As we get closer to our program’s end date, it is safe to say that we are running out of steam. We have seen the majority of the important monuments, visited historical landmarks and I have continued to try and get through my 100-pack of Earl Gray. During our 16th week in London, there are a few highlights to share, as we mostly relaxed and enjoyed the more simple aspects of the city.

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

On Wednesday, my Gender, Race, Sexuality and Popular Culture class went to Brixton to visit the Black Cultural Archives. To get there, we hopped on the Victoria line southbound and took it to the end. From the Brixton tube station, we then only had to walk for less than five minutes to get to the archives. Inside the actual museum is the culture of black music in Britain, and in addition to discussing where the music originated, there are also spots on the wall where you can tap your individual audio headphones and hear the music of a particular era. My favorite era was the 1940s, when jazz was prevalent. I found myself returning to that area of the archives multiple times to listen to the catchy jazz that they offered.

Friday, April 28, 2017

After class on Friday, we went to Regents Park with the intention of getting me to try riding a bike. It went about as successfully as one would imagine, and it was safe to say that by the end of the day, I was successfully frustrated. After we left the park, we took a bus to Angel, where we caught the 7 p.m. showing of “Their Finest”, a film about a group of Britons creating a propaganda film during World War II. Once the film ended, we then went to Wagamama’s to get take-away and brought it back to the room for the evening.

Saturday, April 29, 2017

At the end of the week, we decided to finally go to Cereal Killer Café since we were waiting until Erin could have chocolate again to go there. We had to take the 205 bus toward Bow Church station to get there, but we accidentally hopped onto the 205 to Paddington. To put it into perspective, it would have taken less than two miles to get there, but when we looked at CityMapper, it said that we were five miles in the opposite direction. Once we got off the bus, we then had to find a tube station to take back in the opposite direction to Liverpool Street, where we were finally able to get there by 1 p.m. It was worth the wait, though. The shop was incredibly cool — and it’s not just because they had TVs in the basement and FRIENDS was playing on one of them — and it had movie posters littered across the walls downstairs, as well colorful instructions on how to order upstairs. I quite possibly slipped into a chocolate coma after we finished, and it was definitely a cool place to visit during our last few weeks here.

A significant amount of our week was also spent in a Regents Park café, Will to Win, where we got work done and enjoyed the atmosphere by watching tennis players on the courts outside. It will definitely be sad to leave these little places behind in a few weeks.