Where in the World is Jenny?: Faux Fashionistas

Where in the world is Jenny now? Class. Wah wah.

"Wait, you have to actually study during study abroad??" Why yes, seems a pity doesn't it?

Just kidding ;-) I was actually looking forward to my first class today. Backing up a bit, yesterday was another lecture day. Dr. Michael Peplar spoke about "Britain & Politics." It's pretty crazy to think about how the British Empire expanded to include over 20% of Earth's surface by the early 20th century. Dr. Peplar also addressed British stereotypes: wealthy, old men with bad teeth and an affinity for tea. He encouraged us to note our preconceptions of the British now and then to reassess these thoughts at the end of the semester.

Blame this guy for the bad teeth stereotype

Next up was Dr. Paul Cousins, whose voice sounded exactly like Professor Slughorn's from the sixth Harry Potter movie. Alas, this man was no wizard, but he did share his knowledge by lecturing on "Empire, Europe, and Economics," detailing how Britain was once the workshop for the world.

Dr. Paul Cousins (born in Canterbury!)

During comedy night at our program center, I got a taste of British humor from a really witty--and often crude--young comic. After dinner, I and what seemed like half of the program headed over to Imperial College Club to mix with the local British students. Imperial College focuses on science and technology and is located only ten minutes away from my dorm.

Enough of the fun and games and all that sort of rubbish; time for class! Today was my first day of class. I am taking two four-hour-long classes twice a week for five weeks. "Strategy and Tactics in British Public Relations" with Dr. Heller was quite interesting (and it's much easier to pay attention when your teacher has a cool British accent). He definitely presented very strong opinions about the relationship/meshing of marketing and public relations.

Linds and I were the first ones there. We're nerds and we like it.

Exploring time! After class, a few of us walked over to Kensington High Street, one of western London's most popular shopping streets. (Don't worry parentals, I didn't end up buying anything.)

Jina's giving me the "what's with all the photos?" glare; I've got a blog audience to entertain!

The cars driving on the other side still confuse me, but at least these road signs help.

South Kensington, feels a bit like Boston's Downtown Crossing or New York City

Lots of American brands have made their way to High Street

Window shopping

Window drooling

Top Shop is a very popular British chain of clothing stores. It reminded me of Urban Outfitters.

Linds and I are not quite on our game when it comes to European fashion yet:

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

(Yes that's right, for all you MK&A fans out of there, we pulled a Winning London fashion show in the dressing room.) Hopefully we'll get the hang of it eventually....

Dinner was cooked by the lovely Lauren at The Crofton, the biggest dorm in the program. Shrimp scampi, yum!

Cooking in: a good way to save money

The "Start of the Semester" party was also last night. Almost all of the students on the program seemed to be there, mingling and dancing in the packed Opal Bar at Victoria Embankment.