Working Hard for the Money…Well Course Credit Anyway

19 August: I had my first day of my internship and man was it busy!  The office is seeking a judicial review of the Coalition Government’s interim immigration measures and my first day on the job was the filling deadline.  We were very busy getting everything put together and bound.  Then two other people from the office and I jumped into a Hack and took off for the Royal Courts of Justice.  We were actually putting the final touches on it as we bounced down the narrow London streets, but we made it to the clerk’s office well in time.

The Royal Courts of Justice look like something plucked out of J.K. Rowling novel.  It’s a large gray stone building, with grand entrances, high vaulted ceilings, and gated courtyards.  As we walked along the top floor to the clerk’s office, I was looking out the windows onto the gray slate-shingled roof and I see all these very small tiny access doors.  The smaller ones look only about 2’x2′ wide.  I rather expected a little gnome with a chimney brush to poke his head out of one of them!

After we filed, we took a Hack back to the office.  Our office is situated right on Soho Square and our neighbors include 21st Century Fox’s British offices and the business office of Sir Paul McCartney.  We’re on the sixth floor (seventh story) and have an amazing view.  My boss, Ms. Anne Morris, and all the staff are exceedingly friendly and have really made me feel welcome.

Welcome Party, O’Neil’s, and Things Lost

18 August: We had our welcome party at the Freemasons’ Arms Pub.  We had a reserved room on the upper floor and we were able to meet with most of our professors and classmates.  At the pub I was introduced to ale called the Bishop’s Finger.  It’s full bodied and a little hopy, but I rather enjoyed it.

After the welcome party concluded, some of us decided to continue the party with a change the venue.  We ended up at a little Irish pub called O’Neil’s down in Covant Garden.  It was a pretty nice place and had solid live music.  The only downer to the night was my camera fell out of my jeans pocket at some point in the night.  After calling around in the morning I judged it to be lost and gone forever.

Classes Begin and Walking Tour

16 August: Classes began. My early classes were largely an overview of the organization of the British Government. A lot of it I knew, but it was interesting discussing some of it’s practical applications.  I’m looking forward to seeing more of their different perspective on democratic government.

This evening we took our guided walking tour. We wandered around Soho, the Theater District, and Covent Garden. Saw a lot of neat buildings, including Sir Paul McCartney’s business office, various sites from Dickens’ novels, a house in Neal’s Yard where Monty Python lived, Milroy’s an excellent hole in the wall whiskey purveyor (I’ll be spending some time there), Freemasons’ Hall, and the London opera house. Over all it was an excellent first day of classes.

Tour by Coach

15 August: I slept late (see London II), grabbed a shower and a spot of breakfast before heading out for our guided tour. The program includes several tours, this particular tour was mainly of Westminster and the South Bank. Our guide Angie gave us interesting tidbits of history as we travelled by coach.

English to English Translations, Transportation: Tube or Underground=Subway, Coach= charter bus, Hack=Cab.

The highlights included: London’s Eye (essentially an enormous, slow moving Ferris wheel that over looks the city and the Thames), Westminster Abby, Buckingham Palace (Yes there were guards with funny hats), Parliament, Trafalgar Square (England expects every man will do his Duty), Prince Albert’s Hall (the statue of Prince Albert is so ostentatious I almost felt like I was intruding on something deeply private and personal), the Wellington Arch, Harrod’s (Apparently they sell anything that’s legal to sell in Britain), Hyde Park, and King James’ Palace.

London Orientation

14 August: I arrived at the FSU Centre for orientation. The facility is actually a collection of old row houses that have been repurposed as an educational facility, so it’s a bit of a rabbit warren trying to get around. Fortunately all our classes are held in one room, so it’s not terribly complicated.

Our Program Director Val Reid was extremely informative about the program, the local area and general London knowledge.  Since then I’ve found her very approachable and always more than willing to help with problems or give a quick bit of advice.

After the orientation the school hosted a cheese and wine reception, where I got to meet more of my classmates for the trip, as well as a few of our professors. As a side note, the cheese over here is amazing. I’m sure whatever they had at the reception was quite pricy, but even the cheap store-brand cheeses are remarkable.

After the reception we broke for dinner, but we eventually all got together to go out to the pubs.  First we went to London Pub and had a couple pints, exchanged mobile numbers, and generally got to know each other.  We then left for The Court, where we had a few more drinks.  There we met up with some Canadians and found some North American solidarity in midst of the mother country.

Tip VI: Cider is quite popular here.  Apple, Pear, it the doesn’t seem to matter the fruit, however all of it is hard cider with an alcohol content similar to beer.  Adjust your consumption appropriately.

It was a good night with good friends, new and old.

Departure and Arrival

12-13 August 2010

So it begins.  As this was my first time traveling internationally, I decided to travel with a friend who is also participating in the program.  Hilary’s advice and insight have been invaluable to me as I hopped the pond for the first time.  Many of the tips presented in this blog had their genesis in her guidance.

Hilary and I arrived at the airport and checked our luggage.  I had some minor trouble checking in because I hadn’t booked my ticket under my full name, so my name on the ticket didn’t match my name on my passport.  The agent from Aer Lingus was exceedingly helpful in getting my error corrected and soon reissued my tickets under my full name and we were on our way.

Tip I: For anything related to your traveling always spell and use your full name as it appears on your passport.

I really hate flying, but I have to say the flight from Chicago to Dublin was by far the most enjoyable I’ve had in years.  I was able to remain calm and even managed to get a little sleep on the flight.  We cleared customs in Dublin, which happened without incident, and then continued on to London Heathrow.

In Heathrow we reclaimed our baggage and I bought my Oyster Pass.  (An Oyster Pass is a refillable prepaid smart card that allows you to use the public transportation system without purchasing a ticket each time.)  We then took the tube into central London.

Tip II: Aside from walking, the tube is hands down the best way get around in London and the Oyster Pass is by far the best way to pay your fare.  The card itself is pretty cheap (£3 I believe) and my understanding is that it’s refundable at the end of the trip.

I have to admit I was a little excited about riding a subway for the first time.  I’d taken the Amtrak ticket from Indy to Chicago earlier in the week, so I’d already had my first experience with light rail, but riding the Tube for the first time seem like quintessential London experience.  I’ll also add that I’ve found the tube to be clean, safe and relatively easy to navigate.

Tip III: Before you leave purchase a MoleskineCity: London.  The surface streets of London are rather like rabbit warrens and this book will help you find your way around without holding a huge folding map and looking like a tourist.  It also has a tube map, places for quick notes, and a place jot down telephone numbers and addresses.  I found mine at Barnes & Nobles, but I’m sure they’re available elsewhere.

When we arrived at our station we encountered the only really obnoxious part of the whole trip.  Russell Street Station is about five stories beneath the surface.  The lift only goes down four… so we had to bang our very heavy bags up a flight of steps.  I was a little concerned that the handle of my bag was going to fall off before we got to the landing!  We were then able to take the lift up to the street level and from there we were able to quickly navigate our way to the Acorn housing office.

The housing office had not finished cleaning our flats so they offered to watch our baggage until they were ready and we set off in search of food.  We found it in a cafeteria at the near by college and I had a delicious sandwich.

On the way back to the housing office it started to pour down rain.  Of course we’d left all our rain gear in our bags…in the housing office… and I was in shorts and t-shirts.  The temperature that day was around 65F so I was already on the cold end of my comfort zone before it started raining.  Then the near freezing rain started coming down (I’d guess it was around 45-50F) soaking me through.  While I was drowned and freezing by the time we made it back to the office it really didn’t bother me, after all I was in London and those are the type of events that make for good stories for years to come.

Tip IV: Do NOT ever, for ANY REASON walk outside in London without an umbrella.  It doesn’t matter what it looks like out the window or what it says on the tele, it can rain at anytime and you’ll likely be very wet and uncomfortable if you don’t have your umbrella.

When we got back the rooms were ready and I took my things down to my flat and unpacked.  I got to meet my new flatmates from Tulsa, Ravi and Brian.  They both seem like stand up guys and I think we’re all going to have a good semester.  Our other flatmate, Wiley wouldn’t join us until Sunday.

After I unpacked I met back up with Hilary and we set out to see some of the nearby area.  The rain had stopped and we walked for hours taking in the city, finding the FSU Center, finding a fully stocked grocery store, getting dinner, etc.  By the time we finished my legs definitely knew they’d been worked and I was pretty exhausted.  I made myself stay up till almost 23:00 to combat the jet-lag before I finally zonked out.

Tip V: You’ll REALLY want to take a nap the first day or two.  Don’t.  Make yourself stay up until a reasonable bedtime (9-11pm) and eat at normal meal times.  It may be a little difficult for the first day or so, but you’ll get through the jet lag much faster in the long run.

In closing, I just want to say that so far I love this city!  It’s absolutely amazing!  As we walked around, nearly every building was either built hundreds of years ago or was built in the 40’s after the original structure was destroyed in the Blitz.  History is literally around every corner of this place.  Everyone I’ve encountered has been exceedingly polite and helpful.  It’s also a very clean city and it feels very safe, despite it’s size, population, and labyrinthine street system.  While I hate to resort to cliché it exudes charm and has a timeless quality that’s hard to describe without experiencing it.  The experience has been nothing but positive and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the trip will bring.

London: Introductions

Hello my name is Paul and I’ve been asked by Stetson to share my Autumn in London study abroad experience with you.  I’m currently a 2L and this is my first opportunity to study abroad.  I’ll try to give you an honest reporting on what’s happening on the program, as well as, some tips if you plan on participating in the future.  The opinions, views, criticisms and endorsements presented here are solely my own.

Stetson Law Student Blog

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