London, Day 1

My friend Dan, who I know from my stint in student government back in the day, met me at Heathrow to help me get to his flat. Dan is finishing up his masters at the London School of Economics and has a great place in the center of the city, about a 2 minute walk from the famous Tower Bridge. He only pays $100 a month, which is a fraction of the other $1000+/week places that surround him. The key to this deal? His place is owned by the university and is pretty much dorm-style living. Dan has 4 flatmates from all over the world, which makes the places pretty interesting. I've settled in to a mattress on the floor of the living room, which is where I'll be hanging out for the duration of the stay. It's so great to see Dan again, even though he has exams next week and is starting to get a bit stressed out. His exams are worth over 50% of his grade, so I can see why he'd feel under pressure!