My flight from Kuala Lumpur to London took fourteen hours. So far, I have not met anyone who had a longer journey than this — I can say, safely, that I flew across the world to come to London. London of the Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Jack the Ripper, Westminister Abbey. Few cities around the world have so much culture and history.

I consider home to be Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, but I am not Malaysian. I moved to Malaysia from India when I was six months old, and my parents have worked there ever since. I chose the LSE because of its international outlook and reputation, and, having been here for two weeks, I can honestly say that in many ways it is no different from international school. The people here come from all around the world, and their outlooks on life are so varied. Part of the fun of the LSE experience is mixing with people from different cultural backgrounds and finding out how they view the world.

I stay at Passfield Hall, which I fell in love with upon first glance. It is a gorgeous Georgian building, very close to other University of London halls, with its own garden, and two others in close proximity. There is a real sense of community here. Everyone is so friendly and there are always people in the common room you can talk to in the evenings — in fact, a quick bathroom break can turn into a long conversation before you realise that you have a 9 am lecture the next morning and really have to sleep.

The university itself is incredibly central, which does mean that most food outlets nearby are overpriced. LSE is very much part of London; it does not have a separate campus, and this makes it seem more connected to the city somehow. There are public lectures everyday by some of the best academics in the world, and right now my main problem is that I don’t have enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do. LSE gives you so many opportunities — you have to make the most of them.