I <3 England

I thought I would try this blogging thing. It seems it will be easier than a mass email. So here it goes....

I have been in England for about three weeks now. And I absolutely love it. Royal Holloway is like something straight out of a fairy tale. I literally live in a castle (see the picture on the left). We all feel like princesses.

I love all the people I am meeting. Everyone is so interesting and fun and international. My group of friends consists of me, my roommate Stephanie from Canada, two girls from Holland, a boy from New Zealand, a British boy, and a group of four from France. We love learning about each others' language, culture, politics, etc. I am trying to make a point of asking everyone I meet about their political situation and system because they all seem to know so much about mine.

I also absolutely love London. I have seen most of the major sites there. My favorite is Westminister Abbey. I think its my favorite place in the world so far. Another of my favorite things I've done is Abbey Road. I dragged a couple of my friends there last weekend and we took pictures like the Beatles album cover. I'm pretty sure we held up traffic but it was totally worth it!! I got to be Paul McCartney in the pictures so I crossed the street barefoot (see picture). haha.

Some of the other places I've been are: Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Hampton Court Palace (see the picture below), the Tower of London, the London Eye, the British Museum, the National Gallery, Platform 9 3/4, Notting Hill Market, Oxford Street, and Harrods.

I've only had one week of classes. But my classes seem fun. I'm taking Democracy in Britain, which will basically allow me to learn all the specifics of and issues in the British political system. I am also taking British History Henry VII to Elizabeth I and Globalizing Capital: Britain and the World 1846-1913, which talks a lot about the United States replacing Britain as the economic super power.

Ill try to update this as much as I can. I can't wait to talk to you all in person!!