Last weekend was a lot of fun and I got to explore more of London. Hadil and I went to Tate Modern, the largest modern art museum in the world. Personally I am not such a fan of modern art overall, but compared to MoMA in New York they had a much larger collection from Picasso and other well-knowns. After leaving the gallery we went off to Borough Market, which is the oldest, largest, and highest-ranked market in London. It was so massive that even I got lost, and if you know anything about me it is that I NEVER get lost anywhere. So yeah I wasn't really lost but still you get what I mean. There were phenomenal cheese vendors, fresh fruits, chocolates, juices, wine, beer, nuts, meats... anything edible really. I settled for some cheese and left it at that, but I can assure you that I will be heading back there and soon (they are open Thurs, Fri, and Sat).
Sunday I had my first visitor to London! Charity, who I coincidentally met in London through People to People back in 2004, is the head of their UK division (this summer they are sending something like 5,000-6,000 students to the UK), and she is in London a few times a year for meetings and such. So before those started we met up and walked around for awhile catching up, then went to dinner on the Thames. It was great to see someone that I know outside of LSE! She has been busy working all week, but we have plans tomorrow that I'll talk more about later...
Monday was a busy day of classes as we studied control over bureaucracy. Non-coincidentally I spent most of my day yesterday writing my first actual essay for LSE on that same subject. Once I finish it maybe I'll post a pdf version or quote a paragraph or something for your reading pleasure. Monday night after class we had a group meeting for the Copenhagen group that I have mentioned a few times in past blog entries. If you have been reading, you know I am on the list to attend the conference in December, but I hadn't booked anything yet just because I wanted to see who all was going, arrange the dates, find good prices, etc. Well it turns out that one of the guys who is in my Global Environmental Governance class, and who also happens to live in the next flat over from mine, is in a similar situation as I am in: we both have transatlantic flights after the term ends (he is from Vancouver), and we both can't afford to miss a full week of class. So with that we decided to look into flights and accommodations, and a few days later, last night we booked it!
December 5-9 we'll be in Copenhagen for the COP 15 as official observers. Just a few hours ago the final list was published and we are both on it to receive badges from LSE. Turns out for a round trip, non-stop flight from London to Copenhagen I found one for only $75, then, just as good, we found a hostel in downtown Copenhagen less than 1 block from the metro station for $30/night. Yeah, basically the entire trip from a transportation/accommodation standpoint will come in at $200 and honestly, you can't beat that, even by European standards. We arrive Saturday morning, have the day in Copenhagen, then Sunday we're thinking of going to Malmo, the third-largest city in Sweden (about a 25 minute train ride over the North Sea), and Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we will be at the conference! I could type far more about this but I will save some for future blog entries, as this will be a recurring theme over the next few months.
Tuesday night President Rafael Correa Delgado of Ecuador spoke at LSE, and I was one of the lucky ticket-holders who made it to hear him speak. Overall his speech was rather tame... he gave it in English, which is not his strong suit (though he wasn't terrible - I was able to understand everything he said), and it was about socialism in Ecuador and his "citizens revolution." The question and answer session, by contrast, was much more lively. He answered in Spanish, and you could hear the passion and fire in his voice as it filled the theatre. They were also much more wide-ranging, covering questions on environmental conservation of the Galapagos Islands to indigenous revolts and dissolution of diplomatic relationships with Columbia. Overall I was quite impressed with his answers (even if I didn't agree with many of them), but what I found humbling was how he repeatedly extended his time with the audience. He was scheduled to speak from 7-8pm, and he didn't leave until 8:40pm after almost every question asked was answered.
Yesterday was my essay-writing day, as I previously mentioned, but beyond that NASA had a big day as well. Project Constellation, which is the overall NASA project to send man back to the Moon and off to Mars in the next 20-30 years, officially launched the first test-flight since 1981 when NASA tested the Space Shuttle. The Ares I rocket will deliver the crew to Earth-orbit, where they can dock with the International Space Station and conduct other scientific experiments that can't be done on Earth. Yesterday NASA launched a prototype Ares I, the Ares I-X, 26 miles into the air in a wildly-successful test flight of the 327-foot tall rocket, the largest in the world. Needless to say I am already excited for the next prototype, Ares I-Y, and the many flights that are sure to follow.
Today I was at the UGM and then class all afternoon, but really not much was going on beyond all of the above. On the weather front, things are still the same here - high 50s most days with clouds, but sporadic sunshine and just as sporadic rain showers. At night it still hasn't gotten cold, which is great. The sports update is a good one as well... Chelsea has been on a roll, and they are back to the top of the table in the Premier League as well as undefeated in Champions League play. Last night they beat Bolton 4-0 in the Carling Cup, last weekend they won 5-0, and last week they won another game 5-0. The Blackhawks, meanwhile, have won two in a row and find themselves in first place in the division... tonight they play in Nashville and tomorrow night against Montreal, 4 points in two days would certainly give them some breathing room.
Okay, that is all for now, I hope you enjoyed the update! Tomorrow I have one class, then am meeting up with Charity again for lunch/dinner/museum/maybe a show, then Saturday I am revising and editing my essay to hand it in, and Sunday I am off to Vienna!
Have a great weekend and Happy Halloween!
boy you have been very very busy!!!!I'm so proud o you and can't wait to hear all about Vienna It's sunday morn. and i'm up bright and early with Scout.So here I am on line.Every day I stick to my word.Have fun and be safe!!
ReplyDeleteLove you mom xoxoxoxo