Father forgive me for I have sinned. I entered a bookstore while on a budget.

I've had classes the last three days, the first two afternoons were spent scouring London for required course texts and realizing that books are expensive in London, even if there was a one to one pound to dollar ratio, which there isn't so it's just that much worse. Then, today I went to a library, attached to the University of London, which we are supposed to use for resource materials. It was an interesting place, but they're doing renovation so it's not somewhere I'd recommend even bibliophiles to go. Needless to say, because of that, the tourism has stopped. However, I'm less than a block away from the British Museum and I'm going there tomorrow even if it kills me, so I should have more pictures. And, like I said, if I'm not home in August, I'll be there so, you know, send a postcard or drop me an e-mail or something. I'll tell the mummies you said hello.
In the meantime, I have learned several things about being a student/resident in London, which has helped me learn how to be a better tourist. Here's what I have learned so far:
1. Apparently, after a prerequisite amount of time has passed, Londoners develop motors in their hindquarters. I want you to understand this, because, in situations where you sprint, they walk, and they will beat you. Therefore, you cannot keep up with the flow of London traffic because the flow of London traffic would beat the Pamplona bulls into the ground and have them waving white flags of surrender. So, my suggestion, keep to the right on escalators and just stand there. It may take thirty seconds longer, but the absence of mortal wounds, scars, and spinal footprints will truly make up for it in the end. Also, don't cross the intersections with the natives. They can walk across a ten yard gap in .08 seconds. You cannot. They will miss the bus, you will splat.
2. Pret a Manger: Learn it, live it, love it! Pret a Manger (or Pret for short) is the McDonalds of London without, well, to put it bluntly, the crap. Pret is basically a fairly inexpensive sandwich shop that is perfect for a lunch on the go or a picnic in one of London's many parks. They have a huge range of sandwiches, wraps, baguettes, soups, salads, and deserts, all made up, all fairly cheap. And they're not like turkey and swiss. I had bree, basil, and tomato on a baguette for 2.50 today. It was excellent. The other day I had a chicken club. I've also seen tuna, salmon, prawn, chicken, and all kinds of other things. Trust me, it's worth it to buy one of these for lunch and then spend a little bit more on dinner. Also, try their lemon-aid (5p goes to a charity organization for each bottle you buy). It's quite good, a little more sour than we're used to in the states, but it's wonderfully refreshing on a hot day.
3. Regarding pub grub: Look at the appetizer (or starters and treats). Normally, that's enough food for one person for a meal, and they have very different things than we do in the states in pubs, not just fries and peanuts and potato chips. It's fairly inexpensive as compared to the slightly more pricey bar food meals. Pair that with a beer or soda, or perhaps share one meal between two people, and you can have some pretty good eats.
4. Battersea park, on the south side of the Thames, has to be one of the most underrated attractions in London. I adore it. It's within walking distance of my dorm, around ten minutes, and is beautiful. Apparently the Battersea power station was made famous on a Pink Floyd album cover (sorry all you rock fans, I've never heard any of their songs) and I believe that cover was spoofed in the movie Children of Men (excellent flick by the way). But, on the other hand, the park itself is just beautiful and there's a huge Japanese pagoda in the center with three solid gold Buddha statues (I smell souvenir). There are also a lot of dogs out there and it's great to people watch. The other day I saw three dogs, I'm pretty sure they were part husky, part St. Bernard, and part Polar bear...No, really, they were huge and furry, and quite cute. But, anyway, it's a great place to hang out, take a Pret sandwich and enjoy the sights and sounds along the Thames that almost make you forget that you're in a huge city.