So I'm writing this post from the British Library, which is less than a ten minute walk from my flat. With over 13 million volumes, it's the largest library in the world (suck it, Library of Congress). I can't wait to start using it as a resource for school, and also just as a nice place to get some quiet reading done. Classes (finally) start on Tuesday, which means that my life here will start to get some semblance of a structure. I'll be taking three philosophy courses (Aesthetics, Normative Ethics, and a Philosophy of Mind class that I'm a more than a little terrified for) and an art history course called 19th- and 20th-Century Art in London, which meets every week in different galleries and museums across the city. I think it's the most excited I've ever been for a class schedule, especially considering each class only meets for an hour or two once a week. This means no class on Monday or Wednesday, and only one class on Friday. "Study" abroad, indeed.

With all the free time I've had over the last three weeks, I've really been able to do a lot of walking around and exploring in London. I'm starting to get accustomed to carrying an umbrella everywhere I go, seeing as since I've been here it's gone exactly one day without raining. It's really not so bad, though, the tube and bus system are so comprehensive that you can more or less avoid walking around outdoors if you choose. I chose to brave the elements, though, and have found a lot of really cool things. Last Sunday ended the London Design Festival, and I happened to stumble upon an old abandoned power building that had been set up to showcase different pieces by local and international designers. There were different types of furniture, light fixtures, a BMW that had been turned into some bizarre art installation (pictures below), and even a workshop upstairs. After that, I found my first (of hopefully many) Banksy pieces on the side of a wall in a beer garden farther down the street. I ended the day with a trip to the Wellcome Collection, where they had an exhibit all about skin. Pieces in the exhibit included old anatomy textbooks, volumes bound in human skin, and skin samples showcasing French tattoo art at the turn of the century. Yesterday I walked to the Tower of London, going straight through the heart of London's financial center (centre?), and then walking back around through Shoreditch, which is kind of like a mix between Wicker Park in Chicago and Xintiandi in Shanghi. Lots of cool bars, real artsy, definitely not somewhere I'm cool enough to fit in--yet.

I think one of my favorite parts about being here so far is the pub scene. It's completely unlike the bar scene in the States, a fact that I'm all for. As I heard it described to me, a pub (short for public house) is basically a shared living room for a neighborhood. Since the flats and houses here are so small, it's much easier to take the newspaper to a pub if you want a place to read. Also, it's great to be able to order a beer and talk with a friend and not have to worry about any kind of social stigma. The drinking culture is so embedded in British daily life that I was offered a glass beer when I sat down to get my hair cut the other day. I haven't seen a single can of Busch Light since I've been here, either, which is always a good thing. 

That's most of what's going on in my life right now, so check out the pics below and I'll try and write something again once classes get under way.