Jesse

9/9/06

My Experiences in London

My summer in London was perhaps the best time of my life. The sights, sounds, people, and experiences will never be forgotten. The memories I have brought home with me are even difficult to put into words. I had never been to London before this summer, and I was very excited to experience the differences of lifestyle in London. In Arizona, people get so set in their ways of life that they often forget to look around and value what others are doing. This was the case for me. My life had become so settled with school, work, my friends and family. I knew these things well, and they were my world. Traveling to London allowed me to put all of this on hold for just one month, thus forcing me to do everything differently. The only downside of this trip was coming home. I cannot thank the Rotary Club enough for this experience.

The dormitory we stayed in, Wigram Hall, was essentially perfect for us students. Its location was great, only a few minutes walk from Victoria Station, and a total commute time of 15 minutes to class. Also, the neighborhood the dorm was situated in was ideal. It was an upper class, safe neighborhood with plenty of stores within a few minutes walk.

Once inside, Wigram Hall was exactly what I hoped for. Each student had a single room which allowed for some privacy, yet all the students lived so close to one another, allowing for us to meet and make many friends during our three week stay. The dorm provided kitchens with necessities for cooking, a television, and above all, it was kept very clean. Perhaps the only downside was the 5 floors of stairs I had to climb to get to my room.

As expected, international flight was not one of the high points of my trip. The terrorist threats at Heathrow made the transatlantic trip home a nightmare. On a bright note, I found it very interesting to experience the British threat of terrorism and see how they reacted. After experiencing 9/11 in the US, the British reaction was similar, yet different in some ways.

The class I attended at the University of Westminster was called “The History of London: Public Museums.” I enjoyed this class; the instructor really cared for all the students and was able to interact with each of us regularly. I would recommend this class to future students; it presented me with the chance to visit many of the museums in London which I wanted to see anyway.

I enjoyed the side trips that were set up by the Rotary Club to assimilate us into the British culture. Lunch with Erin allowed us to meet a local and learn about some of the little differences in the British lifestyle that we would need to watch out for. The trip to Guildhall was great, despite the extreme heat that day. It was interesting to see and hear how the London Common Council worked.

After my experience in London and Europe in general, I feel like I am a completely different person. The intent of my visit was to learn by taking a class in London, but the majority of the learning occurred outside the classroom. After coming home, I feel like I am so much more cultured than when I left. I now have a better understanding of non-American values. We Americans are not always right in our ways, often times our lifestyle seems to be the only correct one, but after seeing how people live so differently in England, it really opened up my eyes to the world.