“Hamilton” the Musical & Canterbury – 7th Week at NYU London!

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Michaela Greenlee

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Michaela Greenlee

<i>"Hello" in your host country's language:</i> Hello! <i>Home Institution (your U.S. University/College):</i> New York University <i>Expected graduation year:</i> 2024 <i>Destination city & country:</i> London, United Kingdom <i>Program provider:</i> NYU London <i>Major/minor:</i> Global Public Health <i>Demographics:</i> Caucasian/White, Hispanic/Latinx <i>Future career aspirations:</i> My future career goals involve becoming a university professor of public health in the social and behavioral sciences. I hope to conduct research in my own laboratory that explores how to mitigate health disparities among low-income and racial/ethnic minority populations. As a future professor, my mission is to empower my students (particularly females and students of color) to volunteer in my lab and develop a passion for working towards health equity. <i>Top 3 goals for your time abroad:</i> My top three goals for my time abroad include developing a comparative lens to analyze differences in health care infrastructure between the United States and United Kingdom, building strong and professional relationships with my internship mentors, and becoming an independent individual who can learn to take accountability by navigating through challenging situations.

Hi everyone, welcome back to my 7th blog post at NYU London! I completed my first midterm exam in my architecture class on Thursday, and I think it went pretty well. The rest of my midterms are in the form of essays and presentations, so I’m hoping those will be less stressful.

I wanted to treat myself to a night out at the theatre after the architecture midterm, so I made sure to schedule tickets for the musical, Hamilton, with my two friends about a month in advance. And let me tell you – it was well worth the wait! For those of you who don’t know the musical, Hamilton tells the story of one of America’s lesser known founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton, and the significant contributions he made as the first secretary of the treasury of the United States. Hamilton’s story comes to life through an eclectic mix of rap and hip hop, which makes what would typically be a mundane history lesson much more entertaining! The actors/actresses were insanely talented and the soundtrack has been replaying in my head ever since I left the theatre :)

Another fun activity this week was the day trip to Canterbury on Friday hosted by NYU London. Canterbury is famous for its gorgeous, Gothic architecturally designed cathedral and being the place where the first English novel was written (Canterbury Tales). We got to take a self-guided tour of the cathedral and hear about the history of the haunted dark entry hall. Inside the nave of the cathedral, nearly everyone was awestruck by the elegantly carved stonework and the vibrant stained glass lancet windows (some of the oldest stained glass in Europe!). We also got to admire the magnificent Cloisters, medieval tombs, and the Trinity Chapel.

After exploring the interior of the cathedral, my friends and I had some free time to wander around the main streets of Canterbury which were an unusual mix of both modern and historical shops/boutiques. Having completed nearly half of my “Seeing London’s Architecture” course, I noticed that I was a lot more appreciative of the Tudor architecture and the buildings’ features that I would not have realized before.

Thanks so much, everyone, for taking the time to read this week’s blog! I’m looking forward to sharing more of my adventures next week :)