At least, that was my thought this afternoon, as I visited my favorite local kitchen this afternoon.
Michaelmas term at the LSE is over, the locals have mostly dispersed, and I too have joined the great university student holiday diaspora. I took some of the London weather to Houston with me, too, apparently, as a cold damp settled over the city for the first two days I was in. No matter. The sky has blued up now, and the American South is as it always should be: warm and sunny.
Before leaving, some friends and I took advantage of the post-term downtime to do some traveling. We hopped on a Saturday morning train to Oxford for a day-trip. Unfortunately, the camera died, so you'll have to rely on Erin and Ashley (or Google) for pictures. The city is quite nice, and the old architecture is stunning. What struck me the most is the contrast with London. It took me a while to realize what it was: it was the silence. When you're outdoors in London, you can barely hear yourself think. There, except for the busier streets where people shop and travel, the most you can hear is silent chirping. It's beautiful.
School resumes after the New Year, and I'll be back in London a few days before. So far, I've visited castles and museums, attempted ice skating at Somerset house (read: failed miserably despite my friends' best efforts to teach me), gone to plays, pubs, fireworks displays, and makeshift ex-pat Thanksgiving celebrations. Hopefully, I've learned a few things about economics along the way, too. Regardless, it's good to be home for the holidays, but I'm looking forward to what the New Year has in store.
