What an amazing experience. It was everything I expected and more. Learning about the culture and, most interesting to me, the architecture, was something truly valuable and I plan to keep what I learned for a long time. This trip was honestly so inspirational for me and gave me the fuel I didn’t know I needed.
Firstly looking at some of the amazing culture I experienced were plentiful. From some of the delicious and unique food I had such as conveyor belt sushi from Yo! Sushi, to the amazing Indian food at Dishoom as well as traditional English breakfast in the morning at the hotel. In addition, the AC Milan v Arsenal match was easily an experience I can never forget. I raved on about it in one of my in-country posts so I won’t go on and on about it but it was such an incredible experience at a sport I love. Walking around the city with friends and by myself, not going to major site but experiencing some of the city life was just as intriguing and beneficial as my other amazing experiences. On my free day I went to my family’s house in London and that in it by itself was an interesting glimpse into everyday British life. My conversations with them also helped understand the cultural differences and similarities between British and the American lifestyle.
I learned a lot about the architecture styles found in London just through sketching, forcing me to understand the details that I may have otherwise missed. Studying the older gothic designs all the way to beautiful modern buildings and projects (which I especially liked). Learning from the group leaders was already informational as is but since many students on this trip had different backgrounds and/or were further in the architecture program, I was able to learn from my peers as well. I feel like I learned so much about architecture on this trip because of this one-two punch of knowledge so to speak. We had an amazing group on this trip, making learning fun and ultimately making this experience so much better.