Today was a very full day. We woke up early and had our morning meeting at 7:45 am. Then, we met up with our tour guide, Victoria, and went to St. Paul’s Cathedral. The Cathedral was absolutely gorgeous. Victoria told us about its history and took us all around the beautiful religious sanctuary. My favorite part of the Cathedral was the dome. When I looked up, I could see was beautiful decorative designs all the way to the top of the building. Next, we went to see the changing of the guards. Unfortunately, it was cancelled. However, we were able to see some other guards walk back and forth and keep watch over certain buildings. We also saw Buckingham Palace which had military men and women on horses parading around the incredible building. After, we went to lunch at a cute diner called Garfunkel’s. Many of us had the traditional English dish, fish and chips. Following lunch, we went to both the National Portrait Gallery and the British Museum. Both of these tours were extremely fascinating. It was another jam-packed day in London!
The most surprising aspect of today’s events was the seriousness of the guards. I was so intrigued by their ability to remain so still and stern while so many people were watching them. I thought about if I would be able to remain so calm and focused if I were in their shoes. It was extremely mind boggling to imagine standing on guard for two hours and then having a four hour break for a consecutive 48 hours. I cannot imagine the mental strength that task must require.
In regards to my main theme, mental health, the guards’ mental and physical abilities really made me think. It must take psychological methods to remain so focused and still for so long. I wonder what sort of training these men and women undergo in order to become official guards. I wonder if it is mentally healthy to be in such a strict state for so long. Should their shifts be shorter? Is the mind negatively or positively affected by the job of these guards? All of these questions and more went through my head as Victoria discussed their roles. I was extremely fascinated by the behavior of these men and women throughout their duty on guard.