Too Legit to Quit

• First official set of business cards can make you feel pretty legit.  In the fancy, "I have no one to actually give these to" kind of way.  Were they necessary?  Absolutely not.  Are they still amazing?  Nooooo question.  Currently in the process of ordering an equally necessary/amazing business card holder.

• Having a set of one's own graduate student business cards can inspire heated jealousy amongst one's peers.  Starting trends left and right.

• "suspenders" = a type of typically risque lingerie, not to be confused with "braces" = a slightly less exciting trouser-suspending device.  This confusion could lead to awkward smiles from the middle-aged Marks & Spencer salesman.

Bringing Halloween to the Brits

• Memo To London: having only ONE Halloween shop in your city lends to a less than spectacular holiday for your poor little residents.  Say, for instance, one wanted to be a ladybug and one needed a small little pair of wings.  This person might have been willing to pay mmmm £15 for said wings.  Sadly, however, your ONE Halloween shop wanted to charge her £35.  £35!!!! For a useless, half broken pair of wings!!!! Absolutely criminal.  Party City, you are sorely missed.

• Not to fear, good old fashioned Amurrican creativity can save you from heartless British costume tyrants.  For a grand total of £11, some H&M suspenders and taped glasses can go a long way.  

• As you might have guessed from the presence of ONE costume shop in London, Brits aren't really known for their Halloween "do's."  When they do dress up, it leans more toward scary than slaggy.  This means that the American students cannot put on a black nighty and pointy hat and say "I'm a witch, duh." No, last night many Americans showed their respect for British culture by embracing the full mini-skirt option.  We'll just chalk it up to some lingering anti-imperialist resentment.

Poor Man's Britney

• 2011 Britney Spears < < < < < 2003 Britney Spears.  No, this is not new knowledge, per se, but it took seeing it with my own Spears-apologist eyes to finally admit that our dear Brit is no longer the same Britney "I Throw Down and OWN the Stage" Spears of yore.  Her dancing, what little of it occurs, seems to be happening in a sea of molasses.  And by molasses I mean anti-psychotics. 

• Groupons exist here too.  (Mom: Groupon is like on online coupon--for groups.)  When you have the chance to purchase tickets for BSpears (in whatever shape she might be) for £15 purchase them. Every time.

• It is convenient to enjoy something someone recommends.  The alternative involves way too much awkward smiling and nodding.  For instance, when a new friend says "Oh I am in a band with my buddy! Check out this site to hear our music," certain people might become nervous that this band might be less "enjoyable" and more "Insane Clown Posse."  When the band, however, turns out to be quite good everything just seems more...convenient.  Honestly saying "Loved that song!" is infinitely better than lying.  Not that I would ever do that.

Embrace the Pleather

• Sometimes, whilst on a student budget, one must relinquish one's attachment to foundational social norms and do the unthinkable--embrace the pleather.  Aside from my ever-loving sister, everyone has been quite supportive of this life choice and will undoubtedly follow suit.  PETA will likely be issuing a public thank-you any day now.

• Always bring water with you when you are presenting in class.  Especially when you have a hacking cough similar to the black lung.  Health code violations aside, being sick in front of people is just awkward for everyone involved.  Water can help to mitigate those concerns so you should probs have it on hand.  The presentation might still go well but you will always be the girl who coughed up a lung during slide 7.

• Friday classes are no good.  No good at all.  Some people (like moi) have the forethought not to enroll in them.  Other friends...not so much.  This means these sad folk are faced with the dilemma of missing class or paying an exorbitant amount for a flight that will cut out a full day of travel.  Yes, we are here to study, but part of any graduate experience is getting out to explore all the area has to offer--culturally, architecturally, socially...the list goes on.  So Prague is booked for Nov 11-14.  Looks like some friends might be missing class...

Suite Life

• When friends are in London for work, ALWAYS take them up on their offer to go out for dinner/drinks.  This can lead to a fancy meal courtesy of Gibson Dunn/Fox Searchlight, followed by even fancier drinks at the Soho Hotel.  Oh and did I mention that Annie's 2 BR/2 bath suite had a LIVING ROOM?!  Note to self: embrace the private sector.

• New discovery: Primark.  Imagine Forever 21 on steroids.  Amazingly cheap and, after some focused searching, one can find some quality items.  Frontrunner for new favorite store.  Minor setback: everyday is Black Friday at Primark.  It's a tourist hotspot and we already know enough about those tourists to know that they don't mess.  If you do not step away from their desired pleather jacket, they will cut you.  As Sarah stated, there will be battle gear needed for future trips.  And yet, totally worth it.

• As my teacher friends will likely second, systems are your friend.  Prior to this weekend I had been operating under the strict policy of organized chaos.  There might be multiple piles of syllabi, notes and readings on my desk and bookshelf but I knew where to find the important stuff!  Needless to say, that system was...failing.  Did a little backwards planning (oh hey TFA!) and decided on a course of action.  2 hours, £25 and a broken hole punch later, I have a new system.  It involves highlighters, color-coding and a pink stapler.  Success.

Private > Public

• Unlike UCLA's 'dry campus' policy, alcohol at virtually every event on campus is the norm here.  But wait, it gets better.  Thanks mainly to our hefty tuition fees, department functions, like the IR cocktail reception pictured above, involve free alcohol.  Lots of it.  Private school FTW.

• That being said, there is a time and a place for heavy drinking.  LSE events where professors and thesis advisors are present?  Probably not one of them.  Maybe this should be communicated in memo form to certain attendees regardless of place of origin. *cough*Jersey*cough*

• Apparently it's considered appropriate to celebrate the recent death of a dictator by including pictures of his corpse at the beginning of your seminar Powerpoint presentation.  It was aggressive and sudden and completely unnecessary.  NOT your #1 fan, awkward MSc Global Politics student from Ohio.

• New dessert discovery to celebrate a friend's placement as a Parliamentary intern: dough balls with Nutella.  That's right.  They serve Nutella in restaurants here.  As in, they bring it to your table. Like a teeny little cup of heaven.  Why thank you, London.  Don't mind if I do.

Journalist or Traitor?

• The Grimshaw Club (weird name, I know) is the student society for LSE's International Relations Department--and the oldest society on campus.  It's known for two popular activities: planning IR-themed trips throughout the world and hosting speakers and panel discussions.  David Loyn, BBC's international development correspondent and Taliban "insider," spoke last night about his experiences reporting on Afghanistan and how he leveraged his 1990s relationships with Taliban commanders for interviews post-9/11.  After the BBC aired Loyn's interview of a major Taliban leader in 2006, defense secretary Liam Fox called Loyn a "traitor." [Side bar: Fox is currently having some problems of his own and I encourage you to investigate via our friend Google as the whole issue offers some nice insight into the often inflammatory nature of British politics--not unlike home!]

• As someone who is less than interested in the Middle East (scandalous!) I found his experiences to be surprisingly fascinating and quite insightful.  He had a lot to say about the ways in which the US and England made poor choices, often cultural, in their approach toward involvement in Afghanistan but he also had suggestions on steps to take that might improve relations and lead to a more stable environment.  All in all, I came out smarter.

• Loyn also showed some maps and pictures of the Afghan terrain.  Despite my *VAST* knowledge of Afghanistan, I had no idea the extent to which virtually impenetrable mountainous regions cover the area and how those mountains transform the country into a chessboard of strategic positioning for both our troops and outside interests (like China).  Wouldn't mind hearing Scott Tillson's views on this--after he finished laughing at my serious lack of topical knowledge, of course.

• Along those lines of intellectual stimulation, "sluts" here are called "slags." You're welcome.

Articulate!

• Apparently, Brits love their board games.  Case in point: Articulate!  It's like Taboo without the exciting buzzer but with an added element of charades. 

• Language barriers take on a whole new meaning when you have a Danish guy trying to describe "bannister" to a Brazilian girl, without actually knowing what the word means.  I learned some colorful words from a few languages during that round.

• When gathering a group of slightly aggressive competitors (graduate students, for instance) for game playing, one should remind everyone that games are played for FUN and do not need to serve as proof of strategic superiority.  I will not EVEN address the realist vs idealist balance of power debate that somehow worked its way into the game.

• Night buses are my friend, especially the N8.  Nothing like knowing the bus schedule to make you feel at home.

Death by Job Fair

• Ancient Rome had gladiator battles and the Colosseum.  London has job fairs and conference rooms.  Seriously. 

• When you walk into one, you literally feel like you have to throw down with the aggressive undergrad to your right in order to talk to anyone.  I mean I have been to job fairs before, sure, but this is England!  Home of high pinkies and cucumber sandwiches!  I guess I had imagined a quiet tea party with classical music playing in the background. This is...not the case.

• I have now been to 3 of these fairs, with promises of meeting representatives from consulting firms, NGOs, MNCs, etc. Yes, you meet people but, 9 times out of 10, they have no more information for you than what's already on the firm's website.  And you can rest assured that, despite significant time spent developing good questions and picking out the best outfit, not a single rep will remember your name.

• Still, it is possible to narrow down a list of companies by paying attention to things like the types of representatives they bring (ie recruiting staff vs. actual consultants...), how scripted answers tend to be, and how they answer idiotic questions like "What is an MBA?" Not a joke. I witnessed this.  It was unfortunate.

• More unfortunate: international body odor.  You think I'm kidding.

A Little Taste of Home

• Care packages filled with some of my favorite things from home are an AMAZING way to end my week, even when the gossip is outdated :)  Thanks Sarah!!

• Feelings about the US and Americans in general fall on a wide spectrum here on campus.  There are people like my new German friend Alex who announces upon meeting me that he LOVES America, eventually wants to live/work/procreate there, and happily proposes marriage to most American women. (Don't worry, I declined.)  On the other hand, there is a Dutch girl in my Conflict and Peace Studies class who announced yesterday that American-dominated interventionism in third party wars and conflicts unquestionably results in mass genocide and war profiteering.  Needless to say, she will probably not be having American babies anytime soon.

• Speaking of fun things like genocide, I am starting to narrow down my thoughts on a possible dissertation topic.  I am considering something along the lines of "the role of education in sustainable peacebuilding/statebuilding within fragile or failed states, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa."  I've tailored my course choices in a way that should help with some of the initial research and exposure to material.  I will undoubtedly change my mind another 3-4 times so I will keep you all posted on the oh so fascinating world of thesis research.

Iron and Wine

• Iron and Wine is an American musician named Samuel Beam.  In my highly musically-educated opinion*, he is fantastic and his live concert is not to be missed.  In fact, if you would like watch a video of my thoughts click on the last video in the link below:

 http://www.winkball.com/walls/GhbNV4ylE6Js/iron-and-wine-at-shepherd-s-bush-empire

• Yes, my London video debut could have seriously benefited from some professional training courtesy of my dear seester.  Needless to say, I should not give up my day job.

• This is going to be a tough year, academically.  Yesterday was my first seminar for our compulsory course and while there is a wide range of backgrounds/skills, I am definitely not coming in as the most knowledgeable.  Far from it.  Following a somewhat lengthy initial panic attack, I have started to settle into a good schedule of reading, study groups and class.  Starting to breathe normally again.
  

• This is also going to be a FAST year.  Gotta focus on enjoying every moment.

*I know absolutely nothing about music.

Medicinal Starbucks

• Sometimes the usual "white cafe Americano" just doesn't cut it.  Maybe it's a little bit of homesickness.  Maybe it's just the lack of any kind of coffee creamer in London(!).  But occasionally there are moments in our lives when a Starbucks skinny vanilla latte is simply necessary.

• I have a feeling that those moments are going to be strategically occurring on future Sundays spent reading for 6 hours at the library.  Don't worry, that wasn't today.  Today I spent 7 hours there.

• Canada has a Thanksgiving too!  But no need for silly trappings of delicious meals and over-indulgence!  Instead, let's go to the Maple Leaf, "a small piece of Canada in London," for half-priced drinks!  It will make getting up early for your hours of studying tomorrow SO much better!  No?  It didn't?  Blame Canada.

New Library Home

• LSE professors have an interesting way of assigning reading.  Rather than require specific chapters or pages, they prefer to say things like: "Week 1 Required Texts - _____, _____, ____, ____, ____.  Week 1 Highly Recommended Texts - ____, ____, ____, ____, ____, ____, ____, ____, ____."  This is usually accompanied by my personal favorite: "Have a general understanding of the following texts."  So basically, know everything. Got it.

• Hence, meet my new home, the LSE Library.  Looks like a cruise ship, right?  Wrong.  It's more like the Titanic of studying.  Everything seems smooth and lovely--until you hit the iceberg of reality.  Boom.  Welcome to Week 2.

• Study groups are key.  They keep you on your toes as far as reading in a timely fashion because you don't want to be dead weight AND they ultimately lessen the reading load.  Love this.

• 1 year masters courses require almost immediate attention to job hunting for next year.  Hate this.

And It Begins...

• The "first day of school" excitement continues well into adulthood.

• The best way to lead into said first day is to enjoy beautiful weather through picnicking, exploring and, of course, pedal boating along the Serpentine in Hyde Park.

• Taking courses that interest you is exciting: International Politics, International Institutions, Conflict and Peace Studies, and Political Economy of International Trade.  This is in stark contrast to, say, "Methodology of Teaching Science."  Shout out to American University Eagles!

• Picking out a first day of school outfit is an incredibly important yet challenging task.  It is a STRUGGLE without the input of fashionable roommates. 

Beautiful Borough

• Borough Market on a Saturday morning is intense.  Lots of people, lots of smells--good and bad.  Despite my aversion to crowds, it was such a wonderful way to spend my morning.  Walked along the Thames and crossed Millennium Bridge into south London, enjoying the beautiful weather, and bought some delish items.  Sadly, no flowers.

• Adjacent to Borough is Southwark Cathedral.  It's a quiet, surprisingly empty escape from the hustle of the market.  Me, myself and I really enjoyed our alone time there.

• Tourists don't mess around.  You think you're getting an early start at 8:30 but you've got nothing on the tourists.  They have already circled the city in a double-decker bus.  Twice.