Olympic Dreaming

3-18-11

Well today has been awesome but first I must focus on our adventures last night. We went out expecting to find a local pub to go to. The trio and I were all about finding adventure, after all, we are in London. Anyways, the first bar we went to was completely empty. The second however, was quite different. The flying Scotsman was a bar and we walked in and it turned out to be a gentlemens club. AWKWARD. we left immediately. We ended up at a cute little place Lori referred to as the “wet” rat but really it was The Water Rat and theater bar. They had live music which the trio and I really enjoyed. It is great to experience all sorts of culture while in London, live music and all. 

Today was fun filled. sort of. We had class in the morning where we talked about global advertising and the branding of the Olympics. It really helps that the class is about sports but also that my teacher, Lori, is great at advertising. We learned tons of facts on the branding of the Olympics and then got to see them in person. 

We toured Olympic Park in London and I have to say, I got chills. As an athlete, making it to the olympics could only be a dream for me. To imagine the skill level to make it there is magnificent. We saw the aquatics building, the handball (only popular in england) facility, the horse riding facility and all the others ones. The part it was in was a part of England ( stratford ) that was being rebuilt. It was amazing to see the work that was being done and the time put into this Olympics. I know it will truly be an amazing show of athleticism and culture.

After that, we took the bus to Greenwhich Village. Our tour guides at ISA lead us everywhere. They are the sweetest ladies, all which have awesome accents. I must say though the bus ride was pretty memorable. Lori, Dr. Browning and I were all joking around and some pretty fun memories were made. Needless to say, I made a fool of myself by falling but it’s still awesome to know how cool my teachers can be sometimes. 

In Greenwhich village we walked around and visited the Painting Hall which was beautiful. There was an old navel college there and it was absolutely outstanding the way it was built. We saw the queen’s home which sat right on top of a hill over looking the river. We rode the river bus , courtesy of ISA  which took us to the London eye where we caught the underground or tube back to Kings Cross. We hit some delays because of weather and what not, which was kind of bad, but it was an adventure with some people I won’t forget. 

Our group ended up getting some dinner right outside of NIDO - our student housing . Some italian food that wasn’t very good. Rachel, Edward, and I ended up going out and meeting some of our trio and his friends from London and one from the trip. We hung out at a pub called Ye Chesir Cheese. This pub was older than America. Crazy huh. it closed at eleven and we ended up going to another pub that Coe’s friend told us about. It was awesome. It was in a nice area of town and so posh. We ended up walking back to Kings Cross and made another adventure. We met some nice locals who loved our accents. It’s funny to think we have an accent to them. Anyways, I need to sleep. I have an early bike ride with Dr. Gerlich. Well i’m running, he’s biking. Goodnight for now, Cheerio. 

Culture, History, and Love of London

Day 3- 5-17-11

       It’s official , I’m in love with London. Everything about this place is so amazing. We went on a city tour today of sights such as St. Pauls cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Westminister Abby, Picadelly Circus, Oxford Street and so much more. Our tour guide was amazing. We got to ride a double decker bus ( red like the ones in Harry Potter.) I have to be honest, I had chills going to see Westminster Abby and learning about the culture there. It is just so amazing how much history is behind all of this. It’s like, my history books were coming alive. We saw the London eye, the tower of London and the Thames river. Everything was so beautiful. 

It is crazy how Americans are portrayed here. It kinda upsets me because we have such a bad reputation. Some of the guards guarding the queen’s house were soldiers who fought in Iraq. Soldiers who are fighting in a war for America for our greed purposes. I see a city like London, and everything in it has some sort of history. You can’t go one block without something being historical. Some of the buildings there were 2000 years older than America. It’s just amazing what it took for London to become what it is today. I joked that London was bombed and rebuilt before America was even a thought. 

We had tea at Harrods, with was amazing. They had little sandwiches for food, scones, and dessert. All of it was very elegant. We saw a famous chelsea soccer player too which was awesome. Our guide sitting at our table told us some awesome places to go and I can’t wait to explore more. 

After tea, my new friend rachel and my friend Chris and I went exploring with some of the group. We went by some shopping areas in Picadilly square and then decided to go back to Oxford Street and Soho. Chris, Rachel, and I have become a pretty close trio. They are so into exploring and taking it all in which I love. We do not want to be acting like tourist but rather fit in. Fitting in in London means minding your own business, do not be loud, dressing nicer and another long list of things. It is crazy how much people dress nice in London. fascinating actually, because we don’t do that in America. 

         After we explored a bit, the trio and I found a nice place in soho for happy hour. We want to experience all of the culture so we sat down with a nice beer from there and just talked for an hour. It wasn’t even about the beer though, the conversation was amazing. We talked about the differences in London and America and all the history behind it. We all agreed that it’s kinda sickening how much America is ignorant to other countries. Places like London have so much to offer and in the U.S we are worried about money, our economy, and ourselves. I truly value the people here in London. They mind their own business, realize what they have to offer as people and stick true to themselves. They honor the royal family and love the traditions here. I can see why they hate us. The trio and I are planning on going out tonight and experiencing more of London. I am so happy with the close relationships I am having with some of the students and can’t wait to see what else London has to offer me. Cheers, until next time. 

Forget the Past, Look to the Future

“Arriving at each new city, the traveler finds again a past of his that he did now know he had: the foreignness of what you no longer are or no longer possess lies in wait for you in foreign, unpossessed places.”

Hello London

Day 2 - London Calling

5/16/11 

        Well we are finally here. After ten long hours. Today seems so surreal. Having the plane fly in over London was absolutely amazing. Everything was so green and it was just beautiful. We were greeted by the ISA people and went on an hour long bus ride from the airport to our housing place. We are staying in a huge building with tons of other college kids.

Already , just from being here for a short time, I can tell there is so much culture here. so many people with different accents. When we first got here we went and got train passes and then go phones. A lot of us got the royal wedding go-phone because it was kind of a souvenier for us. We had a welcome lunch hosted by ISA and it was awesome. We went to a nice french place and the food was amazing. The rest of the afternoon was spent walking around our part of London and exploring. 

Now being the nerd I am I was super stoked when DL said we were going to platform 9 and 3/4’s from the movie Harry Potter. We all walked into Kings Cross station and there at the platform was a shopping cart just like the movie. It was awesome to laugh with everyone and fun to live out one of my favorite movies. 

The conversations with everyone is going great. We all get a long so well. The teachers are the funniest. We were all  in quite critical condition today with the lack of sleep.  It was hard to stay awake but some friends and I decided to go out tonight to see some of London without being led around. 

It was awesome just laughing with good company. I can’t remember the last time I as smiling so much. I think it was the change. Being here in London is like magic. I feel so blessed and honored to have had this opportunity and my goal is to get the most out of it. I am looking forward to what tomorrow has to offer. I, along with a few other people are running off of about 2 hours of sleep for 2 days so i’m going to have to call it a night. Goodnight London. 

Pre London Thoughts

5-15-11   

    As i’m sitting here on the plane, I can’t help but be excited. After the big advertising campaign we all had to do, it really hit me that we were going to London. I am fortunate enough to be with a few of my favorite teachers and some friends who I hope to become closer with.
    I think this trip came at such a perfect time. End of the semester and ready for new beginnings. This for me, is the beginning of an exciting career at WT. Although I have been here for a year already, I feel like this year for me was such a learning experience. After my injury, i finally realized what I wanted to do. It took me changing my major again but, I know what I want to do and where I want to be.
    London, most people think royal weddings and tea and crumpets. Don’t get me wrong, I think about these things too, but I also think there is so much history to explore in London. It is also such a different culture. I’m excited to grow as I am there in London and learn everything I possibly can about the culture and the people. I want to leave knowing that I had the best experience possible and I know I will.
    The timing of this trip was so perfect because I don’t think i’ve ever wanted to leave the country so bad. I’m excited to not have such routine and seeing the same people. This is the perfect time for me to let go and really start a new beginning. Let go of the past, look to the future. Let go of past relationships that I knew were no good for me and look forward to the new ones I will gain. Also let go of past mistakes I wish I could take back.  Let go of past decisions I have made and realize that everything does happen for a reason although I may not know that reason right now. I’m also excited to be around a group of such genuine people. I’ve learned to weave out those toxic people from my life and getting away helps with that.
    Overall, I just want to make a difference while I’m here. Not that we are doing community service or anything, but I want to try and make a difference whether is be on someone, or how someone thinks of me, or just something that I did. I want to bring everything I do in London into my life next year and the next years I have at WT.  I want to grow as a person and as a AD/PR major.
    We have about three hours till we are there and I haven’t really slept. I’ve watched a few movies and been listening to music. I have been using the flip camera I brought to document the trip as well. I’m excited to have it on camera as well as in pictures.  We get there in the morning so we have to get right into things. I’m excited to what this will bring me and I feel amazingly blessed to have been given such an opportunity. Here we go, bring it on the time of my life. London 2011. 
London Trip - Day 1