One Week In

Hey!  So now that all my work and school commitments have ended for the week, I wanted to give a brief update on everything I've been up to!

Classes: I start out my day in British Empire, a history class.  I've been assigned Gender and the Empire as my research topic, so I'll be writing a few essays on it and even giving a formal presentation.  I'm excited-- as a sociology major, I've studied a ton of gender relations, so hopefully my background knowledge will come in handy!  My British Philosophy class is crazy, but honestly, when is philosophy not crazy? Then I have a class in Government and Politics, which I'm really enjoying.  The professor is super snazzy, and studying the UK political system will be super useful with my internship.  My last class is Macroeconomics... oy vay.  It's a requirement I can't get out of if I hope to graduate one day.  My thought process is, oh well, if I have to hear someone drone on about GDP and graphs, I'd rather listen to a British accent.

Work: As evident by my last blog post, I am really digging my job.  Today I only worked a half day, but I still had fun.  I dug through databases trying to find evidence of the Labour party (the opposition) in support of increasing probation work in the private sector.  No such luck.  However, I was able to accompany my MP to a roundtable Q&A with interns working for Canadian ambassadors.  The interns were great for two reasons: 1) when I see adults my age with a passion for politics, it really inspires me, and 2) THEY SOUNDED LIKE ME!  It was so nice to actually understand what people were saying!  Their accents brought me back a little taste of home, and that made me inexplicably happy:)

Also, before I left to head back home I managed to run into Ed Miliband, leader of the opposition. I remember watching him during PMQ (Prime Minister's Questions) when I was trying to familiarize myself with Parliament prior to my interview.  And now here he was, right in front of me!  Way too cool.

As a "Tory" (Conservative), I'm supposed to hate this guy...but he held the door open for me, so no complaints here!

Everything else: Things are still going well at the flat!  Tonight I am headed to an ND alumni networking event at a nearby pub.  Hopefully my friends and I can pick up recommendations for local hang-out spots and maybe even score an invite to a future dinner (free food=winning).  Tomorrow I have two sessions of "Inside London"-- this will involve me touring the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Institute Francais Cinema.  Saturday the program is headed to Oxford, so that will be a great day trip!  Get excited, because that means I should be taking more pictures soon:)

Cheers,
C