world. Brits also rarely support women's sports unlike the relatively stable women's teams in basketball, soccer, etc. in the states.

I found all of these points to be very interesting and thought I would share. Thursday night, Boston University held a party at Longacre, a pub in Covent Gardens. Don't worry, I saw Annie Lennox is with my own eyes... the woman behind the Eurythmics AND the fratilicious "Walking on Broken Glass". I was pretty pumped about that - other than seeing the lead singer of Oasis at the Red Lion in the West Village in NYC this summer, that was my closest encounter with a celebrity EVER. Score. After that we went to another bar in the area then somehow ended up at Zoo Bar and Club, which absolutely lived up to its name. I can't say it was the most wonderful experience I've had, but it was an experience nonetheless.

I would have to say my favorite day being here so far was today. This morning I trekked over to 43 Harrington Gardens for my meeting with my EUSA representative, the man who has been working on my internship placement, only to find that they STILL have not placed me with a Member of Parliament. Hopefully I will know who my MP is by the end of this coming week. After that, I met up with a few friends and walked to Harrods. I'm pretty sure I died and came back to life at least three times in Harrods not including when I found its own Tiffany & Co. or when I touched my first Missoni gown. After seeing the true purpose of living, beautiful clothing, my friends and I wandered around Brompton and then headed back to South Kensington where we live. Kendall and I decided to then go grab our journals and books and head out into Hyde Park to give our feet a rest.

Pictured is our view as we lay on a grassy knoll in the beautiful park that is right next to the Crofton. I'd have to say I feel pretty spoiled, but that isn't even because of that beautiful monument in Hyde Park that you see here. It's because of what Kendall and I were able to see on our evening's hike across London. We decided that we really wanted to go to the Thames River again because we did not get to walk around much after our boat tour on the first day here. So, off we went with some vague directions toward the Thames. It was about an hour-long walk, but I will tell you that once we made it into Westminster and began seeing the symbols of England that we have known since we were little children, it made our sore feet and grumbling bellies worthwhile. Below are the pictures of Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and everything else that I was nearly in tears of happiness over this evening. After walking across the lovely footbridge (yes, the one from Harry Potter), we went to Wagamama's for some Asian noodles and Edamame then headed back over the river and took the tube back to South Kensington.

It was a solid day and I am completely worn out. I'd have to say, looking at Big Ben, the London Eye, and the Houses of Parliament from the walking bridge finally made me realize that I am living in London. It didn't really hit me that I was actually here and that this is all real until I saw the beautiful parliamentary buildings right before my eyes, framed by the lights of the London Eye reflecting in the Thames, standing tall to the tune of Big Ben's bell ringing for all to hear. At times I wonder if studying abroad was the right choice, if I will be able to handle not being on the platform at BB&T field for the Wake vs. Baylor game tomorrow, if I can go four months without seeing mom and dad, if I can handle being without late-night text messages from AJ until Decemeber, if I can go 8 months without sharing a living space with Rock seeing Carey, Sallie, and the rest of my Chi O biddies. Yet, moments like those... standing on the bridge and being within yards of some of the most iconic structures in the world, those are the ones that make me realize that I would be crazy to think of this as anything other than the most amazing experience I will ever have. I hate to entertain the idea that I'm peaking at the age of 20, but with so many opportunities to explore and learn before me, how can I not?

My throat is beginning to hurt a little and I'm beginning to wonder if you can catch swine flu from skype (fyi, the entire Wake Forest campus is on the verge of depletion within the next 36 hours due to the lovely virus). So that is my excuse for not going out to the pubs tonight. Things to do in the next few days: plan some more trips before flight prices go up, figure out how to get around the attendance policy so as to not miss my flight to Munich for Oktoberfest, figure out a gym membership situation so I can remain in dance team shape until January, and convince mom and dad to come visit their beloved youngest cub... please, mom and dad???

Me and my boy Nelson...