The Last Month and a Half

Yours Truly at a Climate Change Protest in late February

We were not a small group- apparently we were put on BBC that night.
Brilliant!

Ahhhhhhhh, the sigh of relief that ends the term.

It has been a whirlwind of a last six weeks, all of which came to a grinding halt on Friday as the last and final week of instruction for the year at LSE ended. This does not of course mean the year is over, but rather that exhausted students can take a couple of weeks to regain their composition on sunny beaches, in foreign countries, with friends and family, before returning to study for 6 solid weeks for final exams. Finals in the UK are not the same experience as in the USA college system. Whereas we get tested on the contents of one quarter (10 weeks), the LSE gives three hour comprehensive essay tests on the contents of the entire course (one test for each class). I'm looking forward to my nine hours of testing in June. Add to that my 30 page thesis that I wish to have a full rough draft for by the first week of July, and it becomes apparent that the year is far from over.

For now though, I'm breathing easier. I've written 45 pages of formative material for the class, and read over a foot's thickness of various economic and philosophical articles in the last 6 months. Fellow students joke that the LSE 1 year masters program is really 1.5 years crammed into 6 months. For those of us who aim to keep up with the reading, this is a truism. I will say you learn some very interesting skills from the experience, such as skimming/ reading a dense academic article while on the subway, or reading John Stuart Mill in the middle of choir rehearsals. If one truly wants to get a goal accomplished, one can always find enough time to get it done. That being said, I still have a LOT of reading to catch up on.. when I get back from my vacation (more on this later).

I pass by this tree on my daily walk to school.. it is TOO cool :P

I suppose I should comment on the last six weeks- what needs be said mostly is that I have found a happy niche in the LSE community. Every masters student finds this niche, much as a coral or a barnacle finds a happy spot to call its home within a reef. Many of my more studious friends find relatively (I say relatively because you can always hear elevators, printers, and undergrads on cell phones) quiet corners of the library, back behind the books. Others remain semi-nomadic, working from abandoned room to abandoned room in various academic buildings, leaving one place when a lecture is about to start, or if another squatter has already taken over. I somehow found myself in the basement of the philosophy department (I'll have to get a few pictures of the place). As awful as this may sound, the truth is the place is extremely cosy. There are couches, lockers, ample lighting, one or two of the fastest computers in the school (but don't tell ANYBODY), and, most importantly, PhD students. I mention the latter because PhD students are, I have decided, the best people to have around you if you want to study anything academic. Philosophy PhD's are incredibly dynamic persons, always ready to discuss ANYTHING (including your most recent essay) because, for the most part, they're completely sick of workin on their 200+ page dissertations (which they've been sitting in the basement doing for the last 2-5 years, depending on who this is). The personalities are amazing- there's Kizito, a Jesuit Priest from Uganda who is a second degree Karate black belt and has beaten people on the British national team in competitions. His workout regimen is inspiring. There's Stan, the aikido-studying philosopher of statistics (and the friendliest PhD I know- I'm pretty sure he put in a good word for me so I could stay in the basement to begin with). There's Hameed, Foad, and Etai, the Middle Eastern pack. I'm pretty sure Etai is Jewish and there have been some incredibly intense discussions about Gaza. Gary seeks out the profound subtleties of existing in many possible worlds (and is curious why Americans are so into what turns out to be a very basic formula of pornography). Tuomas is another martial artist/ PhD, and the list goes on. I've been engaged in some of the most random conversations in this department, and have been continuosly encouraged to work harder, simply by being in the environment. Apparently masters students are allowed into the basement to study along with the PhDs, but none have ventured in there- I believe I am the first. I found my bit of space, tenaciously clung to it, and am really happy to have the work environment that I do. The philosophy PhD group also includes some cool ladies- Mischa and Mareile among others, both of whom have given me incredible advice over the past six weeks about studying and essay techniques. The best thing about the basement? There's a personal locker (yaay, I'm back in high school) and there's a shower that's ALWAYS HOT.

Fellow Masters students Sung, Max, and Jordi take a moment

before Econ class starts.

Students protesting for free education outside the LSE..
their symbol of choice for this peaceful ideal? A clenched fist.

More than a handful of policemen decided to join the demonstrators..
I wonder if this had something to do with the fist..
Obviously, the current financial situation is not helping.

Suffice to say, I have become somewhat happy at LSE. It's almost a shame that the experience will be ending soon (wow, did I REALLY just type that?). But it's true- nowhere else on the planet will I ever find such a diverse and academic crowd in such a compact space. I am truly thankful for the experience. I can honestly say I have friends all over the world now, and will never have to be alone when I travel to Italy, Spain, France, the UK, Uganda, India, Ghana, Israel, Pakistan, Cypress, Iran, etc etc etc.. The best thing is I can offer my own home to these people as well- and to be honest there's more than a little interest in Orange County.

More LSE multiculturalism: Pakistani Students celebrate
and chant on Houghton Street during lunch time.
This rally was quite passionate (and loud).

I did say that I've found a niche at LSE. The niche is more than a location- it's a pattern; a weekly experience that washes over you like a wave, recedes, and comes back around again. You find yourself adrift in that space, and the days pass by with subtle variation in a way that is, to be honest, rather pleasant. The secret is to sleep a lot (especially in the British winter). The typical day involves waking up, stretching, eating hot oatmeal on the terrace (the sun is always up for the first few hours of the day over here), and then walking to school. I've given up on the bike- walking in London is a lot of fun, and on the weekends I skateboard. People really get a kick out of seeing somebody weaving through traffic on a longboard, but there it is. At school, I invariably attend a lecture or two, spend the rest of the time talking with friends, sojourning to the basement where I read for an hour or two, or work on some essay, and I intersperse time at the gym, yoga classes (which are offered twice a week right on campus), public lectures on various topics, and the occasional gymnastics class (my new passion, and more on this later). Days tend to end at about midnight, with a cup of hot chamomile tea on the terrace. On the weekends, there's always a party to check out, some dancing to do, and an essay to write on Saturday and Sunday. On Sundays I teach yoga class (I'm actually about to teach a class in an hour and a half over here-- last one of the term..).

Speaking of parties, here are the hot Salsa dancers at Guanabara on Fridays.

At another salsa party we were given feather belts (boas?).
I made mine into a hat.

This is Saeed's new favorite picture (Saeed's the dude in it).

Ahh yes! That brings me to one other secret. This part may sound a bit strange, but another philosopher friend and I have started a daily meditation practice. I would say this if anything has brought me through the past six weeks in a sane and healthy manner. Almost every day at 4 we'll meet in some quiet room, and then just sit for 20-30 minutes, reflecting or meditating.. Taking time off like this in the middle of a busy, continuous (even frenetic) academic system is the mental equivalent of standing in the eye of the hurricane. You always come back refreshed and ready to tackle the evening.

I have to agree, but this is a funny thing to see on a bus.

This was a lecture by an Isreali conscientious objector who resisted army service
and was imprisoned for doing so. She was very interesting to listen to,
and had a really peaceful, strong face.

Still hard to see her face.. I should have just asked her for a picture..
She was so extremely humble about her experiences.. very interesting person.

Of course the LSE A Capella group stayed strong during the term-
Here we practice The Circle of Life from the Lion King.

Neil, our A Capella fearless leader, gives
a small lecture on EEE-NUN-SSS-AYE-A-SHUN.

A view of students from the SECRET Bridge that I thought
there was no way to get to... I did find it! (Mat helped). Muahahahha.

I would like to say a whole lot more, but this will have to do for now. I wish I'd posted more often, but to be honest every day has involved one project or another, and the blog kept getting relegated. The next few months are less intense, however, and so I shall be putting up a lot more of what is going on, as well as interesting academic tidbits. This will ESPECIALLY include information that I gather for my masters thesis on the ethics of advertising and whether or not the state should regulate it. More on this later as well- I conclude with well wishes for ALL family and friends- I hope the sun is shining in your lives, and that you are all happily in your own niches (or creating them). I conclude with random photos from the past two months:

London Architecture.. I believe this is right outside the LSE. The shapes
are pleasantly proportional... kind of Dickinsonian?

This picture was magical.. I wish I could say where I saw it..

The London Philharmonic Performs Martinov's Vita Nuova

I also got to hear some Wagner in the famous Wigmore Hall-
This is a hall that used to be owned by the Knights Templar.

Close-up of the Knights Templar painting.. If anybody knows
what this is let me know, because I have NO idea.

This was just beautiful.

As were these.

More blossoms near Brick Lane.. You could actually smell these
as you walked by.




... ... Oh yeah, and somebody stole the LSE's random penguin statue
(given by a Canadian alumnus). Nobody really knows what it symbolizes,
but all that's left of the penguin is its feet. It still has not been returned.

Penguin Mourners. Once there's a crowd, we all join in.

More to come later, but this gives a sense of what life's been like-- feel free to say hi, and let me know how any of you are doing!! All the best ;)