I remember freshmen orientation at Hopkins: the whirl of social events, the volunteer activities, getting to know the people in your dorm, convocation and student advisor meetings. All-in-all it was a jam packed week. At Queen Mary University of London, things work a little bit differently. Most University activities during the first week involve drinking and clubbing, with discounts on drinks and free transport to dance clubs.
Drink flows freely here in London, where the drinking age is 18. The polite British people apologize in advance: Signs that say "Please do not be offended if we ask for I.D.," can be seen in many bars. Alcoholic beverages can be purchased on campus in at least two different dining areas. Many students have a pint with lunch.
Queen Mary is located in the East End of London in a primarily Bangladeshi neighborhood. The area around the school reminds me a little of Baltimore: There many parts of the area where you don't want to walk at night. There is an outdoor market a few blocks away where you can get everything from Bollywood movies to frying pans and fruit and unlicensed movie dealers try to sell you pirated Hollywood movies.
The campus has more diversity than Hopkins; there are many more Muslims, Sikhs, Asians and eastern Europeans. Even with this great diversity the only religious structure on campus is a Christian chapel. Everyone is welcome there, and free coffee, hot chocolate and tea is available.
One of the most noticeable differences between Hopkins and Queen Mary is the organization. Whereas registering for classes, finding your class schedule and buying books is simple and can be done entirely online at Hopkins, those same tasks are a bit more complicated at Queen Mary. Study abroad students can pre-register for some of their courses by submitting their desired classes to the study abroad advisor. Any class that hasn't been pre-registered for requires standing in a line (queuing) and signing up for each class manually with the department. I waited for nearly an hour to register for one history class.
After you have registered, there is still the problem of finding all your classes. Normally Queen Mary students get a personal schedule, but study abroad students may find themselves running from department to department to find out where are their courses.
London can be a very expensive place to live, but here in the East End it is almost comparable to Baltimore. You can buy a pint for around $3.30 and meals at most pubs in the area are between $6-$10. $40 can get you about one week's worth of groceries and a movie costs around $6 with the student discount.
Traveling to Europe from London can be extremely cheap. Ryanair, a large discount airline, frequently has one-way flights for between $20-$40. Traveling with them is not the most comfortable experience (the seats don't recline) and everything costs extra (even water).
Classes are organized differently here, with two or more separate lectures for the same class in one day. It is slightly annoying to leave class and then come back an hour later to the same subject. The advantage is that it is not difficult to arrange your schedule to have a day off. I have Mondays off and plan to use my three day weekend (as well as Ryanair) to see the Louvre in Paris, eat chocolate in Belgium or watch a sex show and smoke marijuana in Amsterdam.
Hostels are a must if you want to keep it cheap. I found them to be friendly and a great way to meet people (I am still in touch with several people I shared a room with).
There are several pubs near Queen Mary where students go to watch cricket, football (soccer) and rugby. Sports fans here are crazy about the games that they watch. I watched an India versus Pakistan cricket game in a pub that probably had twice as many people as it should have been able to hold. The cheering and booing was so intense, that two vans full of police officers were called to calm any possible pandemonium.
So far London appears to be an extremely diverse city. There are many different accents (some incomprehensible) and a lot of alcohol. The food is not nearly as bad as it is rumored to be but, for some reason, they think curry is an English dish.
