Letter from London: Weijia Li

by Weijia Li

As a sophomore studying abroad in the Fall, I was only one out of a few who left Stern. However, London proved most worthwhile nonetheless. I lived in the ‘centre’ of London – within walking distance to Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus (London’s Times Square), a few minutes away from the famous Oxford Street, down the block from the British Museum, and just across the University College of London. NYU’s Academic Centre, a white Georgian building, was also located down the street in Bedford Square, which consisted of an enclosed private park that we could only access with keys.

Classes were taught by British professors (although one commuted from Wales), who were usually from another London university, or “uni,” as they called them. Each class met once a week, so I used my free time to try see all of London.



Luckily, the weather was unusually gorgeous most of the time – it did not rain once during our first month and the sun was out more than the clouds were. London is a very walk-able city, and one of the advantages of walking is that a piece of history can be seen around every corner. Of course, the Tube was also very convenient.

When asked about my favorite part of the semester, though, it is Fall Break that comes to mind. Only offered at a few places abroad, this was our week to travel, and I chose to explore France, Switzerland, and Italy by rail. From London, I took the Eurostar through the English Channel Tunnel (“Chunnel”) to Paris and after a night, boarded Eurail for Lyon, where I transferred to Geneva.

After some cheese fondue, chocolate ice cream, and a trip to the UN in Geneva, I headed for Zurich the next day. Along the way, I made an impulsive stop in Lausanne for a view of the crystal-clear Lake Geneva and another stop in Bern, Switzerland’s capital and my transition from French to German Switzerland. Zurich is an amazing city – not because it headquarters UBS and Credit Suisse (which are located almost next to one another), but because of its picturesque Swiss beauty with the snow-capped Alps in the background. But I left Zurich early the next day so I could reach Rome in the evening, stopping only in the small Swiss-Italian city of Lugano, near the border.



After a change to Italian trains in Milan, I was in Rome. From there, basically, I traveled to Florence, Venice, and Verona. At the end of the week, I flew back to London from Venice and had one of my best life experiences – ever.
Although I greatly missed New York during the first half of the semester, I have since then become very ‘smitten’ with London. I would return any day.