London History 101

So today was the first day of classes. And now I'm really exhausted.  Time change is a killer, guys... I just want to curl up in my little twin bed and sleep for a week. Actually, I can safely say that my time here is neatly divided into two categories:  sleeping in my tiny bed or walking out in the snow and freezing cold.  Today we all had British Life and Culture practically all day.  From 9:30 to 12:30 we were with Mr. Rumbalow in the classroom, and then from 2:00 to about 4:30 we walked the streets of London with Mrs. Rumbalow.  It was a long day.  

The classroom setting was interesting; I actually got extremely tense because Mr. Rumbalow talks so fast and I was trying to take thorough notes... In case you were wondering, this is a British-style class, which means that our only grade the whole semester comes from our final test. He constantly "flags" information that he says we'll need for sure, but we still need to know most everything else he says as well.  He just went so fast today... he relayed London history from about 8000 BC to the 1940s, just today. It's safe to say I was somewhat overwhelmed.  Thank goodness I took Dr. Taylor's Western Civ class last semester or I would be completely lost in this class. London just has so much more history than America. I feel like a silly American. 

Then we broke for lunch and met at St. Paul's station for Mrs. Rumbalow's tour-part of the class.  We started at the cathedral, then moved down to Black Friar's and Ludgate, then onto St. Bride's church (the original inspiration for the shape of the wedding cake!), built by Christopher Wren.  We went down into the crypt there; during the Blitz (I think, I could be wrong...) the church was bombed out and the foundation was blown away, revealing many different layers of civilization to archaeologists dating all the way back to the Romans.  We also stopped at the College of Arms, where people get paid to create Coats of Arms for families.  We discussed the many Guilds of London.  Just so you know, it's hard to take notes and walk at the same time, especially when it's cold and drippy-rainy, so y'all should be impressed.  

We learned too much today and now I'm sleepy as all get-out.  Good night, all! I must go read for Christian Ethics.