East End

Senior Sem was on location today - we headed to London's East End. What a different look of the city! There is a heavy concentration of poor immigrants in the area. Once we stepped off of the Tube I almost felt as though I was back in Istanbul. The shops, homes and roads were much different than those I've seen in London thus far. The East End has the largest population of Bangladeshi people in the UK. The East End sits just outside the wealthy City of London. From multiple points within the run-down neighborhood I could see the skyscrapers of London's business district. The contrast of richness and poverty was striking. It just goes to show how diverse London truly is. John led us on a brief walking tour and we visited the Whitechapel Art Gallery. There was a large photography display of the Bangladeshi community from the late 1800's to present. It was one of my favorite art displays so far! For lunch we ate at a Pakistani restaurant. We were served delicious nan (bread), crispy bread and spicy dips, lamb, chicken and pork. Our main course was a wide variety of dishes - potatoes, pumpkin, lamb, beans, chicken, rice and peppers - all SUPER spicy! I'm not a fan of hot foods (salsa is typically too spicy for me ) so it was tough. We were also given a mango/smoothie drink which cut the heat in the dish...so great! Because it's Ash Wednesday, I didn't eat much but I'm not sure I wouldn't like it anyway. I'm glad I got to try a few things though because I would never be brave enough to venture into a restaurant like that on my own. Plus, the meal was paid for by the program :)

I came back to the flat, put on some walking clothes and headed for the streets. The sun was beautiful and all of South Ken was bustling. I wanted to get lost and explore new areas but that didn't end up working so well. At one point, I thought I felt my camera fall out of my coat pocket but when I looked, it was there. About 5 minutes later, I realized I didn't have the 15 P that was inside. It made me sick. I ran back and couldn't find it anywhere. Worst part is, when I stopped to check for my camera initially, a man was fumbling around behind me and I'm sure he picked it up. I hope he put it to good use. I eventually ended up in Hyde Park and got some wonderful pictures. I went to Mass at 6:00 (45 min service!) and came back to the flat to finalize plans for Ireland this weekend. Can't wait!