Breaking Codes and Winning Wars 2025: Delulu in London

Hi there, Crypto-readers! Today’s post on the Breaking Codes and Winning Wars May X in London is brought to you by Margaret and Hannah! Today is May 19th, 2025 – our first day in London!

We landed in London around 7:15 AM and spent the next couple of hours getting through security and back to our hotel. It is safe to say that we were all pretty tired from the flight, but we kept pushing through!

For lunch, we had a buffet from the Stay Club and enjoyed eating all together in the cafeteria. During lunch, the jet lag seemed to hit everyone hard. Most of us got only around one hour of sleep on the plane, so we were pretty delusional throughout the entire day. However, we found light at the end of the tunnel… coffee! The iced lattes at the cafe were just what we needed. While caffeine helped some of us stay awake, others needed a power nap before the IES orientation -- we had a little bit of downtime to unpack or rest.

Next, we headed down to one of the classrooms for IES Orientation and a building orientation. We learned all about the resources that IES and the building can provide for us, as well as some of the customs and differences about London. For example, did you know that in London, lemonade is always sparkling?

After our orientations, we had free time to unpack or go explore London! We all split up into smaller groups and did a variety of different things. Some went and explored the area where we are staying, others went shopping for some “essentials” like fun candies and items for our rooms. One adventure included Ella, Hannah, Caitlyn, Lilia, and Ava H walking a little further into the neighborhood streets of Kentish Town and taking some cute pictures!

For dinner, we did a variety of things. One group went to have ramen, and another group of roommates, Margaret and Maggie, and Lorelei and Ava, went to a sourdough pizza restaurant. Dr. Woodard and Dr. Millichap enjoyed a shawarma wrap in the courtyard behind their flats.