Last days

This is one of my Uni buildings on Regent St. 

This is outside my flat- yes that is snow on the ground.

I figured I'd post some pics before I leave. Its snowing again which is great and pretty but I'm worried Gatwick is going to be closed tomorrow when I leave. I'm hoping for the best. I'll be at the airport in less than 24 hours. That's really weird to fathom. I love London, I just wish I could bring my life over here.
I turned in the last of my coursework on Thursday. Woohoo! I won't get my grades until the end of February though, so that's a long time to wait. Packing has gone pretty well so far. I just have a few more things to fit in. I'm hoping it'll work.

One week

Wow, it's crazy to think I leave London one week from today. In fact, one week from right now my flight will probably just have taken off. I have spent a majority of the last 10 days working on my finals, with some occasional Christmas shopping thrown in.

Things I want to do my last week in London:
-finish my finals and hand them in
-finish Christmas shopping
-make curry again
-read in the British library

...that's all I can think of.

Snow

Also, it has snowed the past two days in London.

Craziness ensues

 Gina and I at the Basilica in Quito. We climbed to the top to get a view of the city.

 The view from the top!

 

This is Gina and I in her house on the day we were stuck inside because Ecuador was doing their census.

I officially have less than three weeks left in London. In that time I have one more book to finish. I feel so accomplished having read 27 books in less than three months. However, I have five papers due my last week here (on the 15th and 17th on December). I've rough drafted two of them, have solid idea and research for two others, and have almost no idea on the last one. The last one being the one I have to present to my professor tomorrow afternoon. Oi. Currently, this last book I'm reading ("Woman on the Edge of Time" by Marge Piercy) is quite interesting. It's taking me the longest to read- mostly because I took a break while I was in Quito! But it's about this woman who is debatable-y mad and in this alternate reality she sees which is in the future, there is no gender! All people use the pronoun person, or per for short. I'm curious to see how the book ends. 

I've been insanely busy for so long now. Between my travels to Edinburgh and then my travels to Ecuador, I haven't been in London that much recently. Although I love London, I've really enjoyed traveling. I can't believe two of my papers are due two weeks from today. I have to really start working on these.

I will attempt to post more during the next few weeks before I leave.
Also, upon my travels to Ecuador, I realized that I forgot how to count American money- I like the British coins better. And that I thought it was weird when cars drove on the right side of the road instead of the left.

Edinburgh

Hey!
I'm in Edinburgh, Scotland for a few days. I like the Scottish accent quite a lot, even better than the British. It's fantastic. Figured I'd post from here because I'm always so busy when I'm in London. I have just about 5 weeks left of my program. I'm having insanely mixed feelings about that. I really love London and the UK in general. I could honestly see myself coming back here, even living here in the future. But at the same time being here for just about three months hasn't actually allowed me to make any really good friends. That's been kind of rough. It has taught me that I do really enjoy a big city though and I'm looking forward to going to grad school in an urban area. I love public transportation. Even though every one in London actually hates the tube, I think it's fantastic. Even though I was trapped underground in one for ten minutes the other day. It will be interesting going back to the American education system. In Britain, it's such a community- every in one major takes almost the exact same courses each semester and they form a little group. I've been reading so much and doing my own research so that I feel like I'm in this own little world of academia. Although I have less assignments, I feel more immersed in the ones I do have. I have read about 20 books in less than two months. And even though I haven't enjoyed all of them, it makes me feel like maybe after all I'm not a TOTAL failure at being an English major.
I'm off for a night of poker and a Spanish club.
I'll post pics from Edinburgh when I get back to London.

I figured I'd post some pics since I haven't for the last few weeks. This first shot is of some street art near my flat.  The second is of the ocean in Brighton. They have rocks on that beach. It blew my mind. The next pic is the Brighton Pier. The following two pics are of Gina and I when she came to visit. The first is in Camden and the second is on the Tower Bridge.

These next two pics are of me from my trip to Wales.

Hope you enjoy!

I've lost track of when I last posted...

It's November 1st and I can't believe it. Things have started to settle back down a little bit here but now I'm realizing I really need to get working on my end of the semester projects before I get too overwhelmed in December. Not to mention the 11 more books I have to read in the next month.
I went to a meeting with the LGBT society at Westminster and that was good. I've made some more friends which is always nice.
There is supposed to be another tube strike starting Tuesday night and lasting all through Wednesday. Which isn't that great considering Tuesday and Wednesday is the only days I have class. But I'll deal.
Last week, I went to the London Library and spent the afternoon there. It was definitely one of my favorite libraries I've ever been to. There were so many hidden corridors full of books. I loved it so much that I set my prose piece for my Writing London class there.
Last week I spent a day in Brighton. It was really nice there, although a bit cold. I think it would have been better if I had gone with someone as well. I might go back for a writers conference later this month.
There is only so many things I can do by myself before it gets sort of boring.
We've changed our clocks back an hour here now so that means the days must be getting shorter. It has been getting colder too. I'm trying not to break out the hat and gloves yet. But it's not far off.
I'm going to the Tate Modern with my Writing London class tomorrow so that should be exciting.
Well.... I don't have much else to say at this point. I've got to read some more.