The London Logbook: #3 Meeting the people

As your dear narrator has informed you in the last post, the first attempt to meet some fellow LL.M. students was far from successful: to be honest, it was a complete failure. After unpacking all his stuff and placing it in the appropriate locations (which took a lot more time than it should... best of it, after that day, I have decided to rearrange my entire room... twice... it is my second week...), our character surfed (Pedro is quite stronger in online surf than in the one made in the sea) to the LL.M. Facebook Group to see where was everyone (long live the social networks and its enhancement of the possibilities to meet future classmates!). However, although the place - Drappers - was quite close to the residence accommodation, an welcoming party was happening and a huge line to enter the place deterred the strongest of the wills to socialize (in any case, after two flights and a bus ride of one hour and a half, the "will" was far from strong.)

In any case, on the following day, and after completing the formal enrollment and signing up for the gym (with promises of going there the next day... unfortunately, hasn't happened so far, but, c'mon... these were two very busy weeks!), a new meeting was arranged. Filip and Antonija (two Croatians) were at The Half Moon, a J.D. Wetherspoon pub (aka, the McDdonald's of the English pubs, as it is a franchising and is everywhere throughout the city; however, the Mile End pub is really nice, with unbeatable prices and a cool venue). Some others - me, Christoph (German, who doesn't like to be called Chris), Chiara (a sweet girl from Belgian) and the crazy Zee (an exchange student from the US, who will only stay with us until Christmas), and a German girl who I have never seen again and cannot remember the name - joined. A lot more people of the LL.M. ended up rallying there, but they were on different tables and your narrator cannot recall everyone (no relation whatsoever with the cheap beer).

Anyway, the initial fears - "I will arrive in London and I will not know anyone for months and be completely miserable" - did not come true. Although only two weeks have passed, the ones mentioned in the last paragraph have helped Pedro unveil the buzzing city. Others (friends of friends, people met in lines or during one of the several induction sessions or any of the socializing events sponsored by the university) have eventually joined: without being exhaustive (and certain that I will not mention some people who really deserved to be mentioned), here are some of the names of the ones who I have been with the most: Valeria (the Italian girl who carries the entire energy of the world), Juan and Núria (from Spain), Teresa (from Austria), Phang Yu Jia (also known as Faith, who is from Singapore, and likes to make people walk for miles), Daniel (from Mexico), Carlos (from Peru, who, I have just discovered, is an amazing football player), Adi (from India) and Daniel (from Mexico). A special mention has yet to be made in relation to the Portuguese-speaking contingent: Ana and her boyfriend Luís (Luís is not a LL.M student; instead, he is a cook, who - hopefully - will find a job in one of the best London restaurants and get us some discounts - at least, that seems a good idea from our point of view; he is also a Benfica fan!), Carolina (the Portuguese girl from Chelsea / Kensington / Earl's Court) and the Brazilian couple (Renata and Guigo).

Although a lot of differences exist, we all want to make the best of this year and some strong ties might result out of this. At this point, your narrator cannot know if any of the people above referred to will raise to the statute of hero in this logbook, obtain important supporting roles or if, instead, they will end up having a simple minor participation. It is something to be discovered in the following months.