The West End of London is one of the most famous areas in the British capital. There are many shops, theatres, cinemas and nightclubs. The West End is the largest shopping area in Europe, thanks to the large numbers of shops located in Oxford Street, Regent Street, Bond Street and Carnaby Street. Many people also go to Chinatown, where they can find typical Chinese shops and restaurants.

It is also the most touristic area of the city. Tourists who come in London always want to go to Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and Covent Garden. Moreover, many museums are located in this area: the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, the Courtauld Gallery, and London Transport Museum... Not only is The West End a very crowded place in the daytime, but also during the night.

Leicester Square is a very famous place, where big cinemas are located, such as The Empire. British sneak previews of movies are mostly organised there. Then, people can go to many different theatres to see a classical play, a musical or a modern play. Some theatres are well-known all over the world, such as the Dominion Theatre, the Apollo Victoria Theatre, or the Price of Wales Theatre. For these reasons, the West End of London represents the artistic life of the country.

Since January, I have gone to the theatre four times. You can buy half-price tickets in many places, but it remains quite expensive. There is a large choice of shows: Grease, Dirty Dancing, Billy Eliott, The Lion King, The Wizard of Oz, Chicago, Legally Blonde, or Les Misérables... First, I saw We Will Rock You which is a musical based on the songs of Queen. This show has existed since 2002 and has been very successful. It was very enjoyable and well-organised. Then, I went to the Vaudeville Theatre to see In a Forest, Dark and Deep starring Matthew Fox (Lost) and Olivia Williams (The Ghost Writer). It is a modern play and once again it was very interesting. Thirdly, I saw the musical Wicked, which is one of the biggest Broadway successes of the last decade. The last show I saw was Mamma Mia, a musical based on the songs of Abba. For me, this last show was the best I saw.

Finally, it is a great opportunity to live in London because you can go to the theatre and see things you wouldn’t have seen otherwise. Before leaving London in the beginning of July, I will try to go one more time to the theatre in order to get a lot out of my stay.

The semester at the University of Westminster ended in April. After a few weeks on holiday, it was time to find an internship. First, I wanted to find a job, but finally I decided to do my internship in a charity shop. It was indeed easier and more flexible. I went on the internet in order to find what the different British charity shops were. That’s how I discovered that there are many charity shops in London: Oxfam, Scope, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Save the Children, British Heart Foundation, etc…

Firstly, I wanted to work in a shop in Central London, even if it is quite far from my home. This way I could work in a nice district, in a busy shop where I couldn’t be bored. Secondly, I didn’t want to work in a clothes’ shop. Thanks to my research, I found the perfect shop: an Oxfam bookshop near Baker Street. I went to this shop to say that I wanted to be a volunteer. A manager asked me to fill out an application form. Then, I went to other shops and filled out other forms. A few days after that, I came back to the Oxfam bookshop and they told me that I could start the next week. Marie Curie Cancer Care and British Heart Foundation called me the next week. So I had the choice of the shop where I wanted to work. I decided to work in the Oxfam one.

This charity shop only sells second-hand books, CDs and DVDs. Many people make donations. At least thirty people come each day to give bags of books and music! Moreover, they don’t give old books, but mostly new books in good conditions. The shop is quite big and books are sorted in many sections: fiction, cookery, history, science, leisure, media, children, travel, art… The range of products is quite large. British people like charity shops and want to be involved by buying products. There always are many customers, and many of them come between 12am and 2pm, during lunch time.

There is much to do in a shop like that. We constantly have to put books away because customers put them in the wrong place. We also put new books on shelves to fill them. Otherwise, it can be dangerous for customers because books can fall on them. To do that, we need to go downstairs in the stacks, choose new books, price them and put them upstairs in the shop. Another thing to do is to sort donations out. We keep books in good condition and put them downstairs in the right section. We put books in bad condition in big bags. Someone comes two days a week to pick up these bags and recycle them. We also print “gift aid” barcode labels for some donations. Some donators have a code which enables them to pay fewer taxes at the end of the year, thanks to the donations they did. We have to put these labels on their donations and scan them when another customer buys these books or CDs. Finally, we take turns being at the till.

Oxfam is an international organization which aims to fight against poverty all over the world. It works on fair trade, education, health, natural disasters, debt, human rights… For example, Oxfam is currently involved in the Ivory Coast humanitarian crisis, and in the girls’ education in Afghanistan. More than 20,000 volunteers work in 750 different Oxfam shops in the UK. It is the largest retailer of second-hand books in Europe. Before working in Oxfam, I had never been involved in a non-profit organization. I believe it is a great opportunity to give time to a good cause. I feel I am useful and I am proud to be part of it.

In my first article, I talked about my first steps in London and in the University of Westminster. However, I would like to tell you more about being a student in a British university. The University is located in Central London, which is very pleasant. There are several campuses, but I only had classes in two of them: in Oxford Circus and in Baker Street. It is possible to ask an accommodation in the University Halls for about 140 pounds per week. You can find it expensive, but actually it is an attractive price for Central London! Unfortunately I was told in December that no room was available for me, so I had to look for an accommodation during the ESDES exams. Sharing a flat or a house is the best solution, but it is almost impossible to live in Central London at a reasonable price...

The semester began in early January. On the first days, we took part in a treasure hunt in London, an information session for international students, and a boat party on the Thames. During the first week we didn’t have any class. Then, we had a week when we could go to classes and change them if we wanted. My timetable wasn’t very convenient and I didn’t like two of my classes. So I decided to go to the education abroad office in order to choose new classes. Actually, when I arrived there, I realized that it wouldn’t be so easy to change my timetable. The education team was indeed not very accommodating and many classes were not available anymore. I had to insist several times and see three different people to be finally registered for the classes I wanted.

During this semester I followed four classes:

-           The London Economy: This module deals with features of the contemporary London economy, such as its labour market, the financial sector, the tourist industry, public transports or 2012 Olympic Games. In this class, we don’t study theories, but we use concrete examples to understand London economy, which is very interesting. There are three assessments for this module. First, we have to do two group presentations about two set topics. For instance, the issues I had to deal with were “How ‘global’ is London’s labour market?” and “Has the central London congestion charge been a success?” Then, I had to write a 2000-word essay about “Is London a more global city than New York in the early 21^st century?”

-           Spoken communication skills for business: This module aims to provide international students with communication skills needed in an English speaking business environment. This class is only for international students whose English is not the mother tongue. There are three assessments: a job interview, an individual presentation about a European company, and a business meeting. In this class we learn specific vocabulary, how to write a CV and a cover letter, and how to behave during an interview, a meeting or a presentation.

-           Principles of Marketing: This module is an introduction of key concepts of marketing. Topics are the same as the ones we study in ESDES in 1^st and 2^nd years: SWOT analysis, PEST analysis, BCG matrix, recommendations, Porter’s five forces... There are two assessments. The first one is a group presentation about a company, as we did in the early first year. The second one is a 1000-word reflective essay about the presentation we did. This class is rather boring and not really interesting. I didn’t learn anything new.

-           Art and Society: This module is only for international students. During this class, we visit galleries, museums and public monuments with teachers and we learn how to discuss works of art. For instance, we visited the National Gallery, the British Museum, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Tate Modern, the V&A and the Museum of London. But we also went to less famous places such as the Courtauld Gallery, the Wallace Collection, or the Royal Academy of Arts. This class was very interesting and is definitely a class to choose if you want a dynamic module which helps you to learn more about London and its artistic life.  Thanks to this class, I went to places where I would never have gone otherwise. Moreover, teachers are enthusiast and interesting. There are two assessments: a 1500-word essay about the artworks seen during the visits, and a 2000-word final essay. The topic of my final essay was: “Discuss the statement: ‘the purpose of art is as much to disturb as it is to delight’”.

As you can see, I have no real exams, only several essays that I can write at home. Not every class is like that. If you don’t want to have final exams, you need to ask what the assessments of each module are and choose the right ones! This way, you can have a lot of spare time to discover London because there are only 12 hours of classes per week. Moreover, there are no homework and no mid-term exams. This semester is a daydream…

The National Gallery is one of the most famous museums in the world. The gallery is public, which means that it is one of the free museums we can visit in London. For these reasons, it is an essential place to go if you come in London. All artistic movements from 1250 to 1900 are represented. The gallery was founded in 1824 and is located in Trafalgar Square. At the beginning, in 1824, there were only 36 paintings in the museum. Nowadays, more than 2,300 paintings are exhibited there! Moreover, 5 million people visit the National Gallery every year.

Many masterpieces are exhibited in the National Gallery. However, the ones I prefer are the followings:

The execution of Maximilian by Edouard Manet (1867)

This painting deals with the execution of the emperor Maximilian of Mexico by the Republicans during the Civil War in 1867. Napoleon III named Maximilian as the emperor of Mexico three years before this event. However, when the war broke out, French soldiers came back to France immediately, and left Maximilian behind. The latter fell into Republicans’ hands and was executed. The Execution of Maximilian is a political piece. Edouard Manet was a fervent French Republican, strongly opposed to Napoleon III’s regime. By this painting, the artist denounced despotism and terrible actions of the emperor of France. Because of the censorship, he could not show the public this painting.

The first time I saw the piece, I believed that Francisco Goya was the artist who painted it. Indeed, it made me think about Goya’s painting entitled The Third of May 1808, which is in the Museo del Prado in Madrid. The two paintings have the same size, a similar subject and a related technique. Both are dark oil on canvasses that deal with a terrible and violent scene. When I realized that Manet was the painter, I wondered whether the similarity between the two paintings was a coincidence or the artist’s will. In fact, Edouard Manet travelled a lot during his youth and went to Spain, where he discovered Goya and Velasquez’s pieces. He admired Spanish painters and painted a lot about Spain.

Moreover, the painting had been cut into pieces and glued on a new canvas. When Edouard Manet was still alive, the painting was stored in his apartment and it was damaged. After his death, his heirs decided to cut off the damaged parts and they threw them out. Then they cut the rest of the painting into four parts and sold them separately. A friend of Manet’s, Edgar Degas, sought the pieces of the painting and glued them together. In 1918, the National Gallery acquired the painting but decided to separate the four pieces again. It is only in 1992 that they glued them on the current canvas. I believe it is amazing that this painting still exists. And yet, it was censored, damaged and lost…

The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan Van Eyck (1434)

This painting represents Mr. Giovanni with his wife. He was a rich Italian merchant who lived in the Netherlands. The room where they were was luxurious, with expensive furniture. But this painting is not well-known for the characters, but for a strange detail. Indeed, if you have a closer look at the mirror painted in this artwork, you can see the scene reflected in it. Not only can you see the two characters from behind, but also the painter himself. It is very unusual for this time. Artists only painted portraits. They didn’t paint themselves and didn’t express their feelings in a painting. The definition of what art should be was totally different from now.

Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh (1888)

Sunflowers are one of the most well-known artworks by Van Gogh. This still life painting symbolizes hope and happiness, because the painter used yellow. It also represents different stages of life. This is one of the most popular paintings in the National Gallery. That is why it is exhibited in the first room you enter when you visit the museum.

The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein (1533)

This painting represents two French young men. The main topic of this piece of art is the friendship between the two men. However, it also deals with death. A human skull indeed symbolized death. When you first look at the picture, you may not see the skull. The reason is that Holbein used the technique of anamorphic perspective to represent it. As a result, if you want to see the skull, you need to approach the painting from the side. This detail made this painting very famous. 

St Paul’s Cathedral is one of the strongest symbols of London. This cathedral enables us to identify the city, such as the Eiffel Tower symbolizes Paris.  It is an iconic building which represents modern London. However, it seems to be a paradox that such an old building makes us think of modernity. Indeed, St Paul’s Cathedral, as we know it nowadays, was built by the architect Christopher Wren between 1675 and 1710. The former cathedral was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. This way, the new cathedral represents the resurrection of London and the beginning of the construction of modern London. This building is also the height of Wren’s talent. St Paul’s Cathedral is in the middle of the City of London that is the business district. There is an interesting sharp contrast between the white front of the cathedral and surrounding modern buildings. The cathedral seems to be a pure and peaceful place, in the middle of the City that is in perpetual motion.  

What I like in this building is the combination of different architectural styles. Indeed, in the interior we can see beautiful paintings, gilts, mosaics and sculptures. The style of the front is also very varied. For example, Wren designed huge domes but also ancient pilasters. The contrast between these two elements is surprising. I believe that mixing styles aimed at building a massive and imposing cathedral. St Paul’s Cathedral shows the will of making progress. Through this building, I can see the power and the prosperity of the British Empire. Besides, British wealth is symbolized by gold pineapples at the top of several domes. I find this detail very interesting. This element seems to be strange at first, but it has an explanation. Such details show the importance of iconic buildings. Indeed, they are symbols of a city and an era, and amazing reminders of history.