London Life

I left Atlanta on Tuesday afternoon (5/26) to go to London! I landed at the London airport early Wednesday morning, and decided to take the tube (what we call the subway) to unpack at my place in Stratford in East London. Taking the tube during London's rush hour with two luggages is probably the dumbest thing I'll do this entire trip. After an exhausting way home, I arrived.

fish and chips- not good here!

Virgin Atlantic flight to London

In the afternoon, I grabbed a meal of the famous British meal right around the corner of the house I was staying at- fish and chips. Not to my surprise, it was not very delicious. My sister told me many of the affordable restaurants in London is small or bad or both... and I'm starting to believe this is true.

University of East London Stratford Campus.

I met with my PI here at University of East London Stratford and the PhD student I will be working with, Alessia. Alessia showed me around the lab I'll be working at starting next week. Unlike the lab I work in at Emory, many of the labs share a lot of the facilities and machines that are in difference rooms. Also, there are lab technicians whose specific jobs are to autoclave stuff and make/find chemicals that the students and researchers request- which I thought was really cool because those jobs take some time to do yourself. The lab did not have a lot of people, probably because it was later the day during the summer, but everyone I met was nice. I still cannot handle how awesome British accent is!

Liverpool Street Station

For the next few days, I became a London tourist. The area I'm living in, Stratford, is not central London, but is right next to a huge shopping mall and the Olympic Park for the 2012 London Olympics. But London has so much more to offer- museums, galleries, parks, churches, and a handful more of the common tourist attractions. I was amazed even with my first trip when I went to exchange my dollars for British pounds (Thomas Exchange Global has the best deal- for any London travelers). I arrived at the Liverpool Street Station, and the station was so beautiful. Outside, the Liverpool Street's busyness and the people walking in suits reminded me of Wall Street of NYC, but with more historical architecture.

Panoramic view from the dome @ St. Paul's Cathedral

I then walked to see the St. Paul's Cathedral. The grand cathedral was decored with incredibly delicate art and architecture- from moldings to ceilings to floors (pictures were forbidden, unfortunately). I was in awe that this beautiful place has been used for almost 1500 years (although rebuilt after the Great Fire) to worship the same God that I believe in. I took long winding stairs to the dome- and the view from the top of the dome was amazing.

Queen's birthday parade rehearsal (Near the ending, in front of the Buckingham Palace)

I also tried to see the Changing of the Guard at the Buckingham Palace on Friday morning. The event takes place every day at 11:30AM. I followed my guidebook's advice and got a good spot to see at 10:30. But... rain started pouring and the event was canceled (Oh London..). On Saturday, I was walking by St. James Park, where I luckily made it just in time to see the horse guards and the marching band guards rehearsing for the Queen's birthday parade in two weeks. How awesome!

My museums experience in the past few days has also been incredible. Unlike the majority of London where everything and anything is expensive, most of the museums are free. I went to the National Portrait Gallery, the ICA Gallery, National Gallery, British Museum, and the British Library (I still have not visited about four major museums). One visit to the National Gallery and the British Museum was probably not enough- I'll have to come back. I noticed that in front of these big museums and tourist sites, there are many protesters.

Few things I have noticed about London:
-It is a lot more ethnically diverse that I had imagined. (Even areas without tourists)
-American Starbucks "tall" is not British Starbucks "tall."
-Some places charge for using the bathroom.
-Coffee/meals "For here" often cost a bit more than "to go."
-The driver's seat is on the right.
-There are a lot of smokers.
-EVERYTHING IS EXPENSIVE.
-It's summer, but it's cold. And rainy. All the time.

So far, life at London feels surreal. I am so excited for what this experience will have in store for me, and I am especially excited to start working with Alessia at the lab this week!