Even with all of the stress of getting to London and being able to come back to the country amidst a pandemic, the trip could not have been better. Yes, there were some unexpected bumps in the road, but we made the most of it and had a fantastic group experience. Looking back on the trip, I can’t help but smile at all the fun times shared with everyone in the group. I would not have imagined myself becoming so close and having so many memories with people I barely knew all semester. I’m so grateful that everyone was able to bond so amazingly and created a fantastic experience while in London.

I am especially grateful to anyone and everyone that helped me when I got a little sick, because it honestly sucked. But everyone’s positivity and support made me feel so much better:). Even though I had to miss out on a few things, I am so thankful that I got to experience as much of the trip as I did.

London is a city that holds a new special place in my heart. While the sites we saw were beautiful and the places we went were unforgettable, the thing that makes London so special the people that were there. We had a crazy trip with a lot of unknowns, but we got through them together and I could not have asked for a better experience. I can’t wait to eventually go back to that special city.

Sketch of St. Paul’s

Ballie Ballerson

MAMA MIA

British Museum Sketch

a Blake photobomb

Camden Market

Casey looking very normal

      Although not even two weeks have gone by, my time in London seems a lifetime away. Sometimes it doesn’t quite feel real, that just 11 days ago I was in a different country, separated by thousands of miles and the Atlantic Ocean.

       I had not had many preconceptions about what London would be like, even so, I was still surprised. I was surprised by not the differences but rather the similarities between London and many large cities in the U.S., more specifically, how many things we had in common. Thinking about it now, it makes sense. Cities, generally, all work the same way, so it would be logical that the big/basic stuff is the same. They have roads, we have roads. They have parks, we have parks. They have T.K. Maxx’s, we have T.J. Maxx’s.

       Yet there were differences. One of the most intriguing differences for me was where they put their street signs. Instead of on a post like we do, they slap them on the side of a corner building. I wouldn’t say there is anything particularly magical about this, but I realized, upon seeing their method of sign placement, that I had never thought about how there may be a different way to do such a thing. Perhaps that is what a study abroad allows you to see; it forces your mind to open up to new ideas, methods, and ways of life that you had never conceived of before.

Me at Stourhead

Looking out at the City from St. Paul’s

Group selfie on a double-decker bus

Me and Tyler at Salisbury

Me and Casey at the Queen’s House

When I reflect on our trip to London, I am reminded of all the fun memories that I made with people who were strangers to me just a couple of weeks ago. The end of our trip seemed to be consumed by the chaos and worries of what was happening back home and how it would affect us. However, I am happy that despite the events that were unfolding, our fun did not stop. To me, the problems back home seemed surreal to me because London was not having the magnitude of issues, so it was not hard for me to put the Corona Virus out of mind and focus on the present. Even though our plans got scrambled and jumbled around, we saw and did almost everything that we had planned. I will never forget this experience. Not because of all the amazing places we went to like Stonehenge, St. Pauls, and Westminster, but because of the people. I never expected to make so many friends on this trip. I was excited to spend 10 days with one of my best friends, Elizabeth, but I am so glad that I ended up getting to know everyone in the class. Experiencing London would have been an unforgettable experience regardless of who I was with, but now I know that every experience is better when surrounded by unforgettable people. The memories that will stay with me forever are not being amazed by the dome of St. Pauls or the beautiful art in the British Museum, but they are being amazed how badly Catherines legs were shaking after climbing to the top of St. Pauls and me photobombing every picture that Blake tried to take in the British Museum. I want to thank everybody in the class for helping me have a great spring break and I hope everyone had as much fun as I did.

Group pic at Stonehenge

Ballie Ballerson!

Group selfie at the Princess Diana Memorial

Photobombing Blake at the British Museum

Ride the Slide at the Twizzler!

Buckingham Palace

Looking back at our trip to London, all I can think about is the fun I had even with all of the unexpected hiccups along the way, the weather, threats of the trip being cut short from the coronavirus outbreak; its amazing how we managed to get everything done and more. There was so much to see there. I loved the constant juxtaposition of the old and contemporary around every corner. The city felt like a big mix of different people and places all in one place. With our hotel being as close as it was to major city centers, having the ability to travel by public transit everywhere was fun. I even enjoyed walking at least 5 extra miles every evening with Eric to see more parts of the city than the group had scheduled. I think the coolest activity was our day trip out to the countryside and Salisbury. Seeing the cathedral there was breathtaking. Gothic works are so detailed and intricate, and it is amazing to be there and think about what it would have been like to build it. Overall, I enjoyed making new friends and experiencing a new culture, food, and place. Even though England is an English speaking place, i enjoyed how when you get comfortable for a second, you find something that is different and reminds you that you’re in a new place. I really enjoyed the opportunity to go, I would definitely come back in the future!

Westminster Abbey at Night

Salisbury Cathedral

Contemporary Buildings and the Shard

Sunset at Kew Gardens

Pause and Reflect leaf at Stourhead

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”     ~ Mark Twain

This quote may have many meanings, but to me it means not to be a blind follower, and to do what makes you happy and fulfilled. Looking back at our trip to London, I spent a lot of time following this quote and just pausing and reflecting on the amazing experiences that I was having. I spent a lot of time following the group as we traversed our way through London, but I always had my own perspective on what we were looking at. Some perspectives I captured with my camera, but most of them I captured in the form of a memory. I felt that pausing and reflecting at each place we went to helped me capture the moments that I will never forget. We had the opportunity to see a lot of different buildings and landscapes while we were in London, but these are some of the moments that stood out as I took the time to pause and reflect; Sketching at Stonehenge, sitting in the grotto at Stourhead and looking out at the beautiful landscape, looking over the city on top of St. Paul’s Cathedral, looking up from the ground to see all the skyscrapers surrounding me, watching the water flow at the Princess Diana memorial, looking out over the city at night from the Shard, and having a bird land on the table as I was sketching the Princess of Wales conservatory.

After the study tour hours we were able to go out and explore the city by ourselves, and this is when some of the best parts of the trip happened. From having a pint at the oldest pub in London to going and seeing The Book of Mormon at The Prince of Wales Theatre in Piccadilly, the nights I had in London really made the trip more special. I also want to thank our amazing RD’s for making the trip as smooth as possible, even when we hit bumps in the road due to the current COVID-19 situation we are dealing with in the US. I am happy that we were able to finish the whole trip without it getting cut short. The projects we got to see on the trip were awesome, but it was the people I was with that will make this trip unforgettable. I was able to make new friends that constantly made me laugh and made this trip way better than if I were to have traveled alone. When leaving for this study abroad trip I did not know that this was going to be the last experience I ever had at OSU, but if I had to choose, I would choose this ending over and over again. I want to thank everyone that I traveled with for making this trip truly amazing. London was just one page in my book, and I can’t wait to see what is on the next.

These are some of the pictures of the moments on the trip that I will never forget.

Sketching at Stonehenge

Stourhead through the Grotto

Ant eye view of the skyscrapers

Water at The Princess Diana Memorial

Night time view from the Shard

Sketching buddy at The Princess of Wales Conservatory

While London seems like a city that you could spend a lifetime exploring and still not see and fully understand everything about it, our weeklong trip was a great glimpse into all of the culture and landscape that London has to offer. I think that it is a very rare experience to be able to learn about landmarks and buildings that hold a global significance, then get to go see them in the real world. I really appreciated this aspect of our trip because there were certain things that I was surprised that I enjoyed so much when we saw them in person. Something as simple as taking a nap in Hyde Park, after several days of long walking tours, was one of my favorite memories from the trip.

As I expected it would be, the day trip to Stonehenge, Stourhead, and Salisbury was my favorite day of the trip. The medieval town of Salisbury felt like something out of a movie set. I really enjoyed seeing the massive spire from the cathedral always peeking out above the buildings, and when we walked on the cathedral lawn I was amazed at how tall the structure actually was. Stourhead was a great break from all of the urban areas that we visited, and as cheesy as the signs reminding you to “take a breath” seemed, I actually did what each one said and it made me much more mindful of the whole landscape. I have always been intrigued by Stonehenge, so I was very excited to see it in person. A few years ago in Alabama I visited “Bamahenge”, and I remembered how amazed I was when I first saw the fiberglass recreation of Stonehenge. Visiting Stonehenge I actually felt like the wind and rain added to the experience, and made the whole scene that much more mysterious – so I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Finally going to the top of the Shard and looking out over the city at night was the perfect way to end the trip. It seemed like the lights stretched out forever and gave me some perspective on the expanse of London. I had a hard time leaving the top of the Shard and everyone I was with kept gravitating back toward the windows because there was always something else to look at. When we finally went back toward the hotel, a few of us stopped at The Flying Horse, a 200 year old pub, and talked about some of our favorite stories from the trip, capping off an unforgettable trip.

Sketch of Westminster Abbey facade

View through an alley framing the Shard

View of Stonehenge

View of Tower Bridge from the top of the Shard, looking east

Ahhh, London…

The land of contemporary and historical treasures that seamlessly transition back and forth. It has almost been two weeks back in the U.S. and I still keep thinking about the robot lawn mower we saw working in the mote, which had just been patched with sod. How crazy to think that what used to be a mote and operated by people hundreds of years ago was now a field of sod being mowed by a ROBOT. Thats crazy! There was a post Catherine made during the trip about London’s historical landmarks, specifically Westminster, and their willingness to change. Much like Westminster, Tower of London was appearing to do the same thing. Only, it stuck out more like a sore thumb as opposed to that “seamless transition”, all because of a robot. I actually found it quite interesting, weird that of all things this is something that grabbed my attention, considering everything we experienced. But, it got me to ask myself questions that I otherwise would have looked over. What would this place look like in 10 years? 30 years? Will there be an army of robot lawn mowers, mowing other historical sites? Will they have robots that are constantly cleaning the exterior of the buildings? How will these advances in technology change the way we perceive these places? As technology advances, one would have to assume it will be more and more challenging for technology and historical architecture to maintain one collective image. But, that may very well be the point of having this “willingness to change” is that it is not to uphold a certain image, but have one that is constantly mimicking current times and technologies. None the less, this has been a very strong thought of mine since returning home of what these places will look like further into the future and how that experience will differ from what we experienced.

Quite literally looking into the future from Tower Hill

Robot lawn mower sitting at docking station. Waiting for its 9-5 shift.

Go Robo

On a more general note, I am glad we still had the opportunity of finishing strong on this trip and I appreciate all the hard work that I am sure went into trying to stay on track as much as possible. We got to see a wide range of projects, stare at the most crazy detailed ceilings I have ever seen in my life, stand at the top of the highest views all around London, wander through breathtaking landscapes, try some amazing food, and of course build bonds with new friends. I know I speak for everyone when I say this is a trip we will all remember for the rest of our lives and I couldn’t have asked for a better group to travel with. There was no other way I would have wanted to end my time here at OSU than with this study abroad and for that, I owe you all the BIGGEST THANKS!

Sincerely,

The man who led 9 students down the wrong tube stop.

Having experienced so much in London, I have learned that 10 days is the perfect amount of time to really immerse yourself in the culture and visit all of the extraordinary places a city can offer. Although we all came back to what was completely unexpected before the trip, I find that I have been given time to really think about my experience in London instead going straight back into the college stress. In London, we were doing so much that one thing led to the next and then we were already boarding our flight back to the US. Using my extra week of spring break isolating, I did a lot of thinking about how fun London was and how much more I want to travel the world. I feel lucky we were able to visit England and I’m happy everyone stayed safe. No one really knows when people will revert back to their normal lives and can travel again, but for now I hope everyone is also reflecting on their time in London.

My favorite moment in London was when I was able to go to Hyde Park after visiting the Natural History Museum. My group and I just sat in the park and enjoyed the sunny day. I was able to finish up some sketches by relaxing under a tree and watching people go about their day (sometimes with dogs!). That is definitely a moment I will remember about London forever.

Here are some of my favorite pictures I took while abroad as well:

Salisbury Cathedral

Stourhead

Stonehenge

View from The Shard

Palm House At Kew Gardens

Trees near Buckingham Palace

At the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year I could not have believed the situation we would all find ourselves in at the moment, let alone returning to London for spring break. Although London remained one of my favorite places on earth and I would always jump at any chance to return, I simply did not have the funds to go again with graduate school on the horizon. However, by sheer luck and thanks to the gracious generosity of others, I found it possible to return. Upon arrival, in general, this time there was confidence in myself not as a tourist, but being a traveller. In being a traveller, I felt more assimilated to the cosmopolitan environment that surrounded me, where I was immersed in the way of life, rather than only paying my respects to basic sites. Yet, even the cultural sites that were revisited offered a new pleasurable opportunity to explore them further. Seeing them in an all new light and the new profound sense on me they had to offer, now that I had matured in being and knowledge in the past 2 years since I had visited.

Although this semester I was looking forward for all of the “last” memories to be made with old friends here at Ohio State, the new friendships I was able to discover on this trip before our time was cut short will hold a very special place in my heart, just as the city of London itself does. I am so thankful to have been able to return to London, and explore it one more time before who knows when any of us will be afforded the opportunity to return. Due to the generosity of others, I was given an unparalleled transformative experience as the capstone of my senior year, and although it was not expected as my senior year send-off, it certainly proved to be a memorable one.

Senior Portrait

Fun Times with New Friends 🙂

This trip was an amazing experience, I am so happy we had such a great group of people and amazing RD’s! One important goal that I accomplished during this trip was learning how to navigate the city by walking and public transportation, mostly due to the help of Google maps. Although the buses remain somewhat of a challenge to me, I can confidently say that I know my way around the tube, and can figure out how to get around London. Also, this trip was full of unique experiences that I would not have if I didn’t go with this group, such as an exclusive walk around the skyscraper district, a visit to Kew Gardens, and going down the Twizzler. I also really valued all of our free time, it allowed us to have a lot of freedom and helped me learn how to get around quicker. My favorite day on the trip was probably the day we went to the British Museum, London Eye, Trafalgar Square, and had tea at the National Portrait Gallery. We packed so much culture and context into that day, which I really appreciated. Also, Kamilla and I ate some truly delicious burgers by Trafalgar.

I cannot believe how much fun I had on the trip with everything going on. The trip really masked what was happening in the rest of the world and when I arrived back home, I was astonished at how serious the problem was and how we had just been going on in London not really knowing the vast majority of the isolating from other people. The trip was an incredible experience that I thoroughly enjoyed throughout the entire thing. I enjoyed seeing all the places that we talked about in class and really experiences the spaces in person. One of the places that I enjoyed more than I thought I would was Queens House. The area was very picturesque and the house was extremely gorgeous. I also enjoyed all of the museums more than I would and thought everything was at a bigger scale than what I imagined it to be. I was very sad to go home and I wanted to stay for longer. When I am older, I am hoping to live and work in London and get to experience the place as a hometown. The city is incredible and the views and people there are even better. I do not regret anything about the trip (maybe my phone being stolen) and I cannot wait to return!

Lili, Tyler, and I in the London Eye!

Summer solstice arrow at Stonehenge

Glass Staircase at Victoria and Albert Museum

Guardian of Temple

I will remember London as a wonderfully bizarre collection of juxtapositions. Contiguities of new and old, a dynamism of physical and cultural points of view down every street, a surprise around every corner.

Our tremendous guide of Westminster Abbey, Andy, offered this tidbit of British history. “People think we know what we’re doing. Really, we’re just making it up as we go along.”

Looking back through my photos and notes it couldn’t be more evident, and that’s perfectly okay. Were it any different, London would lack the incredible richness and complexity that makes it so full of character.

Construction (Crucifixion): Homage to Mondrian (Barbara Hepworth)

Edmund Bacon, the father of modern Philadelphia as well as actor Kevin Bacon, describes the responsibility of picking up where the previous generation left off as the “principle of the second man” in his Design of Cities. To some pieces of architecture we owe an incredible debt. Others not so much, however it’s not always clear. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we get it wrong. The choices we make as designers today, will have indelible impacts on tomorrow and beyond. We must be cognizant of these responsibilities, but we should not be intimidated. What makes the number of the projects we encountered so great is their ambition; a willingness to be bold, unique, and iconic.

London Wall Place Pedestrian Bridge: Make Architects

The greatest piece of advice I’ve been given in my architectural education has been to go look at stuff. Look for solutions to your own design problems. Chances are someone has already solved it, quite possibly hundreds of years ago. By studying abroad, I’ve been able to obtain a much wider scope, a number of new cards in my mental Rolodex, and an experience I will take forward into practice.

The city of London now holds a special place in my heart in reality versus the fiction it merely was to me before. This trip was everything I could’ve ever dreamed of and more despite the world’s impending panic. Not only was I able to enjoy this experience with some of my closest friends, but I was able to make new ones and branch out with common interests and uncommon experiences. Being my first time out of the country, it was great having this group to be guided with and yet given independence. This gift of freedom allowed me to surprise myself in terms of navigation, and a new found love of London transit! I would have never guessed that taking the tube would be one of my favorite parts but it certainly was an experience I’ll never forget, along with almost getting lost when having to find my own way. Another of my favorite things that I could enjoy about London, especially when lost, was of course the architecture. Being able to figure out where I was based on the style of storefronts was actually quite helpful. We were given tours of some of the must see buildings, whether it was the brutalist maze of Barbican, which highlighted some beautiful features of concrete and made me more interested in brutalist projects and even the benefits of a community built around it, or when we craned our necks to see the top of skyscrapers only to find some of the most interesting parts at the mundanity of eye-level. One of my favorite parts about these towering buildings was learning the intricacy of manipulating past forms and ideas in ways to push structural limits whether it be suspending an entire building above train tracks or putting the industrial guts on the outside of a building to understand how these masterpieces tell us how they work. Overall, this trip opened my mind to a whole other world and I’ve been talking about it non-stop, and probably never will, but I wouldn’t have been able to wonder about brutalism, almost get lost on the tube, or eaten in a real London pub without Aimée for being our devotedly organized, even in chaos, trip advisor and dealing with the wrangling of kids that aren’t her own and to share with us her piece of London, Troy for always knowing the way, protecting people from playing in traffic (*cough* Tori *cough*) and recommending great food markets, Jeff for being able to set up an interactive iPad class literally anywhere so we can have a chance to participate while in the field, and all of my trip mates who made this experience that much more fun, so thank you all for this amazing opportunity!