Wrap Up

      So we are finally done here in London and it truly is a really sad time. We just said bye to the entire team and me and Jake are leaving for Belgium in a few hours. I couldn't of asked for a better group and a better time in London. My internship was great experience and I met people that I will be friends with for the rest of my life. This experience has taught me a lot about identity and who actually represents a true British person. There is a major complexity of identity going on in London and being able to see all of the cultures mix was very interesting to digest. It was awesome to have a class teaching us about identity and then being able to go out, explore and realize what kind of identity struggles were going on in London. This experience has taught me to be proud about being an American and never be afraid to say it. Everyone should be proud of where they came from and they should say it with pride. Not that I ever wasn't proud but some people aren't proud because of what we stand for and what others view us as. But I learned to be prideful in where you came from no matter what. When I come back to the UK I would love to visit the outside places from London especially more North. I wish I could of visited more places like Glasgow and Manchester while I stayed here. 

Sports Cafe

This weekend we went to a place called Sports Cafe that is located in Picadilly Circus. On Tuesdays they have student night and there are always a ton of students there drinking and casually talking. They also have beer pong going on so you can play for 5 pounds which is also a nice touch. What I love so much about going here is you are able to meet others students from all around the world in a common place with a vibe that everyone is used to. What is so apparent when being there is the language that is going on all over the place. There are so many different languages everywhere you don't know which one is coming from which place. I really enjoy just listening to other languages are trying to learn some of the language. It is also one of my favorite places because the amount of other people you meet.

What also was interesting this time at Sports Cafe was that one girl we met from France was one of the coolest girls we have met on this trip. We were talking to her for a while and we realized she had never played beer pong before in her life. This was so shocking to us and we had to show her how to play. We played for a while and after playing I realized we were showing her a tradition and ritual that americans always use. Beer pong is one of the biggest drinking games in America if not number one and it was so surprising to see she never played before. One of our biggest traditions and she had never even heard of it. It was really awesome to show her how to play and she actually one a game! It was one of my favorite times because we were able to teach someone from France a major tradition and ritual that goes on in America.

Chelsea Football Game

At the start of our program we all went to a chelsea soccer game and experienced what it was like. Even though we didn't go in it still was awesome to see the stadium and really feel the vibe of what a real football game is like. is an English football club based in Fulham, London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Their home is the 41,837-seat stamford Bridge stadium, where they have played since their establishment. Chelsea's regular kit colours are royal blue shirts and shorts with white socks. The club's crest has been changed several times in attempts to re-brand the club and modernise its image. The current crest, featuring a ceremonial lion rampant regardant holding a staff, is a modification of the one introduced in the early 1950s.
Walking around the stadium we were able to see a little of the game and it really was awesome. Being able to see all of the fans standing up and cheering for their home team really made me realize how much pride in place they had and the respect they had for the club. Being a fan in America is nothing compared to being a fan in London. Especially a fan for the Chelsea F.C. Pride in place was very apparent here in the way they were screaming and yelling at the top of your lungs. They really loved where they were from and were going to show it.
I also noticed a sense of tradition watching the game. A lot of the fans there knew everything there was to know about the club and what they stood for. Tradition was everywhere and this was especially apparent when I saw a dad and his kid go to the game dressed in the same gear so excited to watch it. It was a tradition to them to go and watch the match father and son. Even though it was very loud and abusive on the field, it was still a tradition that a father and his son had in their family.

Finsbury Park

For my internship I worked for an American Football team that was based in Finsbury Park. Finsbury Park is in North London and is extremely different than the Chelsea area where we are staying. It grew up around an important railway interchange at the junction of the London Boroughs of Islington, Haringey and Hackney. It is not to be confused with Finsbury, which is 3.3 miles (5.3 km) farther south in the London Borough of Islington, although in some local contexts the name is shortened in this way. What I experienced when working in North London was how people respond to you when you say your from Chelsea or staying in Chelsea. When I first met the team they asked me where I was staying and without really thinking I said Chelsea. Immediately they were saying how posh I was and asking how much money my parents give me a week. It took a while for me to explain and tell them I was placed there not that I wanted to live there. This really showed me how important pride in place was. The players who were from North London just kept saying how amazing and better the North was from the South. It was so interesting to hear that and it just showed how important they felt their home place was to them. And when I would discuss this with the people in Chelsea they would just say that they all were bums that didn't know what they were talking about. This really showed me how different each place was and how important their place was to them.

Having this dicussion it also showed me how important family was to all of them. When I told them I lived in Chelsea they started to talk about my family and if I was wealthly. I wasnt even from Chelsea and I felt like I was being offended and needed to stick up for my family and what they stood for. When someone talks about your family you immediately want to strike back and defend them. It was interesting to see someone come at a family member like that when you just met them.

Victoria and Albert Museum

We visited the Victoria and Albert Museum today and it was the last time we had our tour guide Trudy! It was a pretty sad moment but she definitely saved the best for last. It is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Its collection spans 5,000 years of art, from ancient times to the present day, from the cultures of Europe, North America, Asia and North Africa. They even have a David Bowe exhibition! The British do love their David Bowe.
What was the coolest was seeing all of the ceramics. This is the largest and most comprehensive ceramics and glass collection in the world, with over 80,000 objects from around the world. Every populated continent is represented. The one thing with this museum is the cultural fusion that they bring into it. It's collection has pieces from almost every time span. When bringing in that much cultural fusion it really allows you to see each time period and you are able to compare and contrast the differences and how each culture brought their own twist to it. I loved seeing all of the different cultures under one roof.

 One of the coolest parts of going through the museum was the end where we saw all of the clothing throughout the years of british history. It was really interesting to see how the clothing changed and how some of the mens clothing still looks so similar to the clothing men wear today. The jackets looked almost identically to a jacket someone would wear today. I would actually wear one of the jackets we saw and i'm sure I would get plenty of comments on it without a doubt. With the different clothing it brought out class and artistic expression. What you wore showed your class and where you stood in society. Back in the day and even today what you wear shows your class and where you stand in society. It also showed artistic expression because when the women started to wear skirts everyone went crazy. Women were allowed to show their legs and have some expression to what they wore everyday.

Camden Market

We went to the Camden Market last weekend and it reminded me of canal street in New York where everyone is selling completely fake stuff and trying to sell it off as real. I do love stuff like that though because you can always mess with all of the sellers and try to get them down to the lowest price possible. I never can get enough of that haha. Among products sold on the stalls are crafts, clothing, bric-a-brac, and fast food. It is the fourth-most popular visitor attraction in London, attracting approximately 100,000 people each weekend. 

There is a sense of fusion everywhere you walk because there are people from every culture under the sun all trying to sell off their fake products. You get everything from sunglasses to hats to vintage clothes to gross chinese food. There is so much fusion going on there that you don't know what to do with it.  From the food they were selling to the cultural clothes they were having people try on. It was awesome to see that much mix in one place. There was even a rave store called Cyberdog that had gogo dancers in cages and the entire place was lite up by black light.

There were plenty of artistic expressions too when walking around and taking in everything. Everyone had a personal way of dressing, talking or engaging with other people. It was interesting to see how everyone went about showing their identity and who they are as a human being. Expression was every where you looked even on the walls and on the ground they had artistic expression. That is one place where you shouldn't be worried to wear something that is different or that's not exactly hip right now. That place is where you go to show your identity and who you are as a person inside and out.

Afternoon Tea

We had some afternoon tea today and this is the most posh I think i've ever felt! All I needed was a funky hat on and I would of been a typical traditional tea person. It was actually pretty awesome to do and I really enjoyed having tea and some crumpets with the team. I never really enjoyed tea before but it was pretty freaking good I couldn't stop drinking it. I also didn't realize how strong it was and it had the same effects as coffee. I always thought it was a weak version of coffee but I was extremely wrong hah. I definitely was wired after the tea.

Tea consumption increased dramatically during the early nineteenth century and it is around this time that Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford is said to have complained of "having that sinking feeling" during the late afternoon. At the time it was usual for people to take only two main meals a day, breakfast, and dinner at around 8 o'clock in the evening. The solution for the Duchess was a pot a tea and a light snack, taken privately in her boudoir during the afternoon. What it really showed was class and how much that changed people's view of you and where you stood in society. Back during that time class was huge and being able to have afternoon tea showed that you had wealth to enjoy a third meal when everyone else had 2 if they were lucky. Class has and will always be a huge thing in society but I think since that time it has gotten better and it's great how everyone can experience tea time now not just the wealthy.

Seeing how the British would do their tradition was an awesome experience and I really felt like i was part of it. Traditionally, the upper classes would serve a 'low' or 'afternoon' tea around four o'clock, just before the fashionable promenade in Hyde Park. The middle and lower classes would have a more substantial 'high' tea later in the day, at five or six o'clock, in place of a late dinner. Nowadays, afternoon tea if often used if you wanted to have a business meeting or meet up with a friend you haven't seen in a little while. Today everyone can enjoy afternoon tea not just the wealthy!

 

The British Museum

We went to the British Museum today and wow there was a lot to see! It was extremely overwhelming walking in to the museum and trying to decide what to see first. They have about 8 million pieces of work in the museum and it one of the largest collections in the world. The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane. Some objects in the collection, most notably the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon, are the objects of intense controversy and of calls for restitution to their countries of origin. This is a major issue of family that the British Museum is creating a conflict with. Why is it right for the museum to keep over 8 million pieces of art when it belongs to other families and people across the world. To take something that isn't theirs and marking it as their own by holding onto it for years and years just isn't right to the real owners of the pieces. If a rare piece of art was in holding at the British Museum that belonged to my family I would be extremely pissed. Even our teacher Denise was telling the class how her family had a piece that was in holding at the British Museum, which would just make me heated. But on the other hand they are able to keep it safe and make sure everyone else can enjoy it. It really is a fight between family and cultural borrowing. They are trying to borrow from multiple cultures and put it into one place and fuse them together. Which is the right thing to do and what is the wrong thing? Do we take all the pieces that rightfully belong to families or do we leave them in control of the British museum so everyone can enjoy them and grasp the history that goes behind each piece? It's a tough decision and that's why people are creating controversy over the decision.

Chuchill War Rooms

Today we went to see Churchill's war rooms and the museum comprising of what life was like for Winston Churchill. Winston Churchill was a British politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 40's and 50's. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th century. Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian, a writer, and an artist. The cabinet room is where he directed the war from and had over 100 cabinet meetings. The war rooms became operational in August 1939, shortly before the outbreak of war in Europe. They remained in operation throughout the Second World War, before being abandoned in August 1945 after the surrender of Japan.

This was my favorite class trip that we have been on and it really did a great job of making you feel like you were there. They made this museum feel like you were in the room and made it cold, dark and lonely. Once I got out I was just happy to be out of the cave like museum. One fun fact about Churchill is that he woke up and drank whiskey and water for breakfast every morning and always had a cigar in his mouth... The man was a straight boss. He had so much power that when he would walk in a room people would become silent. They wanted to hear every word he had to say, they would hang on every syllable. He knew he had power and everyone knew it too. This was extremely evident when looking at the paintings and toys of him. Most of them had his face with a pitbull as the body which showed his tough tenacious way. He was able to use that power to calm down his people and try to explain that everything would be alright. The way he used language to overcome what the war was going to his people was an amazing feat. It was extremely difficult to keep anyone at that time calm but he was able to do it with the use of his language and how he flowed in a speech. Not a lot of people are able to do that but Winston Churchill was able to use his language and power to run an entire county and run it extremely well.

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English, later British and later still (and currently) monarchs of the Commonwealth realms. The abbey is a Royal Peculiar and briefly held the status of a cathedral from 1540 to 1550.The entire time we walked through it all I could think of was how the hell did they build this. Our tour guide kept talking about information about it and what it's used for and who was buried there, but all I could think to myself was how does someone go about building this? It was insanely mammoth and the detail that went along with it was breathtaking.

The Abbey has a lot of tradition and the workings of the burials is very serious to everyone involved with it. It became one of Britain's most significant honors to be buried or commemorated here. The practice of burying national figures in the Abbey began under Oliver Cromwell with the burial of Admiral Robert Blake in 1657. Being buried here shows your power and how important the people thought you were. Once buried here you became a global influence, a symbol and you will be remembered forever as one of the greats.

Amsterdam!!

So this weekend we did Amsterdam and it was a pretty wild trip. We decided last second to go, booked a flight and rushed to the airport. Unfortunately, you have to be there 45 minutes before your flight leaves to pass security so we missed our flight and got on the next one out. Even though that was a bummer it wasn't going to stop us from having some fun. We were lucky enough to stay with a friend of a friend and did a little couch surfing. Since it was so last second we really didn't know exactly what we were getting ourselves into and boy did we find out fast. I knew the dutch took pride in their language but I had no clue how much. English was rare to see and everything was in Dutch for the most part. All of the street signs and everyone spoke Dutch. It was something else to see the people speak that language and it reminded me a lot of German with a twist to it.

We got there at the perfect timing because apparently the weather in Netherlands is very erratic and to get a full day of sun shine is a rare thing. So when we got there it was the first full day of sun that the Dutch had seen in a long time. Everyone was outside having a beer and enjoying the beautiful weather which was quite a sight to see! Everyone really had a pride in the Netherlands and for where they are from. It reminded me of a huge block party where all of the families come out to drink and talk about what's new in their lives and in the world. They call it the Venice of the North for a reason because there were canals everywhere we looked. The first night we were extremely excited and went to a club called Trouw. Trouw was previously a newspaper company but they changed it into a club so the inside was like something i've never seen before. The next day we took in the sunlight and walked around Amsterdam for a couple of hours. It is pretty small if you are walking but I had no clue exactly how much walking we would do and I definitely didn't bring the right footwear for the trip.

 

One of the coolest/raunchiest things we did was go to the redlight district and see all of the woman. It was nuts just how they stood in the windows and called to men walking by. I knew what to expect going there but I was still shocked when I saw them calling out to me haha. I think everyone needs to go there and really experience what that is all about.

Leighton House Museum

Today we went to the Leighton House Museum where Frederic, Lord Leighton's lived and it has been open to the public since 1929. Frederic was an English painter and sculptor. His works depicted historical, biblical and classical subject matter. It isn't known if he was gay or straight but the fact that "he did court a circle of younger men around his artistic studio" and that "he certainly enjoyed a close relationship with the poet Henry William Greville" kind of says it all. Do what you do Freddy it's all good, no ones judging. His house was more than just a house and throughout the years he was living he kept trying to add on to it and make it more glamorous. Inside the house was pretty awesome besides the fact that most of the things were just models of what he would of had back in the day. He was very good at using artistic expression in his paintings to really show emotion and to tell a story.

There was one painting he did where it was a woman grabbing at a man and the man was trying so hard to look away. You could feel and see the emotion in both of them and it was only a painting it was extraordinary. There was also one he did called Flaming June and in this one he tried to capture the viewers emotions by working on the details and not telling a story. They were trying to express a feeling in a different language than people were used to. They were trying to express language through paint. Back around that time painters were trying to do paintings that didn't tell a story but the painting reached your soul and brought out a feeling that people would rarely see. I'm not a big painting guy but I could see how someone could be taken back by the painting.

We weren't allowed to take pictures so I tried my hardest to act inconspicuous haha. 

Scotland

This weekend we had a group trip to Edinburgh, Scotland and it was an amazing trip. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and it is on the southern shore of the firth of forth. We took the train and it was about a 5 hour ride on a pretty nice train. We played some cards on the way up with a couple of guys who were headed to New Castle and they gave us a briefing on Scotland. Told us we definitely have to check out New Castle if we like Edinburgh so looks like I'm going to have to check that out. We stayed in a pretty nice hostel called Smart City Hostel and all 6 of the guys stayed in one room. Next was a walking tour around 17:30 and it was pretty interesting to learn about Scottish tradition.

I knew about their infamous food haggis but I had no clue how big it was over there. Haggis is a specialty dish that has the sheep's heart, lung, and liver wrapped in the sheep's stomach. Popular folklore has provided theories of where it came from. One is that the dish originates from the days of the old Scottish cattle drivers. When the men left the highlands to drive their cattle to market in Edinburgh the women would prepare rations for them to eat during the long journey down through the glens. They used the ingredients that were most readily available in their homes and conveniently packaged them in a sheep's stomach allowing for easy transportation during the journey.

Everywhere we went they tried to incorporate haggis into it whether it was in it, sprinkled on or was haggis flavored. I decided I had to try it and couldn't go into Scotland without giving it a taste. I ordered some at a small restaurant because there was a sign that said "best haggis in town." So ultimately I believed them.. which was probably a bad idea. I tried one bite of it and decided I couldn't finish it. Swallowing it was a pretty difficult task and after I thought it was going to come back up. I'm not sure if I thought too much into it or if the taste was just really that bad but it was not for me. Everyone said you should try it with potatoes which I didn't know I had to ask specifically for. Well at least I gave it a shot. It's crazy to think that the have kept that tradition alive for this long. Whether or not they love it or just say they do to keep the tradition alive, the Scottish people live and die by that food. It stands for who they are and where they come from.

On Saturday we went on a very long journey to Loch Ness to see the monster. The view going up was just amazing and the mountains were breathtaking. It was very early though and the ride was brutal so most of the crew was passed out. Riding on a bus for that long is very difficult and can ware you out. It was also frustrating because everywhere we stopped on the way we could only stop for a couple of minutes and we weren't able to stop, relax and take in the view. For anyone that is thinking about doing this trip I would only do it if you are in Scotland for more than 3 days and prepare for a serious travel day to see it.

The thing that I was enjoying the most from the trip was the Scottish accent that everyone had. It was insanely difficult to understand them but it was also just maniacal to see that an entire group of people all understood each other when mumbling so quickly. The language that they used was hard to get used to at the start but after really working on listening to them after a while I started to pick up the expressions and phrases they used. Also the great thing about Scotland was how people just loved to hear Americans talk. It doesn't matter what you had to say as long as you were talking everyone wanted to hear what you had to say.