As January comes to its midway point, I have almost wrapped up my first term at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Rather than following the American system, the university has a month-long period after the end of classes—which ended on December 12th—before exams begin, and our exams only started this week. Although much of my time abroad has been spent traveling and exploring Europe, the university itself offers a lot through its academic programs. Courses at the LSE are split into half- and full-credit courses, with exams in either January or May; however, there are instances of fall classes being examined in May, as is the case with my Business Ethics course. Because of this structure, there is a one-month study leave between the end of classes and the start of exams.
I took the first two weeks of this break to travel to India, where I was able to catch up with my cousins and grandparents, whom I hadn’t seen since 2023. Other than the obvious temperature difference between London and Kerala—the state in India my family is from—the pace of life is much more relaxed, which allowed me to enjoy my break for a bit before returning to exams. The upside of leaving this comfortable life was that I was able to experience a London New Year’s while also seeing all the Christmas lights. During the winter and Christmas season, each major street in London has its own theme and is adorned with beautiful lights that are gorgeous to see.
More importantly, during New Year’s, my friend and I decided to find somewhere to sit and watch the London Eye fireworks. Back home, my family’s New Year’s tradition is to watch major global firework displays on TV, with the London Eye always making a yearly appearance. As such, I was determined to see it in person, as I was finally in the same city. However, this year London had closed off half of its streets to only ticketed individuals who had purchased tickets back in August on Ticketmaster. While my friend and I attempted to get tickets, neither of us succeeded, so we went on a three-hour walk to find a free spot to watch the fireworks. After visiting three bridges, we stumbled upon Buckingham Palace’s courtyard and realized we could see the display from there instead, committing to arriving three and a half hours early to secure our spot.
Although the weather was some of the worst I’ve ever experienced, with a high of 31 degrees, my friend and I somehow passed the time playing I Spy and making conversation with a New Zealand family who was suffering alongside us. The moment the fireworks started, however, we both forgot about the weather and were completely taken by the beauty of the new year, ushering in 2026.
Navya Kadalayil
Academic Year 2025-26
Year in London - London School of Economics
School of Business
International Business & Finance Double Major