Not to be melodramatic, but I think this day might influence the rest of my life. First thing in the morning, I went to the campus of the prestigious London School of Economics. I don't know why it took me so long to think to visit the most credible and influential economics institution on the planet, but once I did, it was well worth my time. Aside from being a beautiful (albeit small) campus in the middle of London, I fel so at home! Just passing through the crowds of (all english speaking) students, I couldn't help but smile at their small talk, which was almost exclusively polite debate about macroeconomic trends, but a little bit of trading banter and such. After perusing their literature, I decided to meet with a graduate admissions councilor to chat casually about what they look for in a candidate, how to apply, visas, etc. As it turns out, there is a two year masters program in economics and econometrics (the European masters is normally one year) that is geared towards students who are qualified, but not necessarily experienced in economics, academically speaking. After leaving the meeting, I tried not to yell out-loud "I know what I'm doing with my life!" (if you have been following this blog or have known me for more than 5 minutes, you know this "what am I doing with my life" dilemma is a big deal to me) I know it has only been five days since this has happened, but I really do feel like this is the right path. Hopefully as more time passes, I can more accurately analyze this path without the leftover excitement of the initial visit.
After leaving the LSE campus (which took a while, trust me. I just didn't want to leave!), I went to the British Museum. Forgive my ignorance, but I was expecting, I don't know, British things? Instead, it was a museum dedicated exclusively to the spoils of British imperialism over the ages. Don't get me wrong, seeing the Rosetta Stone in person was pretty amazing, but I didn't stick around to long.
Next came the Tate Britain, the sister museum to the Tate Modern. As the divergence in the names would suggest, the Britain is mostly non-modern art. While it was much smaller than the Modern, it was still a great collection. There was one particular video installation called A Tumor (I believe). It was pretty amazing. I especially liked the sound design that went with it (7.2 surround sound with lots of explosive bass drops and such).
Later was the National Galleries. This massive museum is home to an expansive collection of non-modern art, which is not really my favorite. They did have a great room full of Cezanne and Van Gogh, which was by far my favorite.
To top off the night, Tristian and I found a great old pub called the Coal Hole (awesome name, hu?) Such a great crowd, and a great vibe. Hopefully I get into the LSE, so I can have a good excuse to go back to London soon!
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