The Lowdown: What I'm Actually Doing

On September 29th, I fly to London to spend my Junior year at the London School of Economics. The study abroad program there is called the General Course which, as descriptive as that sounds, means that I'll be fully integrated with other LSE undergrads in LSE classes and LSE housing. So now... the lowdown.

Classes: I'm taking four year-long classes, supposedly these ones if LSE proves to be on top of things.
1. Development Economics
2. Africa and It's Economy
3. The Economics of Public Policy
4. Intellectual Property Law

This is the norm for students at LSE and differs a lot from the five classes per semester that I've been taking at Georgetown. Another major difference is that my entire grade for each class depends on an end of term exam. A major benefit of this system is that I can travel on weekends without tests and problem sets constantly looming in my future. I'll just have to be disciplined in staying on top of material and although laziness is a powerful force, the fear of failing and a subsequent nervous breakdown is enough to create the will power to study on a consistent basis.

Housing: I'll be living at Sidney Webb House located in the South Central London neighborhood of Southwark. It's a 35-minute schlep to LSE, but shorter if I take the tube or bus. Who knows? From pictures on the website, the rooms look itty bitty, but at least I'll have my own bathroom (which is gloriously cleaned for me once a week!). I haven't heard much about the area besides it's boring and expensive. I think by boring, people mean it's not close to bars, pubs, and nightlife sorts of activities. Luckily for my liver, there's a pub right in the residence! However, I hear tragically that they serve beer warm in Europe??? If that's true, then I'll just have to tough it out... and drink warm beer. Alright. That's as much general information as I can muster.