Ice nights

Upon arrival in London, the city was in a frenzy – no one seemed to know how to handle the (to my perception) very small amount of snow on the ground. One woman spent 10 minutes explaining to me that the reason there were hardly and hair dryers in stock was because the trucks just couldn’t get through all the snow. She was apologizing that I couldn’t buy more than one… Due to this, I want to show you are few things icy things I’ve been up to!

I’ve now been in London one full week, and I’ve had the chance to see and do lots of exciting activities. During orientation, the whole group went ice skating at the National History Museum. It was one of the first events IES held for us, and to make it even better – it was free!

View from above the rink.

A bunch of us skating.

We have five local British students that are essentially ambassadors for us. So, they plan events and show us cool places around London. On Monday night, we had a surprise event. They took us to an Ice bar! Apparently there are only four in the WHOLE world, so it was really a treat. The whole bar is made of ice, and they give you parkas so you don’t freeze in there. You are also only allowed to be there for 30 minutes, understandably! It was definitely a one time thing, but a great experience!

Hannah, myself, Becca and Megan and the Ice Bar.

What I learned in class this week:

• The term “teenager” (when used to discuss youth culture) actually applies to 14 to 44 year olds!
• London was first inhabited in BC 43 by the Romans, who called it Londinium.
• The City of London, an area of a little over a square mile, was walled in by the Romans. Today, this section is the financial district in London and it has its own mayor that is different than the rest of the city.