528 Steps to the top of St.Paul's

Yesterday in Art and Society we went to St. Paul's cathedral. It was breathtaking. We had a tour and then walked up 528 steps above the dome for a beautiful view of London. It was a little terrifying climbing up multiple spiral staircases in a very tight space. I got over needles, but I think i'll be afraid of heights forever. I did laugh a little though when I found out the girl walking behind me was claustrophobic. We found a strange comfort in each others fears.

There are a lot of foreign exchange students in Art and Society because it is an immersion class. The students are not only from the United States though. I have found it to be much easier to make friends and talk with foreign people rather then other Americans...which may seem a little backwards. One would think that Americans would be more relate able, but I think European people are just as much. All of us are here going through the same experience as young students living and studying abroad in a foreign country, no matter where our homes may be. It is crazy to think of how many people there are in the world who you do not know, but are probably very similar to you, in both personality and experience. At the MCA in Chicago this fall I took part in an exhibition where I blindly left a piece of advice for a stranger and took a piece for myself. It is written on a business card and goes everywhere with me, and right now could not be truer: Understand and appreciate our differences. We are more alike than you think.