Leaving London

As I am writing this, I am in my flat in London for the last time ever. It is bittersweet to leave London. Though I am excited to see my friends back home again, I will deeply miss London. I’ll miss the clean empty streets of South Kensington, the grassy lounging areas in Hyde Park, and my classes. I learned a ton in both my British Politics and British Broadcasting class. 

Prior to my arrival in London, I barely knew a thing about Brexit. Right as I came to London was when Boris Johnson became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It was interesting to see the political climate of the United Kingdom, especially coming from Ireland and being able to gauge their perspectives on this huge change in the European Union. Leaving London, now I am able to fully comprehend what Brexit is, how it affects the people of the United Kingdom, the different political parties in the United Kingdom, and what differences Brexit will make to other countries in the European Union. 

In my British Broadcasting course, we ended class in the most interesting way. We were given the opportunity to visit the BBC headquarters and be given a tour by a producer who works at the office. It was especially interesting to me since I am getting a certificate in journalism. I was given advice on how to get involved in a broadcasting field. We saw people working at the BBC Newsroom and toured the different offices. To end the day, we were given tickets to be in the audience of The One Show, a popular BBC talk show hosted by Matt Baker and Alex Jones. The guests on that show were from the new BBC drama, The Capture, a show about a man who gets involved in a murder and how CCTV can be fabricated. The guests were Ben Miles (who has been on the hit television show called The Crown, on Netflix) and Holliday Granger (who has been in V for Vendetta). We even got to take a picture with them and meet them. There was also a performance for a new show created by the producers of River Dance. The funny thing is, though our program in Ireland we saw River Dance. The new show features many of the same dance members, and I even recognized some who were performing at The One Show. The dance performance was amazing! 

Since it was my last week in London, I needed to visit the famous sites I had not had the chance to see yet. I visited the British Museum, which is one of the best museums I have ever been to. I was able to see the Rosetta Stone up close. There is also a humongous bust of King Ramses II. Towards the end of the week, I took a day trip outside of London to visit Stonehenge, Bath, and Windsor Castle. 

For those who are considering the London + Dublin program, I highly recommend it! Not only did I have the time of my life exploring new places I had never been to, but I also learned a lot about the culture and politics of Ireland and the United Kingdom that I would not have learned about thoroughly in the United States!