London, Day 2

Well day two was much busier. We had to be up and ready to go by 9 a.m. this morning to go to our orientation at City University. Our graduate resident, Philip Godfry, was the one who went with us, showing us how to get there along the way. It took us about an hour to get over to City this morning because the tube was so crowded & also because the tube wasn't working quite right which caused it to stop a few times which slowed us down. Also it was really hot inside the tube and the tube station. There is no central air system so it got quite stuffy and warm. One thing that I noticed when you ride the tube in the morning was that no one talked at all. It was totally silent which felt kinda weird. Our graduate resident explained that no one really talks in the morning because they do not want to be going to work and because they are all tired from the previous weekend. I guess it makes sense but it was still sort an awkward silence. It was pretty easy to get over to City University though. We just took the Circle line from Notting Hill Gate to King's Cross St. Pancreas, transfered to the Northern line and got off one stop up at Angel. From Angel it is about a 10 minute walk over to City University.
When we finally got to City, I was surprised at how small and how old the campus looked. The classrooms were a lot smaller and older looking than I expected too. The rooms were also pretty hot and stuffy as well because they also do not have central air. I think that probably most of Europe doesn't have central air. It's definitely something to get used to though. Also another thing that is different over here is that there is no screens on any of the windows. I'm not really sure why it's like that either. Anyway....It is not big and beautiful like most college campuses in the U.S. There is only a little area outside behind the main building where students can go to sit, study, eat lunch or just do whatever & in the middle of it is a Gazebo. We asked one of the Arcadia staff why the college doesn't spend any money on fixing up the campus and they told us that they would rather spend the money on the actual education part rather than making the campus grounds and buildings look good.
The orientation finally got underway and we were all introduced to the Arcadia staff. Next they gave us more information about our programs as well as talked about adjusting to the culture and safety and security tips. When the first part ended we all took a lunch break and walked to some local sandwhich shops down the street. I ordered a salad but it wasn't very good. It tasted really blanned and plain. After lunch we headed back to City the Current Affairs Panel Session. Three members of parliment came in to meet and talk with us and answer any questions we had about the U.K.'s current affairs. It was really interesting to here what types of problems their government is facing as well as their views on our government, it's problems and our current president. I didn't agree with all of their views on certain things but overall it was very informative and really interesting. After the current affairs session was over the people taking classes at The London College of Fashion had to head over there for another orientation while the other students taking classes at City University went on a little tour of the area and then stopped at a cafe for tea scones.
Me and four other girls plus an Arcadia staff member headed over to fashion college and arrived about an hour early. It took us about 45 minutes to get there from City so we stopped at Cafe Nero for coffee and smoothies to kill time. The stop we got off at for the fashion college was Oxford Circus. The college is in a really nice area of town on John Princes Street. There are a lot of expensive shops on Oxford street and when we walked out onto the street from the tube it was extremely crowded with people! A lot of the shops were ones that I had never heard of before either but they look like they have some really cute stuff and I plan on going back to shop there later!!!
The orientation took about an hour during which time we all got signed up for the classes we wanted, were given class syllabuses, and were told about campus rules for study abroad students. I was able to get into all the classes I wanted which were: Fashion Speed Sketching, European Fashion Marketing and Fashion Buying and Range Planning. Two of the three classes I signed up for are in the building on John Princes Street. The fashion buying class is in the building on Davies Street which a little was up from John Princes Street but still in that really nice part of town. All of the other girls that were there from Arcadia were al really nice and a few of us have classes together. I am really looking forward to my classes and hope they will be fun!!
After the orientation was over, I took the tube back to my house for the first time by myself and it actually wasn't that hard. I was a little nervous at first but once I was on the tube I felt totally safe and comfortable. Another thing that made it easy was that I didn't have to transfer to another line in the process of getting home. All I had to do was get on at the Oxford Circus tube station and take that line all the way to Notting Hill Gate which is only 5 stops up the line. It was so easy and now that I've done by myself I feel totally confident!
Later that evening after I got back my roomates and I all decided to go out and explore the town! It was a fun evening! We went down to Piccadilly Circus and walked around for a bit. Piccadilly was a really neat place! There were huge t.v. screens in the middle and it made me think of New York City. There was also a big fountain and a cool statue of some horses there too. Piccadilly was also really crowded. Then met up with the students who live in the Redcliff house at a place called The Sports Cafe. Also right next to the Sports Cafe is Her Majesty's Theater which happens to be the place where my dad and I went and saw The Phantom of the Opera when we were in London 4 years ago. Anyway...It was a really crowded but really fun place! We stayed there for a little while and some of us girls went out and danced on the dance floor. We had so much fun!! Afterwards we all took the tube back to Redcliff house and on the way stopped at a Kebab place. We eventually got to Redcliff and just hung out there for a while and eventually decided to call a black cab for a ride back to Palace Court. We would have liked to have taken the tube but after midnight the tube is closed and doesn't open again till morning. The cab ended up being kind of expensive but at least we all got home safe. It was a long night but a fun one! I'll write more later. Bye for now....