Fighting Beavers!

I have registered for LSE! I have a student card and can officially get into the library. I am quite excited. The mascot of LSE is the beaver. Next week I have a school orientation, recommended public lecture, and 2 all day gender institute orientations. Class officially starts on the 5th of October.

On Friday I went on a campus tour with some people from my course. We went out to lunch and coffee to get to know each other. I didn't immediately click with anyone, but everyone seems nice. I think there are only 3 guys in the course (none of them came around for the tour). This is par for the course in my gender studies experience. I am excited to meet everyone, I hope I can make some friends! I learned that some Hare Krishna people come to the quad of LSE everyday and give out free food - but only for 30 min, so you have to queue early. I have also learned that one of the buildings is rumored to be haunted by a dolphin.

I have also obtained my phone. If I haven't sent you the number and you are interested, send me a message! It is a rudimentary phone, but will do the job. I can check facebook for free with my £10 top up. Which is not actually that fun because it takes so damn long to type everything in. But it is nice to have none the less!

I am opening a bank account next week. I went to a banking fair and almost signed up with HSBC, but didn't have the proper paperwork. Once I have this, I can pay my course fees and rent and all will good!

The student guide given to me at registration has some very funny bits. They recommend things like sneaking on the back of buses to get away with not paying and squatting if you have no where to live. They put a disclaimer that "the students' union does not condone" these things.

Possibly my favorite part of the whole guide is the section on etiquette. "The Brits love to talk about the weather. If you are ever stuck for something to say, a polite comment about how rainy or sunny it is often goes down well." "The Brits love to queue." "At very formal occasions, it is common to start the meal with a toast to the Queen."

Fall is in the air

I have been here for a week now and am starting to get stuff together. I ordered a phone online! It only cost £10 and as a result is a bit of a dinosaur. It will get here tomorrow, although I may be out when it comes. Tomorrow I have registration, I think I will be getting my student card. I am not sure what to expect. I am quite excited to have access to LSE's library.

Today, I went for a walk around Ealing Common. It is cloudy and there is a slight wind - fall is in the air! The leaves are turning colors and falling off the trees in the Common. Fall is great, and I think London in the fall will be beautiful. I can't wait to start school and really get into the swing of life.

Phone adventures

Finding a phone plan in the UK is different than the US. I know that I am doing a pay-as-you-go plan, which is always going to be different than a contract, but I am still having problems with the differences.

For one, all phones here operate on SIM cards. Some phones in the US do, but Verizon definitely does not (so I am not too familiar with it). Here you can send away for different SIM cards that have deals attached to them. For example, a company named O2 has a SIM card that gives you unlimited texts and internet if you top up £15 a month. I'm looking for a phone to buy, but that will come with a SIM card as well. I am unclear if you have to switch out your SIM card if you want a different deal.

If you get your phone unlocked, you can put a SIM card from any company in your phone, no matter where you buy it from. In the US, my samsung phone has been claimed by Verizon- you can tell because Verizon has stamped itself on the phone.

I am supposed to walk up to Ealing Broadway today and go talk to the people at Orange, I think I have picked them for my phone plan. They have a samsung phone that looks just like the phone I had in the US, although I might not buy it because it is a bit expensive. I could do all of this online, but I will probably understand the whole thing better if I talk to someone.

I messaged someone on my course and on Friday we are going on a campus tour together with some other people on the course. I am excited and nervous. It will be good to get out and meet people before school starts.