Today was my first day of classes at the University of Westminster.
Crystal and I set off around 8:45 to take the tube to campus. The University of Westminster was first established as
a polytechnic campus in the late 19th century. In 1911, the central building was constructed (this is the building where
orientation was held). I really like the marble halls and Greek columns and engravings on the wall. It makes me
feel like I'm attending a really old university!
When everyone had arrived for orientation, we all picked up folders
full of information on classes, day trips, student discounts, etc., and then headed into a large lecture hall. As I
entered, I read a plaque on the wall and discovered that the lecture hall was actually the first British cinema to play a
film for a paying audience. Neat! I sat down next to Crystal and a friendly girl named Jill. We chatted
for awhile, and then our orientation presentation began. I had a sudden wave of exhaustion and nausea, but I tried
very hard to stay awake and alert. Then, suddenly, I was jolted into full consciousness by a horrifying gurgle-whoosh-SPLAT!
Crystal jumped forward and Jill leapt up with a horrified look on her face. The girl in the row just behind us had managed
to spray incredible amounts of vomit right onto Crystal and Jill. They were literally drenched. It was one of
the most disgusting things I've ever witnessed! Luckily, nothing got on me, but I felt awful for Crystal and
Jill. Their new nicknames are Stinky 1 and Stinky 2. :-) I had to plug my nose and leave the area because
the stench was so bad. Blech! (Apparently, the girl who vomited had been drinking like a maniac the night
before and had already thrown up three times earlier in the day. The whole thing makes me sick!)
After orientation, we all headed to a different building to split
into classes and meet our classmates and teacher. I found my room without much trouble and then sat and watched people
trickled in. I met some girls from Canada who were really nice and a couple of others from the east coast. I was
surprised to discover that my module has only eight students--all girls! We waited and waited for our teacher to arrive,
and she finally flew in through the door, scattering apologies. We spent the rest of our time discussing how London
had evolved over the ages. London has so much history! It's thrilling. I learned all about the Roman settlement,
the culture in medieval London, the Great Fire of 1666, etc. Ironically, just as we were talking about the Great Fire,
the fire alarm went off at the university. What IS it with me and fire alarms lately?!?
The program coordinators took us all directly to a pub for a free
lunch. After eating, we all headed home on the tube (Crystal couldn't wait to shower and change out of her vomit shirt!).
Once I was back in my apartment, I decided to take a quick power nap. Well, I'm sure you've already guessed what happened:
I slept (once again!) for two-and-a-half hours. I've got to break this habit!
When I woke up, it was time to head to our free river cruise on the
Thames. The cruise turned out to be one of my favorite parts of my London experience so far. The view of
London and the Westminster area from the Thames is glorious. I saw almost every major landmark I'd ever heard about
(Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, The London Eye--up close!, St. Paul's Cathedral, The Tate Modern, The British Library, The Globe
Theater, etc. etc. etc.). I snapped dozens of wonderful pictures and enjoyed myself thoroughly. And if I
squinted just right, I could almost turn the cars into carriages and place top hats on the gentlemen and long skirts on the
ladies. I pretended that I was Katy or Amy coming over from America to London by boat!
More tomorrow. . .
