The First Week

By: Jinjun Loh
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When you arrive in London, you might be sore from sitting on a thirteen-hour plane ride, jetlagged from the time difference and perhaps feeling a little blue as you begin to miss home. These feelings are all natural, of course, but above all, you’ll feel a sense of excitement as you travel through the streets of this strange, foreign land.
This was me as I navigated my way through London.

I arrived at Byron Court with Claire (a fellow USWIB girl) feeling all of the above. The picture in the left is the outside façade of the dorm and the picture on the right is my room! My bad luck had me with the smallest room in the building. The size of the room really gave me a shock at first, especially since I used to live in Founders Hall during freshman year; which in my opinion has the biggest freshman rooms. However, the apartment is really nice (they give hangers and cooking utensils) and there is housekeeping every week so you never have to clean your own sheets. Who doesn’t love that?

Like all people, I inadvertently compare London to the places I call home – New York and Singapore. Many people say that London is the site which will give you the least culture shock because yes, it’s a metropolitan city where the people speak English. However, that’s not to say that there aren’t any differences. For example, unlike New York City where all the buildings tower over you, most buildings here (other than those in the financial district) are only around three to five stories high. It’s also much quieter here and pavements (not sidewalks) are wider and definitely less congested. Shops start really late on Sundays (Marks and Spencers open at 12pm) and even the library is closes at 7pm. The tube is very convenient but even pricier than the subway, which I had no idea was possible.

It’s only been one week, but I managed to see some of London’s top tourist attractions. There was a protest being held near Big Ben regarding Brexit, and one day when the weather was great, a bunch of girls and I walked thirteen kilometers around London to see the London Eye and Westminister Abbey! Also went to briefly look at the Buckingham Palace, but NYU London is going to bring us on a tour inside this Sunday so I’m really excited about that. The 350th anniversary of the big fire in 1866 that burnt most of the city down was just last week, so there were a bonfire near the River Thames. (Pssst, the river is gross and not at all what I’d expected.)

Fun things aside, I just had my second day of class yesterday. NYU’s global sites are pretty smart and arranged the schedule such that you’ll only have one three-hour class per week. This gives you more free time, but it does mean class days are so, so very long. I myself have been studying in the British-style education system in Singapore, so I’m not too out of sorts. Since I’ve experienced both British and American education systems, I will say that the British schooling style is much stricter. According to some of my friends studying in local UK universities, some schools forbid open-book tests or use of cheat sheets. I’m taking Finance here in NYU London, which is notorious for being difficult so…..cross my fingers!

Me and two other USWIB girls (Cassie and Joy) recently bought the 16-25 Rail card that gives you 1/3 priced tickets for travel within the UK! We’ll be heading to Edinburgh next weekend and I’m going to meet some family in Paris the following weekend so that’s something I’m looking forward to.

To all the USWIB girls in back home in New York or around the world: good luck and hope you have an unforgettable Fall semester! ☺