Ryu's Blog

It’s been a while since I posted my last entry. A lot has happened since then: received a diploma from Cambridge, seeing friends and enjoying life in Hong Kong and Thailand, and now coming back to UK to do my master at London School of Economics.

After spending two weeks living in Ko’s place, I’m currently living by myself in a LSE Hall (dorm). At first I don’t like this place: situated in a relatively unsafe area, far from the campus (about 40 mins walk), and not really cheap. But as I get used to the place, I actually think it’s not that bad. It’s spacious and quiet compare to many other dorms, and I also got my own fridge. And as I figured out the shortest route to school, I’m now walking to and from school everyday, which is a good way to exercise and save money. It took me about 30-35 mins if I walk fast.

The tuition and accommodation cost in London’s much more expensive than in Cambridge, and since I only have the same amount of money, I have to cut down on my living expenses to survive. Fortunately, Ko taught me how to live cheaply in London. The secret is sandwich and sandwich. He literately has sandwich every meal for the past months before I arrive. It’s indeed the cheapest way to live. But to stay healthy, I refined the strategy a bit. I’m not having cereal in the morning, homemade sandwich afternoon, and some vegetable and fruits the evening. It’s amazing that I could survive a week in London with about 20 pounds (roughly half of what I used to spend in Cambridge). I guess if there’s a need, then there’s a way. I recently also found a part time analyst job in a real estate company and get pay pretty well, so if I save the money, I probably could enjoy life in London once in a while. For now I’ll stick to the free museums and galleries.

I was mainly studying math during the past month. The one month pre-session math course just ended with exams earlier this week. Some of the materials are quite tough, but so far I’m enjoying my study here. I’m also quite fond of LSE, although I felt the average student quality might not be as high here as those in Cambridge, LSE seems to have a more dynamic atmosphere. I also think it’s more organized and has a better IT system (although I still hear a lot of other students complain about it). The students here also tend to be more active and extremely career oriented. Not sure if being around lots of social activist and career focused people is what I enjoy, but I guess it’s good to see a new place and meet different people. After all I’m living in London now. A professor once told me that if a person is bored in London, then he’s probably bored with life. I might not have a life here (no money, no time), but this is definitely an exciting place to have living experience in.