Deanna Gorman is a student at Luther College and an ISA Featured Blogger. Deanna is currently studying abroad program in London on an ISA Fall 4 program.
Warning: I have been picking up British terms and trying to incorporate them into my daily dialogue so if you come across a word that is odd in the States, don’t fret, you are merely witnessing my British transformation.
Fresher’s Week is somewhat of a foreign concept to those of us from the States but is fairly self-explanatory event. This is the special week in which “freshers,” or freshman, arrive on campus and there are events planned both day and night for the students to get to know their classmates. I didn’t attend many of the events but that does not mean that I missed out on the fun, not at all! Tuesday was enrollment day, where I finalized my classes for fall semester. I will be taking mostly business and economic classes along with a supplemental London class in which I will be traveling around central London and studying it with a sociological eye glass. I am extremely excited about this one because I am hoping we will get out of the more touristy areas and be able to experience what it is like for native Londoners. I have been out of school for almost 4 months which is the longest I have ever been on holiday and so I am very eager to go back!
Thursday night was our next big memorable night, one of my flatmates, and fellow ISA students, Catherine turned 21!! Now contrary to popular belief, turning 21 in London is quite the big deal, not as big as it is in the States, but still worth throwing a large party. We had our flatmates, ISA group, and other friends we had made in our kitchen. We ordered over £100 (roughly $150) of Domino’s pizza and they delivered it in a moped! It was so much fun to hang out with students from all over the world. There were moments throughout the night were I was just observing the celebration and thought, “Wow…. We really are not so different” It was quite a late night, but it was well worth it!!
Then on Saturday morning we went on an ISA tour of the Tower of London. We were literally in a castle, it was amazing!! We were able to walk around at our own pace after the intro guide which was nice because it took us several hours! There was so much to see and so much history. As we walked up and down many flights of small cramped stairs and through many simple bedrooms I realized that these structures were centuries older than my home county. We were also able to see the Crown Jewels exhibit which was very cool. The coronation video of Queen Elizabeth that was in that exhibit was interesting to watch. It was such a sacred, rare event. An event which I may get to see in my lifetime! The day was long and included a lot of walking but as we reflected of our day on the tube ride home, I was so happy that we had stuck it out and went through the whole thing because experiencing history that old is a rare opportunity for students from the States.