Week 4: Squares, Palaces, & Egregious Americans

For the first time since my parents left London I finally had the opportunity to see the sites; my friends and I resolved to put our readings aside and explore the city. Our first stop was King's Cross train station, a five minute walk from our dorm. You might be thinking to yourself: why would Soham go see a train station? Train stations are everywhere, what is so special about King's Cross. Well, King's Cross is home to a famous platform - "Platform 9 3/4." This is the platform Harry Potter used to board the Hogwartz Express in J.K. Rowlings series of books. At first it was hard to find the location and we told ourselves we wouldn't be embarrassed by asking someone. Much to our dismay we could not find the platform as it had been moved due to construction at the station; after asking a police officer (who seemed frustrated and gave us a "stupid Americans" look) we found a huge crowd taking pictures in front of the wall.

 After we brought out the kid inside of us, we took an impromptu trip to Buckingham Palace. Because it was a nice day outside, we walked and were able to enjoy the weather (very unusual) and see other British landmarks. Trafalgar Square was our second stop. The square is named after the famous Battle of Trafalgar in which the British navy was able to defeat the combined Spanish and French fleets, thus proving their naval superiority. The leader of the British fleet - Admiral Horatio Nelson - appropriately overlooks the square, and is guarded by four sitting lions (which people climb, of course). Here are some pictures from this beautiful landmark:

We eventually got to our destination, Buckingham Palace, after digressing to see the backyard of 10 Downing Street (Black Townhouse)

Upon first seeing the Queen's residence I was not too impressed. It is more of a large square building - lacking glamor and prestige. The Queen herself said that she does not like living there because it does not have a "homey" feel.  We were not able to see the changing of the guard (which is not similar to the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery) because it happens every other day at noon and we went around five pm. Regardless, the palace does have a majestic aura around it. I was surprised, however, to go very close to the opening gates of the Palace. Everyone knows that you cannot go that close to the White House - so that aspect was pretty cool. You can judge for yourself:

In comparison to our weekend adventure the rest of the week was not too exciting. It was dominated by homework, lectures, and tutorials, none of which would enthuse you to read about. The only aspect of the week that I can think to write about came on Thursday afternoon in my law tutorial. Instead of having a regular question and answer session to review the lecture material, my class teacher made us attend a talk by a Notre Dame law professor who spoke on the topic of "Obama's Drone Wars." Even before I attended the talk I knew the speaker was going to address the legality of the operations the US is conducting in Pakistan, which are questionable to some extent. I did not know, however, how much she would bash the United States and disrespect the Presidency. I e-mailed me dad during the presentation and said that "it takes a special kind of coward to come to another country and speak ill of one's own." From that you can guess how much the speaker angered me. Her logic was flawed, her arguments were easily penetrable, and her insults were egregious. I wanted to stand up and break apart her reasoning but I was fearful the class teacher (who grades my work) would see it in a bad light as he is good friends with her. I guess I will have to wait until class  next Thursday to speak my mind.

Until next week!

Week 3: Rerum Cognoscere Causas

Hello from the rainy capital of the world! Another exciting week has gone by, and with an exciting week comes exciting stories. Most of my time has been consumed by going to class, reading in the library, and hanging out with the people in my dorm therefore not too much exploring was accomplished, but a lot of observations were made. The classes at LSE have begun and like I mentioned in my last post I am taking four classes. Each lecture, however, is fitted with a discussion section, aimed to help students understand the material covered by the professor and add their own points of view on the topics covered. Realistically, it's an opportunity for PhD students to get classroom experience. The LSE is very much dedicated to independence in education, meaning that students are given more time on their own to explore concepts and learn by reading, rather than having to listen to lectures. Usually after reading for 8 hours (8 hours per class, that's right) you walk into the discussion class and are immediately asked "Why did this happen," "What was the cause behind this," "Why did the author choose this argument" etc. No wonder the motto for LSE is: "Rerum Cognoscere Causas" or "To understand the cause of things." It is taken from a phrase Vergil wrote in 29 BC "Felix, qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas" or "fortune is he, who is able to know the cause of things." So far, the one who understands "the cause of things" usually is pretty bright. I have never really faced a system like this, in my recent memory, and it is definitely challenging but very very fun. For example, in my international history class, we are discussing the Marshall Plan and its importance in European Integration. During one class the Professor (he teaches the discussion because there are only 10 students in the class) questioned us on why the Europeans would want to integrate using the Marshall Plan. It was difficult for the class to get beyond the ordinary answers like economic and security reasons, but we eventually figured it out: European unity meant a more stable international system, one that would thrive using Marshall aid and ultimately block the specter of communism. The answer may seem obvious now, but it definitely was not then. Most of my classes are like this. Whether it is Chinese economic history and Latin American economic history, students at the LSE are often trying to Rerum Cognoscere Causas - understand the cause of things. 

Work hard play hard was a concept my sister taught - and I haven't looked back since. Having lived in Washington for two years, I had never stepped a foot inside a club. Most of my fraternity brothers and I would venture out to bars or house parties, never introducing the thought of going out clubbing. In London, however, that's all they do! Without getting into too many details which may result in my mom lecturing me about the dangers of being out at night, London clubs are pretty cool. They are separated by rooms (one for hip-hop music, one for techno, and the others for pop, jazz, etc.) Drinks are expensive on the weekend, so we usually stick to student's night (Tuesday). This is all good and well until I have to wake up early Wednesday morning for class (not fun, especially when you are asked "why things are caused" about a reading you hardly remembered.)

On Thursday , I had to opportunity to sit in on a lecture by Sir Howard Davies, the Director of LSE, during which he spoke on the topic, "Who Runs Britain." Sir Howard went through the usual cast of characters, the PM, the Queen, the Chancellor of Exchequer (treasury secretary), etc. He is a smart man, definitely, but not that good of a public speaker. After the fourth or fifth pie-chart, I ducked out to attend another event. 

That night, Clifford Chance, the highest grossing law firm in the world, held an event at their offices to introduce students to careers at their firm. It was spectacular, to say the least. They boozed us up (of course, everyone does that in London),  and then fed us. The event was held on the 30th floor of their building in Canary Warf (London's financial district) which overlooked the entire city. It was magnificent. One of the partners spoke for 15 minutes and the rest of the time was allotted to networking with trainee's and junior partners. I learned about the UK system (law education and law practice) which is very different from the US. It was interesting and I'm thinking about applying for an internship at the firm for the summer - even though only 40 out of the 3000 applicants are chosen.  

One of the more foolish things that happened was on the way back from the club Tuesday night we encountered UCL students (University College of London) and subsequently tried to persuade them that America is better (I get into these arguments a lot at night, when I'm with Americans, and we bleed red, white, and blue). They were not receptive, to say the least. At one point they started cheering "George Bush" when we came back with a World War 1, World War II chant. This went on for 20 or so minutes on the bus until we all got tired. It was fun, nonetheless. 

I'll leave you with 5 reasons why America is great:

1. Sports - a real man plays football, not soccer. 

2. Old Glory

3. Freedom - need I continue? 

4. Everyone else listens to our music

5. We might not have come first in the World Cup, but we still beat the United Kingdom (oh wait, they invented soccer). 

Until next time!

Week 2: "30"

It should be apparent, since I haven't posted in over a week, that classes have started. The last time I actually sat  down in a classroom setting and learned is a distant memory, so bare with me. Before I describe my first class, there were a few "events" that are worth mentioning. During orientation week LSE took the General Course students (those who are studying abroad for a year) on a boat ride around the River Thames (the "h" is silent). The ride was wonderful, as we were able to go up and down the River, see the sites (Parliament, Big Ben, London Eye, Millennium Bridge, etc), and meet new people. It didn't take long for me to realize that GW sent a lot of people to LSE (about 30 I believe). Every time I met someone and told that person I am studying at GW he or she would immediately respond with "WOW, I just met five other GW kids, there must be a lot of you?" Apparently so. One of the first ubiquitous aspects of London, besides the rain, is the fact that London is a binge drinking town. This became apparent on the boat ride when GC students were given two "free" drinks. There was not much excitement over that until one of my fellow GC'ers commented that he found it hysterical when he saw me talking to the dean of the GC, Mark Hoffman, with a beer in my hand (he had a beer too). I can safely say that I will never find myself in a situation drinking with a Dean back home.

Enough with the fun, now onto the work part of my time here (just for you mom). About a week ago someone, I forget who, came running up to a group of us playing soccer in the street and mentioned a website called 'LSE Moodle." No one had heard of this so we gave him puzzling looks. He went on to say that the site  is a resource for all classes that has syllabi, lecture notes, reading lists, and course requirements. Without any hesitation we ran to our dorm rooms and went onto the Moodle. I am not sure if we didn't pay attention during orientation or missed some e-mail, but this website had everything we needed to know about our classes. Had we known about it earlier, we could have done some of the work at home. That, however, would have been the easy way out. Unfortunately for us, our Moodle pages had a link called "reading lists." As I saw the link I thought to myself, "oh crap." As the PDF opened I saw the "1 out of ___" get longer and longer until it stopped at 30! The reading list was 30 pages, at which point I said to myself, "of crap" (except the word was worse). I am taking four classes: Public International Law, Economic History of China, Economic History of Latin America, and European Integration & the Cold War. Each class has a reading list of about the same length, which we are expected to complete by exams next summer - great.

Despite the reading lists, classes are very interesting here. My first class - European Integration and the Cold War - is about a relatively new topic: how the Cold War is related to European Integration. The Professor seems very energetic about the subject, which is his specialty, and he is one of the first to research the topic. I thought the reading would focus more on the EU and its member states, but it inevitably mentions how the United States (specifically Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy) pushed for an integrated Europe in order to ward off Soviet expansion. The question of the topic is the German problem: how to integrate Western Germany into the western alliance economically and militarily.
My second class was "Making of the Superpower: economic history of China since 1850." The class was filled (max capacity) yet some people decided to audit the course (see if the like it), however, there weren't enough seats, so some stood in the back and the sides. I guess that's how popular it is.
The third class was "Latin America and the International Economy" which is taught by a Argentinian women who has a PhD (like most professor's here). The core problems we will discuss are how the continent lost is way, even though it lead the world during most of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Should be interesting to find out.
Finally, the last class I am taking is Public International Law. Unlike in the US, the UK does not have a "law school" per se. Students study for three years at the university level and then take a conversion course based on whether they want to practice law (baroness) or simply advise clients (solicitor). Therefore, most of the students in the class are going to be lawyers in some form or another (I find that pretty cool). The thing about international law is that it doesn't really exist. There are sources of international law (treaties, customary law, and norms) but there are loopholes in which States can back out of agreements. For someone who doesn't really believe in the UN to begin with, this course is a bit of stretch - but nonetheless interesting.

As you can imagine with all the reading that I have to complete, I will need somewhere to do it. My room (picture below) is not that big and uncomfortable for reading purposes.

Therefore, I am spending most of the my time in the LSE library (or as they like to call it, "the world's largest social science library")  The problem with the library is that it has a winding staircase and for people who are deathly afraid of heights (like myself) getting to the third or fourth floor is painful. I mostly use of the elevator and try not to look down, but the thought of one day having to walk down the stairs is morbid.

The campus overall is on one street: Houghton Street. There are a plethora of buildings that are centralized along Houghton which provides an easy commute from class-to-class (above). Another picture of the library is here - - - - - - - - >
One of the most ironic things about LSE is a man who hands out lunch free everyday. The man is of the "Hare Ram Hare Krsna" sect of Hinduism (somewhat like what Jehova's Witnesses are to Christianity). Without fail, he is on Houghton Street, handing students, professors, and bystanders warm vegetarian meals - which are sometimes appetizing. The ironic part of it is that it is free. The number one rule of economics is that "there is no such thing as a free lunch." Well, LSE is an exception to that (who would have thunk it).

I know this is a long post, so I'll get to my final mentionable item. Because of all the beer and bad food I am eating, I thought it would be prudent to start working out again. Gym memberships here are outrageously expensive so I opted to run instead. The streets, however, are too crowded to get a good work out in, therefore a park was necessary to find. I stumbled upon Reagant's Park (with the help of a friend I met here who runs track at Georgetown). It is beautiful, to say the least. The government takes care of the parks, unlike the US gov't, so it is well maintained and preserved beautifully. Here are some pictures I took from google - I thought it wise not to run with a camera. I will leave you with those images! Until next time! Cheers!