The English Translation

Hey guys! Hope you crazy Americans on the west coast are enjoying your version of cold, because this over here is the real deal. I know USC started class this week, so good luck with everyone's classes, and try to still have fun, okay?

This week in London was more free time for the King's College crowd. Pretty much everyone else has started courses, even the other UK institutions, but we have our first classes beginning tomorrow. You have been spared the monotonous details yet again! I was a little lazier this week, but managed to see some different sides to the city. In the past few days I have seen Oliver! the musical, the Hitchcock theatrical parody The 39 Steps, which was hilarious, the Rosetta Stone and part of the beard of the Sphinx at the British Museum, the exterior of Buckingham Palace, as well as the many towers and Crown Jewels at the Tower of London.

Some tourist obstructing my view of the Tower Bridge from the Bloody Tower.

The quarters of the Bloody Tower, where names such as Sir Walter Raleigh were held while imprisoned - bigger than my dorm room, and he got to bring all of his family and three servants... so, all in all, not a bad deal.

Exterior of the Bloody Tower.

Exterior of the Tower of London

In addition I have experienced some of the London night life - I've gone clubbing twice in the past week, the second time with some of the British kids from my dorm. We went to an Australian club called Walkabout and had a pretty great time, mostly because the music choices were "legend" - British way to say "cool" over here. They played everything from the Baywatch theme song (I didn't even know Baywatch had a theme song) to Whitney Houston to Journey's "Don't Stop Believin," with the last song of the night being "Hey Jude." One thing about British clubs that's different from back home is that there's no grinding here - which I have to say is one thing I do NOT miss about home.

Which provides an excellent lead-in to my list of arbitrary things that are different in London than at home. They tell you about driving on the opposite sides of the road, but here are some other things they never think to mention that consistently throw me off:

- The streetlights turn yellow not only when changing from green to red, but from red to green as well (so you can start your engines?)

- the McDonald's and Pizza Huts are nice here - and when I say nice, I mean nice. They're predominantly sit down, come to think of it there are no drive thru's at all here.

And there is the fire alarm... something both London and America have, apparently. More to come later!