This evening’s entry is going to be on the short side; since this study abroad is essentially a condensed, three-week version of the orthodox 11-week courses offered at OSU, the past few days have essentially been wave after wave of coursework. It’s midterms and finals rolled like a burrito into a series of intense days, but I don’t mind the work, since the assignments are all interesting and allow for some creative freedom. It just means that I’ve been spending more time studying and less time going on adventures outside of the group activities.
On Wednesday, we went to the Millennium Bridge to investigate the retrofitting they did after some instability issues that began on opening day (when people walked in step, the bridge wavered from side to side, despite being designed as a very solid structure). As part of the excursion activity, I got to dust off Ye Olde Calculus skills from math last year, and it felt very good to get back into the swing of math!
Yesterday, we visited Westminster Abbey. It’s a gorgeous building, and is
the final resting place of many influential people. Everyone from Queen Elizabeth I to Charles Darwin is buried there! I really hoped to get a picture of me with Elizabeth’s grave and post it here, captioned with “Queen Elizabeth and Jane Elizabeth”, but alas, photography isn’t allowed inside out of respect, which I completely understand.
This morning was my morning off, so I went with several friends to an adorable café for breakfast, which was surrounded by lots of very cool graffiti. Another thing I’ve noticed about London: graffiti is rare, and when it is present, it’s typically only constructive and
artistic. Then I went back to Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross to get a picture with the Harry Potter trolley, since the queue was too long the last time we were there. I
also went shopping on Oxford Street, a very trendy area of town, which was a lot of fun! In the afternoon, I had my last physics class here. It’s odd to type those words! We essentially wrapped up and went over our departure schedule and the plan for tomorrow’s activities after English lit class in the morning. Before returning to Scape, I stopped at the Science Museum and went through a bunch of fascinating interactive exhibits about psychology, engineering and data farming – yet another place to add to my list of recommended spots in London!
As the program winds down, I keep feeling so glad to have this experience. Not only is the opportunity great (who wouldn’t want to study abroad in London?), but so are the professors and my fellow participants. We’ve all become such good friends in a very short time, and I’m so happy to share all of these memories with awesome people. More tomorrow!
