Today, October 2nd, was finally my first day of classes. It was a releif to actually be starting although it will be an effort to get back to work after so long. Today was actually very stressful for me. Somehow I have managed to start out on the first day behind of everyone else! The classes here are very different then I am used to. For my English classes there is a weekly lecture hour which is really just a one sided lecture on a certain subject. Then every other week I have a smaller seminar where we discuss a book in depth. The seminar's pick the books so I won't know what to but until I actually go to them. I do know that for my first seminars I have to read Tennyson for Victorian Lit and Daniel Defoe's Journal of A Plague Year for London in Lit. I'm excited for Defoe, less so for Tennyson. I think these classes will be exciting, especially London in Literature, but I am still nervous about staying on top of things. Tomorrow I have history which should be pretty low stress though.
Tonight I went on a Jack the Ripper historical walking tour, which was kind of cool. If you are ever in London you should look into going on a London Walks tour. They have dozens of different ones, Beatles London, Dicken's London, Haunted London etc. The Jack the Ripper one is conducted by this guy, Donald Rumbelow who is "internationally recognised as the leading authority on Jack the Ripper". He wrote the definitive book and even advises on movies, like the one starring Johnny Depp, From Hell. We walked all around the City, learned about Jack's various victims and his methodology. It was dark and creepy and none of my pictures came out very well except for this one of me in front of the Tower of London (which doesn't really have anything to do with Jack the Ripper). Anyways it was really cool and I definatly want to do more of these walking tours, especially because they are only five pounds!
Afterwards we went to this creepy looking pub, called The Ten Bells which was apparently used in the movie From Hell. I haven't seen it but the pub was pretty cool in a spooky Victorian way. No Johnny Depp sightings I'm sad to say, although a friend of my roomate apparently saw him at the Portabello Road Market last week! I will keep my eyes peeled for Johnny, or Hugh Grant, and will keep you updated...
2 comments:
we would have to do the haunted tour..to make up for the one taht didnt exist in Puerto Rico
Hey Stephie, glad you are loving London! (aren't those walking tours the best?) Miss you tons, and am so jealous of your London adventures!
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