Studying where the Tudors used to live

Most of us are staying in halls provided from the University. After a  hectic weekend, where almost all of us arrived, our orientation week started, here it’s called “Fresher’s Week”. On our first day on campus we were really impressed because it looks like an accumulation of old castles. Actually, this is quite right because it has once been a home to the Tudor family as they used to rule Britain. Together with the Greenwich Park and the Royal Observatory behind, the university is now an UNESCO World Heritage Site and offers one of the best views of London. Who wouldn’t be glad to study here?

The “Explore Greenwich Mission” in our first week was a warm welcome to all study abroad students. This rally helped us to find out about the history of  the University and Greenwich. Organized by our study abroad assistant Lauren, who is also a student at the University,  the first week was a great introduction.

Divided into three campuses the University is really large. There are over 23000 students from which are 30% international students. We have to attend  four courses a week, one course and tutorial each day. Most of the students are British but in tutorials both ERASMUS and Macromedia students supply a good balance. The main difference to studying in Germany is the workload we have to do on our own. So there is a lot of reading and studying to do, but despite that we had still time to explore Greenwich  and the rest of London.

Greenwich, for those of you who didn’t know, is located in the south-east of London. Not only our campus but the whole area around is beautiful. There are a lot of shops, restaurants and pubs nearby and also the Greenwich Market which is really famous in London and has awesome stuff for fair prices. Of course London is really expensive in general but if you know where to go it can still be economical. Besides, the cultural diversity provides a balanced diet around the campus, so it never gets boring. The only thing most of us are missing here is the German bread.

If there is time left it is always a good idea to visit the centre of London. There are the old attractions like the Tower and Big Ben, but  also modern ones like the Shard and Oxford Street. This is what makes London a unique mix of cultural expression. There are still so many things to explore that you never get tired of this beautiful city.

As you can see, we are really enjoying our first weeks here and looking forward to discover new things in London. Our official study abroad assistant Aisling told us: “If you are tired of London, you are tired of Life” and we think she is right about that. London has something to offer for everyone and if we had another choice,  we would definitely choose London again!

Marcel Proppe and Sabrina Hammer