IF you are stuck here in London as an exchange student this Christmas and it is your choice to spend the holidays here rather than back home in Salamanca, then make the most out of it. Rather than just watching the sites or savoring the food in London (which is nothing really except your typical Western dishes), how about learning something? If you want to polish your English skills, then learn English here in London so you can appreciate more the beauty of the city while riding the London Eye, looking at the fireworks over River Thames, watching the Big Ben strike the New Year coundown or simply idling at Hyde Park.

Yet, it’s not just learning English that you can have as a pasttime of learning this Christmas. If you are a medical student here in London and you want to specialize in cardiology, then you may check out some of the renowned cardiology centers in London and try to make a visit. Try to inquire if you can borrow some reading materials from their library or better yet, just sit for four hours in the library every day and learn a few updates on cardiology. In this way, you will have ample preparation in your chosen specialization and you will have the edge over your classmates.

If you are a film buff, try to hang around the libary of any film school here in London and try to appreciate the difference between a Hollywood production and a British film. Try to distinguish how a British director helms a film and you can see that the British are although not arrogant, they try to project that their films are classical and more elegant. As with Hollywood movies, there are various genres in British films and television series from horror to comedy, from suspense to drama. Typical British film directors are Guy Ritchie and Paul Greengrass so if you want to have a self-study of British films, then better rent the movies megged by these directors. Or how about viewing the television series Spooks? It’s the British answer to the Hollywood television series The Unit. Movies starring Kiera Knightley, Daniel Radcliffe and Hugh Grant such as Pride and Prejudice that are produced in Britain are also worth studying because they are exemplars of British films. Meanwhile, if you want to study all about British plays, then simply go to any public library here in London and again have a self-study on the subject. There are considerable differences in West End and Broadway plays.

Or you may simply learn how to drive here in London. After all, all vehicles here have the right hand drive as roads here are driven to the left. Or maybe you have an interest in climatology. Christmas may be an opportune time to study and compare the weather patterns in Salamanca and in London. While it is admittedly a temperate climate all year round in Salamanca, here in London may be a little unpredictable.