Today, Friday, was a free day! I finally got to catch up on some sleep and so now am fully awake and ready to explore!

Wednesday was the last day of orientation, so we had a lot of lectures.  Most were interesting, and focused on art around London, this history of the Grand Tour, this history of the UK and British culture.  It was a lot of information but was helpful, like why there is a Prince of Wales and what the difference is between England and the United Kingdom.  The most interesting part was that about British culture.  It was given by the professor teaching my "British Youth Culture" class later in the semester and he was very engaging! I'm looking forward to learning more about it!


Wednesday night the program held a comedy show in the main school building.  The comedian was funny, and it was fun to hear some British comedy.  The comedian worked well with the crowd, mostly making fun of the students which was very entertaining.


Thursday was the first day of class! Each class meets for 4 hours at a time, two times a week.  Yesterday I had "Psychology and Social Issues" which seems really promising! The professor is very nice and is obviously knowledgeable about many different aspects of psychology (including art therapy!).  The first half was a lecture, though he let us do most of the talking.  The second half was a field trip to the Imperial College Science Museum down the street that includes a small psychology exhibit.  We will be going on field trips to many other museums in the city throughout the semester which will be a great way to see London, get closer with the professor and the students in the class! It seems like it is going to be great!


After class I went to the Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House.  It is a tiny gallery with only two small floors but has some fantastic paintings.  Manet's Bar at the Folies-Bergere was the main reason I wanted to visit, and it was breathtaking in person! I have studied this painting and seen it reproduced in books but was so impressed by the canvas itself.  The Gallery also had another Manet, a boat scene, painted in unusually bright colors that was absolutely stunning.  There were also an impressive selection of Kandinsky's, Cezanne's and a great van Gogh.  


After seeing the Gallery, my friend Emily and I stood out in the cold waiting to see Vampire Weekend perform at Somerset House.  The band was putting on a free concert to celebrate the release of their second album. They played on a balcony over looking the courtyard, where all the fans stood.  It was great to see Vampire Weekend again, and in London, and hear some of their new songs!


After that (Thursday was a long day!) was a party put on by the program for the start of semester.  It was in Covent Garden, a really trendy part of London.  It was a great time! Half of the club was reserved for BU students and there was a lot of dancing and was a great way to meet people I had not bumped into yet.


And that brings us to today! I had a meeting with the BU internship placement team and I am officially going to be interning with an organization called Solace Women's Aid.  It looks like it will be a great experience and I am exciting to start in February! 


Today I also went to the Victoria & Albert Museum, that is right around the corner from my flat.  It was an absolutely amazing museum with so many things to see! It was a very interesting collection housing metal works, sculptures, tapestries, paintings, jewelry and fashion from different times periods and countries all over the world! I liked that it contained so many different types of things, as each room was new and exciting.