Obama's Inauguration

Tuesday afternoon was inauguration day! It was very exciting. At four o'clock all students were invited to pile into our lounge-type room, nash on some free refreshments and follow the inauguration on a projected screen. The room was packed! My buddies had secured a nook in the corner that had its own TV and couches.

The British who work here and the faculty were all present. So many people showed up that they had to spill over into another room. I stayed in the more rowdy student filled one. People are saying that Obama is my generation's president, might as well welcome him with my peers.

It was really loud before the real stuff started happening. Important people would show up and the English news anchors would comment. When people started giving speeches, however, the room hushed. Obama's speech was amazing. I really don't have words to accurately explain the feeling in the room. We were all very inspired and extremely proud of our president, even more so because we were in a foreign country. This whole week it's been amazing seeing Obama on the news and on the front page of papers here in London. When he spoke, though, the filter of English culture was non-existent. Despite us being in another country, he was speaking directly to us.

In America Obama spoke in the early afternoon, but by the time the whole thing was over for us in England it was pretty solidly evening. Therefore, my friends and I though that this would be a great time to take advantage of our London experience and raise a glass to our new commander in chief. We walked down the street to the pub we visited last week and all got a drink. I had a half-pint of a beer called Old Speckled Hen. I didn't want to drink too much because I had a class in a little while. I left my buddies early to go to class, got to class, realised that the teacher didn't plan to show up and sallied on forth home via tube. And that, my friends, was where I was when Obama became president.