The little things
I got to visit the famous water pump from the third cholera pandemic. Supposedly, this little pump caused the outbreak in London, which I learned was not true. However, the small action of John Snow removing the handle greatly reduced the cases in SoHo. Sometimes small actions have greater impact. I this trip we were constantly telling each other to wash our hands, not to touch the escalators in the tube, and use hand sanitizer (because nature is dirty). We were only asking each other to do small things, but as of 3/27, none of us have gotten sick. This caption also applies to other aspects of the trip. I enjoyed so many of the little things London had to offer. On my adventure to the water pump, I found a book store off the beaten path and just sat in there for awhile.
All roads lead
The first couple of days on the trip, I didn’t really know how to navigate. Kelly and I ate at the Dog and Duck ONE time. And the rest of the trip, if we were walking around, we would always end up across the street from this pub. This made me believe the phrase “all roads lead to Rome” is actually “all roads lead to the dog and duck”. But as I kept winding up near this pub, I realized how many things are actually near the Dog and Duck (still don’t know why its famous). John Snow’s first private practice is actually next to this pub. His water pump is two blocks away.
Larger than life
The one thing I wanted to do in London was see & Juliet, the story of what would Juliet do lived. And I loved this show. However, during intermission, I got the news that we would be staying in London and didn’t know when our flight was. I kept hearing people say that what was happening, the cancelations, the uncertainty, was out of a sci fi movie. That the situation was larger than life. However, if the trip to France wasn’t canceled, I never would’ve seen stone henge, Cambridge, or Alexander Fleming’s laboratory. We took a chance in the face of a bad situation, like Juliet, and the had an amazing time.
I appreciated all the students willingness to adapt to our new itinerary and make the most of our time in and around London. It is also very interesting that your history project focused on a disease pandemic, given the backdrop of our trip. It occurred to me how lucky we were to at least understand the spread of disease in modern times. It must have been even more terrifying living through the cholera outbreak you reference, with only vague ideas about its spread and having few options to Avoid or treat it.
I think travel glitches often lead to really great experiences – sometimes because of the very fact that they were unexpected. It is great to see these photos!