Wow, it’s already the middle of week 3 for the program and finals for Module 1 courses are already coming up. I just finished a long essay for one of my Module 1 courses and I really regret not following international politics closely these past few years (please read the news kids, your life will reach great clarity and your college writing life will increase ten-fold). Here are some highlights of the past weeks and some more glimpse in to Cambridge life.
I’ll start of with the weekend of Week 1 which was packed with activities.
On Wednesday, we had our first formal where everyone dresses up and no one really knows each other. Our dining hall at King’s was converted into a Harry Potter-esque setting and everyone joked about not knowing table manners (we really didn’t, why were there so many forks and knives, I cry). Really well presented three course meal and a fun experience. Unlimited wine for all! There are vegetarian options that can be requested beforehand! Please excuse my lighting, lighting was terrible and I was too hungry to adjust the camera. Check out the IPhone flashlight though.
Friday morning at 8:20AM, my friend (yay friend!) and I boarded our coach to London. This is a trip organized by the PKP program which is great because not only do you get to experience the cultural, political, and economic center of the country, but its so nice to have your dedicated transportation and people could choose to hang out in the city for the rest of the weekend.
Anyhow, first and last thing on the itinerary (-ish) of the day was a boat tour with all 350 PKP students down the River Thames. Our coach turned the wrong way and we ended up crossing the Tower Bridge to the other bank instead of Crown Pier. There was heavy traffic so everyone ended up getting of the coach in the middle of the road (hence more traffic) and we all ran onto the boat. Honestly, I recommend not going on the boat because it was super long (two hours) and you could really see the sights better by foot on your own time. It takes you to Greenwich, but you can get there yourself as well through public transportation if you really want to go.
Since my friend and I had been to London before a couple times, we didn’t really go to specific tourist spots. First we headed towards Tate Modern (scratch not going to tourist spots) where we ate at a really good Italian place called Capricci. Tate Modern is mostly free so we also spent around thirty minutes walking around the exhibits there. We then headed to Piccadilly Circus (get your Oyster cards if you think you’re going to be in London a lot!) to buy tea for our families at Fortnum and Mason (our priorities are A+) and shopped around Oxford Street for personal shopping (got a Longchamp bag for $70 on sale and friend got a Ted Baker for only $55).
On Saturday, I woke up (not really, I was up the whole night) at 4:30AM to get on a 5:35AM train to King’s Cross because some of my friends and I signed up for an Windsor Castle-Stonehenge-Oxford tour. It was with Golden Tours and you’re provided with a vegetarian sandwich, water, and chips for lunch. I slept so much on the bus, I almost didn’t want to get off at the stops. Really fun tour, although a little rushed but since the locations were not close to each other, its understandable. I got to take pictures with the STONEHENGE. The fields were so pretty and there were so many poppy blossoms everywhere. Apparently people often times get let down by the stones but it was all amazing for me. After visitng Oxford, I decided I liked Cambridge’s atmosphere more (shhh).
More Cambridge deets:
Here are some pictures of what the meals look like and usually we would sit in the same dining hall as we had the formal in but there’s been a lot of events so we’ve been kicked to the back room. Lunches are similar and for breakfast there are lots of meat and pastry options. I heard King’s food is better than Pembroke but never tried Pembroke so I can’t say. There’s lots of options and it’s buffet style.
Lecture Halls:
Seminar rooms vary and are usually at one of the colleges, but lectures take place in the Engineering Hall. My classes were all in the same room so I took some pictures of it. Not sure if all the lecture rooms are the same size, but since classes are up to thirty people, it should be around the same.
Classes:
Holyy, I’ve never had a class pass by so fast and information is just running out of my head (most likely because I am required to fall asleep in every class no matter what because its either after breakfast or lunch and I have really bad food coma). I just finished an essay on the EU structure and why they can’t find a solution to organize the refugee crisis and I’ve learned my lesson to READ THE NEWS. Really fun class with great documentaries! The other class, Bloomsbury is quite interesting as well, with lots of history on Cambridge and tours around faculty areas and the Fitzwilliam Museum archives.
