Rigorous Leisure

Really, the title of this entry explains it all. There is a curious dichotomy happening on this trip. While on one hand we are in London experiencing the city first hand and immersing ourselves fully into the culture on the other we are also students and expected to act as such. The classes seem to be more rigorous than anybody expected. Just this past week our "London as a Visual Text" Professor assigned a paper the same day another was due and to make it worse it is due the same day as another paper assigned by our other professor for "London as a Theatrical Text." We have class most days of the week that, 2-3 days a week, are followed by plays in which we are expected to take notes and discuss them in class in the following few days. It has been no easy task to balance our extreme desire to travel the city and see everything while finishing our heavy workload.

That being said, one musn't complain. We are in the middle of one of the great cultural centers of the world and are having, for most of us, the times of our lives. Yesterday we went to Abbey Road and blocked traffic in the process of trying to recreate the famous Beatles album cover. Today we went to Camden Market which was full of some very eccentric individuals that definetely spurred on some culture shock for those less accustomed to city life or alternative lifestyles (thats a politically correct way of saying there were a lot of heavily peirced individuals with very colorful hair, often dressed in clothes normally worn by the opposite sex). I enjoyed it a lot though. It was fun looking through all of the shops that sell anything ranging from what most people would consider worthless knick-knacks to higher end clothing and jewelry.

The weather has been fantastic here and I am not missing the Midwest winter at all. The myth about it always being rainy in London has so far proven false as it has been in the mid-50's and sunny nearly the entire time we have been here. It makes it really easy and tempting to go walking in the markets or along the Thames.

We have a four day weekend coming up next week and a few of us just bought plane tickets to Paris where we will stay from Friday to Monday. With the exchange rate the way it is it was a bit of a shot to the wallet, but I am sure that it will prove to be worth it in the end being able to see the Eiffel Tower in person and to visit the Louvre. We are going to stay in a hostel and go see as much as we can see in our short stay. On our list of things to do so far is: See the Eiffel Tower, Tour the Catacombs and go to the Louvre. If you have any ideas just put a comment on this post and I will surely look into it. We are always looking for ideas of neat things to do.

That's all I have for now. I would like to announce sarcastically (kind of) that I am officially taking donations to offset the wicked and outrageous exchange rate. If you are interested send them to (cash or check only please):

Lee Homan
ACM London Program
270 Earl's Court Rd.
London SW5 9AS
United Kingdom