London Calling

Things are now in full swing and have been for a couple of weeks now… It feels like I barely have time to breathe as there is so much work to be done… but the classes are fun and the lectures are bearable..lol. One of the things that I like about the LSE is that it is very diverse, there are people from everywhere in the world here. I have met very interesting people from very interesting parts of the world.

Unfortunately, I have not yet had the chance to do any more sightseeing or go on any trips so I do not really have anything cool to tell you all about. However, I plan to go up to Oxford in the next couple of weeks to visit a friend who goes there so I will be able to take pictures of the countryside and, hopefully, be able to upload a video or two.

So I am just finishing up with my first week of lectures (Classes begin in week three) and so far so good. Well, apart from the fact that I have already put in 20+ hours outside of the classroom and that this is the most challenging thing that I have ever done academically already… but this is why I am here and I am enjoying every moment of it. I feel like I have learned so much this week alone and I cant wait for the upcoming weeks. Apart from the lectures the LSE is always buzzing… from economic big wigs giving lectures in the evening, to every bank you can think of on campus recruiting, to the many societies there are to join… it seems like there is always something going on.

So the way it works is that there is a “Students Union” which is similar to the SGA… and the “Societies” are the equivalent of clubs and organizations. Now, there are plenty of societies to choose from… I am a member of the Economics, Finance, and Hedge Fund societies… from what I know so far, these “industry” societies mainly facilitate networking opportunities between members and professionals from these various industries. They do this by hosting dinners, inviting speakers, etc. Additionally, and I found this especially interesting being on the SGA and all, these societies have outside sponsors.

Other than that… nothing has changed except for the weather… its getting pretty cold now.  And as promised…

Ok, sorry for the HUGE gap between posts, especially since I have already been here for 5 days.. but it has been an extremely busy 5 days for me. London is absolutely awesome so far… apart from the fact that it is VERY expensive. The flight over was good because it had minimal turbulence ( I am not to fond of airplanes) and because they showed some pretty good movies (including Star Trek)

Since I have been here, I have been looking for a place to live permanently along with getting ready for the upcoming school year. I have had some luck with housing, I have a couple of viewings today then I will make a decision. In the meantime, I have been living in a hostel and that is quite an experience. I have met people from all over the world and even managed to make a couple of contacts here in London so far.

LSE is amazing! Its a smaller campus (maybe a little bigger than Queens) but it has very high buildings to make up lack of real estate it controls.  Also, the Library (my favorite place) is phenomenal.. there are so many great resources available here for students.. I will definitely be spending the majority of my time in here.

Now, I know that England is famous for it’s pubs, but I was surprised to find pubs right here on campus.. at night the LSE (and all of Holborn) turns into a social hotspot. Imagine, leaving the library after an evening of hard studying and walking fifty yards or so into a lively pub where a cold beer is waiting..lol. (I don’t drink but if I did, I don’t imagine it could get much better than that)

Orientation week is this upcoming week, and classes start on the 5th..

Be looking for pictures with my next post…

Feel free to email me at e.mccarthy1@lse.ac.uk

We are about one week away from my departure on the 21st and I am growing very excited. UPS called this morning and told me that I will receive my visa today which is a relief because I was worried about having to change my flight. Now that all of the administrative things are officially out of the way, I can finally focus on actually getting to the school and getting to work. My “summer” is going on 5 months now and I am definitely ready to get back in the swing of things. Other than that, I am excited about the whole abroad experience… this will be my first time out of the country so I am looking forward to seeing some of the world and interacting with people from different places.

So I am about three weeks away from my departure and I must say that I am starting to get bored here at home. Especially while you all are back in class and hard at work No, but seriously. Ok, last week was pretty productive for me…  the LSE meet and greet was ok, there were only about 5 students from the region going and I think 3 or 4 of them were going to do graduate study, but I did meet some great people and get some very important questions answered. Additionally, I finally completed and mailed off my visa application and all of the supporting documents… now the trick is getting it back in time.

In other news, my job search has ended due to a lack of time… I figured that once I get in and get trained properly it will be time for me to go. Besides, being broke isn’t all that bad… especially when you live at home.

There is really no official LSE agenda for this week, I am pretty much in the waiting period until my departure. I will be sure to update periodically until then.

In the last post I kind of just jumped in and stared telling you all about my prep for London without actually telling you what I am going to be doing overseas… I will be studying abroad this academic year at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and I am very excited about it.

This past week has been very busy for me. I am in the process of establishing housing in London and it is proving pretty tedious, but I have found a couple of places that are suitable… I am also in the process of applying for my student visa, the application process is pretty simple and straight so there are really no problems there. Oh yes, I almost forgot, I have purchaced my plane ticket and I will be leaving on September 21st which gives me a little over a month here in the states… I am growing significantly more excited as my departure date nears!!

So the agenda for this week looks something like this..

1. Finish Visa App
2. Lock in housing
3. find a job (nothing to do with LSE but important all the same
4. Meet and greet on Sunday*

* LSE is having a meet and greet session here for students from the Atlana area, this will be my first opportunity to meet other students and alum from the Atlana area…

Well… as this is my first post, I must disclose the fact that I am not at all a great writer (sentence structure and punctuation wise) so please excuse any mistakes you may, and probably will, see. With that said, I am thrilled to be able to share my experiences with you. For the next year I will be blogging about my life as it relates to my study abroad in London… so this will include everything from preperation to my experiences there to my return home. Also, to make things more interesting, I will be including pictures and videos to go along with the text. So, let us jump right in!

I am at Queens this week getting all of the final paperwork in for my trip to London. This process is proving itself tedious already! Trying to coordinate times to meet with faculty and staff is a difficult process during the year.. so it is pretty much impossible during the summer.. lol.. but, luckily, today is the last day of summer hours so the process may prove easier as the week wears on… wish me luck…