Now that I am two weeks into my study abroad experience, I thought I should post about the "study" part. LSE has been great! The campus is very cool, especially the Saw Sweet Hook Student Union, the library, and the new academic building where my class is, and also compact, making getting from place to place very easy.
The International Political Economy class has been very interesting as well. It is a very intensive class (doing a semester in 3 weeks apparently requires 3 hours of lecture and an a hour section every day) and it moves quickly, but the subject is something I have always wanted to study more and I am learning a lot each day. The teacher keeps the class light, encourages great discussions, and overall makes the class enjoyable. Also, he looks like Robben from the Dutch football team and sounds exactly like Jerry Seinfeld. I'm still holding on to the hope that one of these days he stops class to do some stand up!
The class itself is so diverse, which is awesome for an international relations course because we hear perspectives from America and the UK, but also from Columbia, Mexico, France, China... and even Kazakstan. There are a lot of Yale kids here (and a lot of Yale jokes on the world trending LSE yik yak), and I've become good friends with a Senior football player from Stiles named Davis. I've met so many other cool people here as well, including Maja, a parkour mover from Austria, Peter, a research assistant from Penn, Chris and David, bros from Johnny Football's class at Texas A&M, _____ a recent Mexican graduate of Florida Gulf Coast Academy (unfortunately he's not on the basketball team, but if a 5'5" Mexican kid could play basketball anywhere, he would definitely fit in best at FGCU), and many, many more.
The class itself is so diverse, which is awesome for an international relations course because we hear perspectives from America and the UK, but also from Columbia, Mexico, France, China... and even Kazakstan. There are a lot of Yale kids here (and a lot of Yale jokes on the world trending LSE yik yak), and I've become good friends with a Senior football player from Stiles named Davis. I've met so many other cool people here as well, including Maja, a parkour mover from Austria, Peter, a research assistant from Penn, Chris and David, bros from Johnny Football's class at Texas A&M, _____ a recent Mexican graduate of Florida Gulf Coast Academy (unfortunately he's not on the basketball team, but if a 5'5" Mexican kid could play basketball anywhere, he would definitely fit in best at FGCU), and many, many more.
I only need a C- to pass the course and earn credit, while the grade doesn't factor into my GPA, which basically means I've been enjoying what London has to offer a little more than what the readings do. I still managed to put together a pretty good presentation on developing countries' vulnerability to financial crises, and score an A- on the first midterm (which means I need 20/80 on the final to maintain that C-, yes!). I don't usually pat myself on the back, but I must say I am pretty proud of that considering the level and experience of many other students in the class, who have much deeper backgrounds in international relations and economics, and many of whom are upperclassmen or graduates (and even a couple legit adults).
Overall, LSE has been a great, consistent balance to exploring London, and while the classes do start getting tedious about 2 hours in, the knowledge I've gained and the people I've met definitely confirm the fact that this study abroad opportunity is the best way to see a new culture in London.
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