A month into our life in London, and we are settling in nicely. Ryan has been working part-time for our flatmate's landscaping business, and I am also working for him as an administrative assistant. So far we are getting along well together, we often cook big vegetarian meals as a household and are enjoying the benefits of sharing the grocery bill, which now includes a big weekly organic produce box that I am particularly thrilled about. For the most part, I am feeling healthy, just a few headaches here and there. Ryan however got bitten by some kind of exotic bug last week and ended up in the ER with a massively swollen hand and arm! (Unfortunately we didn't think to take any pictures, but I can assure you it was gruesome looking). Anyhow they gave him a heavy load of antibiotics and he seems to be fine now. Other than that, he has been applying for jobs around London, aiming for something working for one of the city's many universities.
Last weekend we went to a really nice dinner party at the flat of some fellow London Marshall Scholars. There is a sizable group of us here in town together this year, and of those a lot of great people that Ryan and I both get on well with. We are looking forward to spending more time with them all, perhaps instigating a kind of weekly pub night together. One this is for sure, this year will be a far cry from the kind of isolation we felt last year at times up in Scotland.
I am finally all registered and signed up for classes at LSE, which will start next week. This year I will be taking the following courses: Foundations and Key Issues in Human Rights, Complex Emergencies (about humanitarian disasters and political crises), Population and Development, Terrorism and the Rule of Law, and War, Peace and the Politics of National Self-Determination. LSE is a really fantastic school, and already I am really impressed by all the resources it has to offer, not the least of which is a really cheap student gym where I can train for my next marathon!
There are about a zillion student groups and sporting clubs, including a rock climbing club (which we will most definitely join) and a cycling group as well.
The weather has been quite good in London this last month, though elements of autumn are definitely beginning to creep in. Still, it is much warmer and drier than Edinburgh, and so that is doing wonders for my disposition. Before the weather changes too much I hope that we can get out a bit on our bikes and explore the surrounding countryside.
All in all, I think that it is going to be a very good year!
lots of love,
alletta (and ryan, though he never gets off his bum to post on his own!)
