BES Reflective Journal, Week 4

I had a lot of great experiences this past week, both in London and outside, on our group trip to Bath. Last week for my internship I went to a press viewing of the Yayoi Kusam exhibit at the Tate Modern (you can read all about that in my internship post from last week) which was by far my favorite internship experience thus far and one of my favorite experiences in London. We took a night flight on the London Eye last Thursday, I was a little scared that I would get motion sickness but I was jsut fine. It was incerdible to see the city from above and really appreciate how big it is. It also felt cool to be able to point thigs out saying, "Oh I know what that is!"

This weekend I said that I was ready to get out of London and go somewhere/see something new. As a group we went to Stonehenge, Bath, and Lacock Village, exploring and experiencing many new things. A few things stood out to me as highlights of the weekend. One, I loved the rugby game. I really didn't know anything about the sport before we went, but as an American Football fan I had a feeling I would like it. I throughly enjoyed the atmosphere of the pitch as well as the game. I realized how big it is when I went to work out later that day and more teams were playing on tv. I found it amusing when I found out that there was a "bachelor party" going on in front of us with all the men dressed up in Sherlock Holmes-esque outfits with the groom in a fox costume.

In addition to the rugby match I really liked the village of Lacock. It was neat to see a traditional English village that has been preserved. The food was good, the buildings/houses were adorable to look at, and seeing where some of Harry Potter was filmed almost made me freak out. Ironically, it's what I pictured London to be in my head before coming over here. Obviously these two places are very different. It made me appreciate the saying, "London is very different than England." Things in Bath were cheaper than London, and I got to experience some traditional English practices like cheese shops. I bought some goat cheese which was delicious and sample a lot of other kinds as well.

Overall, it was a great weekend but by the end of it I found myself saying, "Ok I'm ready to go back to London," or "I miss Vandon." One thing I did not like about Bath was how cold it was everywhere. The YMCA we stayed at was cold, the stores and restarants were cold, and every single toilet was freezing! It made me appreciate London more. I was ready to come back and enjoy some more privacy as well, 12 girls in a room was fun, but could get a little crazy. I thought it would be great to eat out while we were there, no cooking and good food. It was fun for the first day but I got a little tired of fried pub food, and paying to eat out got old pretty quick. I had a great time on our Bath trip but it also made me appreciate London more, both as a city and now as my temporary home.