September-October 1998

On September 18, 1998, the long-anticipated moment arrived: I landed in Europe for the second time. Well, technically I landed on an island off the coast of the European continent, in a city called London, where I will be attending a one-year MA International Studies and Diplomacy programme (British spelling) at the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies. Click on each photo to see a larger, more detailed version.

The first step was to get to the residence hall where I would be staying. The cab driver finally found Dinwiddy Hall, the brown-brick and green-trimmed building on the south side of Pentonville Road, which leads all the way to the huge King's Cross station with the clock on its tallest spire.

Dinwiddy House is located near the heart of London, and by the time I arrived there it was almost 10:00 in the morning. That's about the time I realized that the hall didn't open until noon.

Several hours later I got my room, which has a nice view of the sunny courtyard, somewhat shielded from the noise and traffic of London. It even has an amphitheatre. Two caveats: unlike my trip to France, no one seems to use the amphitheatre. And the "sunny" part of the equation seems to have been only a meteorological abberation.

About an eight minute walk away, just past King's Cross, is the site of the magnificent new British Library which just opened this year. If you ever want to build an awesome library of your own, I would definitely recommend talking to whoever designed this one.

The SOAS building itself is only about a fifteen minute walk from Dinwiddy.

One nice thing about London is that there are large parks all over the city. Regent's Park (pictured here), Hyde Park, the list goes on. Nestled throughout the city are numerous smaller squares, such as Russell Square by SOAS, which are basically smaller parks. It's a good way to read away from the hustle and bustle — if it weren't for winter and that constant rain.

London is an international city where things take place that wouldn't necessarily happen in another city such as, say, Tulsa. Here is the Pakistani Sufi Abida Parveen at the Wembley Centre, in a concert which she refers to as, "An Ajrak Encounter." As evidenced by this photo, I happened to be near the top row and could hardly even see her Ajrak.

In different areas of town, London has market streets. Here you will find people selling everything from fresh fruit and vegetables to CDs to new clothes and shoes to hammers and extension cords to fresh fish. Need apples or potatoes? Get them from the Chapel Market (pictured here), unless it's a Monday or you're short on cash.