Afterward we met up with some current scholars who took us out to different restaurants for dinner. The were all really friendly and helpful, and it was incredible to walk through London. The most fascinating thing for me was turning a corner and seeing a street that looks as if it's still in the 19th century. We stopped by a pub with other scholars for a bit, but I left fairly quickly to go home and attempt to sleep. Coughing kept me up for most of the night, but eventually I was able to drift off.
The next day we went to Parliament and met a Member of Parliament and had a tour of the houses. The building is a marvel of Gothic architecture with intricate patterns and carvings that give the building a rich texture. The arrangement of the houses is also interesting--it seems that the politicians sit in a inward facing square and shot and holler during all of the speeches. It was also fascinating to imagine all of the history and people that have worked there.
In the afternoon we went to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (essentially the State Department of the UK) and heard from policy makers and current members of the Marshall Commission. It was followed by a swanky soiree where we got to mingle with current and former scholars and commission members. By this point I think I had a fever and was coughing up a storm. Somehow I managed to hold it together and look relatively healthy, but as soon as it ended I went straight for the hotel and tried to sleep.
That is, until this last photo I took, when I was drenched in sweat and had sore abs from coughing...
The next morning we went for a tea and talk in the beautiful residence of the US Deputy Ambassador before heading to the bank to square away our accounts. After that, Rebecca and I caught the train and headed for Manchester. And so begins my first days as a scholar in Manchester...
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