Hello everyone,
I have been extremely busy with all the work here at the university, it has been very challenging for me because I am not use to having 80% of my class grade counted on a single assignment, so I hadn’t been able to update my blog. During all this time I have been doing all sorts of things, I went to Saint James Park for two days in a row and took advantage of the sunny days that London was offering me. The stress had been building up because I wasn’t used to be away from home and my culture for so long, so far the ISA student package that I received before my departure has been very helpful because I have gone through almost every stage of “culture shock” that is described there.
The ISA staff also took us to see the We Will Rock You musical for free and it was a first class performance. I am not a fan of musicals but this one caught my attention. I also visited Cardiff, Wales I had a long walk through the castle and climbed up to the top. The view is amazing from the top: I was able to see the whole city. I also walked through the Bute Park which is packed with people playing sports, reading, cycling, and jogging.
I also visited the different museums at West Kensington. First I visited the National History Museum- which hosts an impressive collection of science and the history of the world- and then I crossed the street and went inside the Victorian & Albert museum, which holds some of the world’s greatest arts and designs. Right after that I visited the Science Museum which is right next door. It had an extensive amount of displays explaining the technological advances of the world as well as the importance of water and current measures that are going on around the world to fight hunger with the use of science. If you are going to be studying in London I recommend that you to visit those museums!
A couple of days ago I went to Trafalgar square with a group of friends to see a play about the passion of Christ. The performance was excellent and everything seemed very real. Crowds of people started to gather early in the day to see this traditional event. Then, the next day I went to see the traditional boat race between Cambridge and Oxford through the River Thames. All I could see were students from both universities cheering for their teams. Cambridge was the winner and the celebrations continued right after.
Today, I visited the National Gallery which has an extensive collection of art in display. it took me 4 hours to visit all the galleries but it was incredible. I must continue to work on my assignments but I will keep you updated.
Bye!
Francisco Gonzalez
Classmates Connecting Cultures
London, England
Spring 2012