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Egham Visit

Yesterday after work I left London for the first time. My roommate, Zach has a girlfriend named Naomi that goes to Royal Holloway (one of the many University of London campuses) in Egham which is about 40 minutes from London by train. The trains here are supposedly fantastic--very efficient and they go everywhere. I had no complaints; it is definitely better than SEPTA, MetroNorth, and NJ Transit.

Egham was the quintessential small, quaint English town with just one pub. It was very fun to just walk around. Then, later that evening I hung out with all of Naomi's friends then went to a club about 15 minutes away. It was very cool to finally enjoy some quality time with British students my age.

Hope all is well back in the states...

Day 2 in Westminster Palace

Okay so I don't technically work in this building, but I walk through it frequently and some of my program colleagues do. There are actually 5 buildings sorrounding Westmister Palace that are all connected by underground tunnels and above ground skyways. It will take me a full 3 months to learn how to maneuver this labyrinth. 

And now for something completely different...

...read carefully

Obama in London

My internship started today. Unfortunatley, Mark Lazarowicz, my MP (Member of Parliament) is in Africa for the week, so what I'll be doing with my time there is a little unclear. Unlike in the states, Parliamentary staffs are rather small. There is only one other person in the office with me and Mark's office in Edinburgh, Scottland (where his constituency lies) only has 3 people. I'll be visiting Edinburgh through the Hansard Program, so it'll be cool to actually explore the constituency that I'll be serving.

I was able to leave work at 4pm just in time to get home to watch Biden get sworn in. I found myself a little emotional just before Obama began to speak. It's still a little surreal that a black man is running this country. 

As excited as the others in my program are about the new president, the excitment that Londoners have about Obama is incredible--it's almost as if he's their president. 

Parliament Placement

Today was the start of my first normal week. From here on out every Monday I will have class and on Tues, Wed, Thurs I will have my internship. I just found out today who I will be working for Labour Party MP Mark Lazarowicz. He is Scottish and his big issues are energy and the environment. I start tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited.

Yesterday I went to the sung mass at Westminster Abbey. The male choir was fantastic and the Anglican mass is nearly word for word the same as the Roman Catholic mass. 

Here is a picture right above the door. I wasn't allowed to photo the inside

Later that day I went to the Albert & Victoria Museum which is only a 5 minute walk from my flat. Admission for public museums is free here, so I fully intend on revisiting because I only saw about half of the exhibits.

monstrance for Eucharist

Poseidon

Finally I finished up the day by take the Tube (subway) to the Tower of London and walking across the Tower Bridge.

view of the south end of the Thames skyline

Tower of London

Tower Bridge

So I'm Starting A Blog

So I've been in London now for one week and after a very exciting time exploring the city, meeting new people, and getting adjusted to my program I want to start updating people on my life here...

I hate to bore everyone by recapping the last seven days, but suffice it to say it's been a nonstop orientation of London. My program director arranged a tour of London, a tour of the Houses of Parliament, a tour of the Parliamentary Archives, tickets for the equivelant of a Broadway Show, a tour of the London School of Economics (my current university), and lectures with MPs (Members of Parliament) and Lords. 

In the Parliamentary archives holding the physical act of Parliament that outlawed the death penalty in the UK.

There have been countless protests in support of Palestine on campus. These protestors are camping out right in the Parliament square.

A beautiful shot of the the Houses of Parliament at night.