Last weekend, I got the chance to experience one of the most significant sporting events that form an integral part of British culture – a rowing race between the two prestigious universities: Oxford and Cambridge. Rowing as a sport itself is considered very British in nature, as is the rivalry between the two institutions, and so it is not surprising when this race is considered one of the most important events of the year. I was told that the rowers train for this throughout the year, and I completely believed it when I went to witness the race by the riverside and encountered at least a few thousand others who were there to do the same thing. I reached two hours before the race and so I can only imagine how long the others had been waiting there for.
The race reminded me somewhat of the Head of the Charles regatta in Boston. There were thousands of people, and everyone was having a good time. We were lucky that the race fell on a sunny day, which you would not see very much of in London. There were entertainment events that took place before and after the race, which were telecast on a big screen put up in a huge park by the riverside. We actually saw most of the race on the big screen, since the rowers crossed us by the riverside for less than two minutes. I realized the race was not about seeing the rowers in person but more about the spirit of the race. Cambridge won the girls race and Oxford won the boys race, so I guess it was a win-win situation.
Nonetheless, my favorite cultural experience here has been the West End experience. West End is to London what Broadway is to New York, and it helps that I live in the middle of West End in London. I have a maximum of a ten minute walks from any show and in fact, I can see the doors of two shows right from my room window! So far I have seen Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Wicked, Les Miserables and the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The General Course at LSE subsidizes the tickets for us, which is wonderful. My favorite, unsurprisingly, was Les Miserables, which left me absolutely moved. However, I don’t think any of the shows even came close to disappointing me and all of them left me wanting for more. Watching a West End show is an experience that you must have in London. The next show on my list is Mamma Mia, and I am also waiting for it to get warm so I can go and catch a show at Shakespeare’s Globe, which is an open theater. Once the days get warmer and the Globe starts featuring shows, tickets for students can be as low as 5 pounds, and so that is yet another experience that one should not miss.
