Saturday, July 2, 2016

Clouds & Crowds in London, England

Cheerio from London! We may be calling home, but we're not calling it quits yet!


Today is July 2nd, 2016 and we joined Subhadra Das at the University to learn about the work of Galton. Galton was born in England where he was known for his work in eugenics, behavioral genetics, the weather map, fingerprinting, and standard deviation. He was also the cousin of the Naturalist, Charles Darwin! While Galton's work is seen today as dark, he used his resources to his advantage and was way ahead of his time. We still use his methods today in modern psychology like the use of questionnaires and surveys for collecting data on human participants. Below are a few pieces from his collection (left) and the entrance of The University College of London (right).






                                                                           










After leaving, we broke up into small groups and went our separate ways. We headed to find food with Alison, Kara, and Kaylee and made pit stops along the way. We hopped on The Underground and traveled towards Embankment, Westminster, St. Paul's, Backfriars, and South Bank to see Big Ben, Parliment, Millennium Bridge, St. Paul's Catherdral, and Shakespeare's Globe. Also, for those Harry Potter fans out there, The Millennium Bridge was also featured in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince!

                                         
                                         


                                                 
Along the way to all these incredible sites we noticed hundreds of people with flags and signs outside Big Ben and Parlimant protesting the recent decision to leave the EU. From what we have been able to learn from the protesters, they are very much against the idea of leaving the EU. We have read that some people that voted pro-Leaving said that they did not want to be European any more. However, we also gathered that those people were mainly Conservatives. The time we spent witnessing the protesting, many people's signs would not only read "We Love the EU!" They also said, "We Are Europeans!" . It is so incredible to be in England during this pivotal time in their country's history. Some are wondering if London itself will break away from the UK and unite with the EU. The same is happening with Scotland right now, as they still wish to be apart of the EU, but many wonder whether they really will leave the UK. Stay tuned to find out what happens next!


Embracing London's tourist locations and culture (like eating fish and chips at a local pub), it was only customary to hit up every single tourist shop and purchase items for our loved ones back at home (and if we're being honest, items for ourselves too) as a keep sake for our time here in this lovely country. We are having a great time and the pictures just don't do it justice! We are forever grateful for this opportunity to travel abroad with an amazing group!

- Samantha Belanger & Autumn Little





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