On Tuesday I had my internship. This was a pretty typical day. I worked on another newsletter for Hoxton Trust. This time my objective was to market the newsletter towards the local community. Karina, my supervisor, has discovered that the local community needs their own newsletter from the Trust which takes into consideration the educational background, interests and needs of the community. I don't mind making newsletters as I will be able to put these in my work book for future job interviews. Karina took me to a lovely little cafe for lunch. We got a whole pot of tea and some tea treats with our sandwiches. It was very nice and a great British experience.
Wednesday morning I had my advertising class. That afternoon I decided to go to a museum, since I wasn't able to go to one on Monday because I was coming home from Ireland. I had heard good reviews on the London Transport Museum and decided to check it out. This was the first museum in London that I had to pay to get into. It was only 5 pounds and worth the money. The London Transport Museum explains the transport heritage of the city of London. The museum starts with the first horses and buggies and ends with the newest form of Underground. The majority of the museum's exhibits are actual conserved methods of transportation. There was an original double decker red bus on exhibit. It had the bar on the back end where people could just hop on and hop off. They also had the old horse buggies, horse cabs, and horse trams. I never even knew there were such things as horse trams, which is basically a coach on tracks, but pulled by horses. It was really interesting to learn how the methods of transportation have evolved over centuries. I enjoyed learning all about the Underground. They had information on everything, from how it first started to when and why different lines. I really enjoyed the exhibit that showed the evolution of advertising on the Underground, as well as the evolution of the Underground map. It is such a complex system today and it is really amazing how it all came together! I spent quite a bit of time at the museum. It was really very interesting! Picture below of conserved buses on exhibit at the museum.
On Thursday I had my British Experience class. We are learning a lot about the history of Britain through World War 2. The British perspective on the wars is completely different than what I have learned in the past. It is quite interesting because Britain actually fought some of WW2 on their own land. In the States we typically get the impression that we were the heroes and won the war all by ourselves. The British have different views, but they do give the US credit where it is due. I have also been intrigued by how much WW2 effected Britain as a country and society. Everyone had to ration food during the war and they continued to ration for 10 years after the war was over. Britain is an island and it was very hard for them to make their own food and import what they needed from the various countries in Europe. It is largely stipulated that the small proportions of food served today are due to the long rationing period Britain endured after the war. They had to learn to eat less. It is incredible what people had to survive on while rationing food.
Continuing on with my learning about WW2 from a British perspective, one of our assignments was to visit the Imperial War Museum. I was actually really glad this was a required assignment because otherwise I probably wouldn't have gone. I learned so much and thought it was great. The first thing you see when you walk into the Imperial War Museum are huge, conserved army fighter jets and tankers. It was pretty neat to see these things up close since I have never seen anything like this before in real life. They had so many brilliant exhibits. I really enjoyed the real-life Trench experience. Here the museum created a replica of a trench during the war. It was so realistic. I was really impressed with how realistic the whole experience felt. I learned so much about WW2 that I didn't know just from the British aspect. There is a big impact on a country when the war is fought on the home-front.
I appreciated the various collections of advertisements the museum had on display from the war era. I spent a lot great deal of time in the Holocaust exhibit. I couldn't believe some of the things I learned and read about. What an absolutely awful situation. I have learned about the Holocaust in school, but never as in depth as I experienced at this exhibit. What an eye opening experience. I spent 3 hours in the museum and was worn out from everything I had absorbed. The rest of the day was devoted to homework. I had a couple of final essays that I wanted to get out of the way before my family came to visit me! Picture below of the Imperial War Museum.
On Saturday I went back to the Portabello Road Market. What an excellent market. This market is located in a section of London called Notting Hill (Notting Hill,the movie was filmed here). It is such a nice area. I had a wonderful day to go to the market, as it was the warmest day I had experienced in London yet. The market was alive and thriving. There were tons of stalls selling antiques, knickknacks and gifts. The best part of the market is just looking at everything. There was also excellent food. I tried a fruit smoothie that was delicious. I also got a cupcake from the well-known bakery. I walked all the way through the market checking everything out. I have my eye on some items that I want to take home for souvenirs! Below is a picture of a selection of teacups and saucers for sale at the market.
On Sunday London was hosting the London Marathon. I just had to go check this out since the finish line was right in front of Buckingham Palace and I live only a few blocks away. It was amazing and quite inspiring. First I watched the Elite men and women come through. I couldn't believe how fast they were going, even after 25 miles. Wow. After the Elite (professional marathon runners) finished, the people just started coming in the masses. I couldn't believe how many people participate in this. All the streets along the route were lined with bystanders and fans clapping and cheering. I have noticed that when the British cheer they yell "hey" rather than "go" or etc. It was pretty fun as the local audience really got into the race. Another interesting thing that I noticed while watching the marathon was that the local audience favored the women. When I woman would run past in a pack of men, everyone would cheer, "Hey there is a woman, you go girl!" It was hilarious! I also couldn't believe how many older people were running. There were men and women that looked like great-grandparents running out there. The saddest part was to see some people just collapse or cramp up because of the strain that puts on your body. The crowd was always really supportive and cheered the person to get back into it. I guess I just felt really bad for those people because they had come so far and their body just quit. From running track, I know the feeling of having your body shutdown even though your brain is telling your legs to run. It is just so frustrating. I can't even imagine the strain 26 miles puts on a person. However, it looked like so much fun! The finish line was the best. Everyone crossing the finish line was so happy. They raised their hands in the air and cheered. It is quite an accomplishment. The face of the runners as they crossed the finish line were priceless. I ended up watching the marathon for 3 hours. It was just fascinating to take in everything. There were some interesting characters in the race too. Some people were dressed like bananas while others dressed like Fred Flinstone. The pure joy, happiness, and relief on the faces of participants crossing the finish line was amazing. The crowed support was also another great aspect of the marathon. The whole event was huge for London, as the route took place all over London. I had never seen anything like the London Marathon. It was a blast. Pictures below of the race and the athletes running past Buckingham Palace to the finish line.
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