Walking round London town

You might laugh - you might frown,
Walking round London town
When you look with your eyes,
Everything seems nice...
But, if you look twice,
You can see it's all lies
- Lily Allen, LDN

This is my sixth night in London and for the first time it seems that I've finally adopted the GMT. It's late in the evening and I'm writing this with weary eyes after spending a better half of the day walking all around London town. In fact today I enjoyed my very first picnic on Hampstead Heath with a group of new friends I've made during these first few days at UCL. The first question you guys apparently want to ask is how is London and how have I settled? As always there's no simple or short answer to these questions (other than false ones) so let's start from the beginning, shall we?

London welcomed me warmly and hospitably in the form of a Finnish colleague and now a friend of mine who is studying and working in London at UCL. Not only did I get a roof and a place to sleep for the first night but also a great deal of help, tips and advice with settling into new environment. These last few days (as expected) have been crammed with information and details that all have to be strictly memorized and used in everyday practice: starting with what seems to be a dozen of different Intranet systems and finishing off with a totally poor glazing and crappy (yeah!) sewer system. I wouldn't go teaching Britons anything about how things are done back in the North for the world but every once in a while I find myself wondering about the greatness of Britain. I reckon their superiority is as much of a myth as the Finnish uprightness.

Then, on the other hand, London, unlike Moscow, seems to be a comparably decent or even compact in its size and magnitude. There is of course, yet again, a ridiculously large amount of people around (especially on Friday and Saturday nights, as expected) but that has to do a lot with the simple fact that I live in the frigging Bloomsbury - in the very heart of the city. Otherwise, e.g. in the underground, there definitely is more space and even decent distance between people unlike in the public transport system of Moscow. So, all things considered I believe that it is quite possible for me to get used to this city and to its ways. This is much more easier in view of the fact that I have my own quiet corner of an attic room with decent view to the grim backyard of our dormitory. Here is a view of my room for you:

I've also managed to get my course schedules and academic timetables in order well in advance (took some effort that - to do it all in only three first days while here in UK). Among other things I will be taking courses on Fascism and Authoritarianism in the Eastern Europe during the inter war period, sex and gender in Russian Cinema, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, vampires as part of society and culture on the east side of Elbe river and some more courses of literature and history. Not bad all things considered, aye? And after all - this is the UCL. So, might as well smile while thinking of all the things ahead of me.

And on the brightest side I'm already planning my first trip out of London. First on my horizon appears the city of Bristol where I have two friends with whom I've already being in touch with. I met them while in Moscow and am more than eager to meet them in their own habitat and climate. I might also get a chance to see some of the places that I'm already familiar with after my last epic journey here in Britain few years back. Of these I have two in the West Country: Wells and Glastonbury. I'm looking forward to writing to you from all of these places.

Few weeks ago I wrote you about a band called Flogging Molly. I was invited by a friend of mine to their gig in Helsinki this August but obviously I couldn't make it due to some geographical limitations. However, yesterday I managed to get two tickets at HMV to a concert of theirs here in London at the beginning of November. I'll be also expecting some exceptional company to join me so if you'd be interested in getting a first hand report from that gig, please, let me know!

Yours as streetwise as ever,

Stefan 

PS. A Briton seems to be emerging within me. As I mentioned it's only my sixth evening in UK and I'm already enjoying myself with some tea, Cornish pasties and... gasp!... the latest episodes of Doctor Who on BBC's iPlayer. Unfortunately these episodes cannot be watched outside of UK. Otherwise I would surely share them with you!