Being a student at uni.

It's finally Friday and I've had my first full week of classes at "uni"!  Steven, Kelsey and I celebrated our first week here by going to Starbucks, where we proceeded to demonstrate our complete inability to work a simple door.  Now, all exterior doors in the U.S. are required to open outwards because, as my dad frequently mentions, it's a fire hazard if they open inwards (he sells safety equipment).  So we were somewhat justified in our confusion at the door not opening out when we pushed on it, but were less justified when we took into account: 1) we'd had the same (but opposite) issue when we'd entered; 2) we'd been there a number of times before; 3) there were three of us working on the issue together; and 4) we're Pomona students, studying abroad at the world's fourth-ranked university.  After concluding that we were trapped inside Starbucks, and resigning ourselves to a destiny of drinking peppermint mochas and eating chocolate muffins for all eternity (come to think, I'm not sure why we wanted to get out so bad), some brilliant Londoner walked in, pushing the door in our faces.  And so we left.
Despite this momentary lack of mental acuity, the rest of the week has gone pretty well.  I've understood my lectures, and have had my prejudice against large universities pleasantly challenged.  All of the professors have seemed enthusiastic and genuinely interested in our education, although most don't seem to like taking questions during lecture, which I'll just have to get used to.  It's hard to say too much about my professors, as my two neuro classes have different professors for each lecture, which is an interesting concept.  I am taking two neuro courses (the reason I'm here), London Architecture (which is site-based, so should be lots of fun), and Science in the Mass Media.  The last course will probably prove the most difficult, as the professor is focusing on the media in Britain, with which I am unfamiliar.  One of the biggest differences in classes here versus classes at Pomona is that they seem to happen haphazardly, with different schedules and locations each week.  You have to stay on your toes just to make it to lecture!
One of best parts about going to school here is the location, and consequent beauty of the campus.  The architecture in this area is magnificent, with the exception of those buildings designed in the 1960's.  Here are some pictures!

The entrance to the Cruciform Building, shown again below...

...which forms a large X, seen aerially.  Very cool.

Across the street from the Cruciform is the main entrance to UCL, here being Vanna White-ed by Rachel E.  The domed building, called the Portico, houses the main library and is the inspiration for the UCL logo: http://www.google.com/search?q=ucl+logo

This is the Rockefellar Building, where we have some neuro classes.  The ballroom on the top floor was used in the party scene of The Dark Knight, and is used for the pre-med annual ball.  Let me repeat, the pre-meds have an annual ball.  Also, they're called "medics" here and finish their whole degree, including undergrad, in 6 years.

Between the Cruciform and Rockefellar Building is a great view of the famous BT Tower, which is visible from many parts of campus.

One of the bio facilities, the Darwin building, is actually where Darwin lived and worked in London.  Like, one of the profs' offices is in his old living room.  Also, that neon art seen through the window is a depiction of a protein.  It rivals CalTech's supercool nerd art.

Right next to campus is a famous bookstore called Waterstone's.  Bloomsbury is known for its bookstores, and was once home to a group of famous writers, imaginatively called the Bloomsbury Writers; Virginia Woolf was one of these.  Dickens also wrote a number of novels nearby.