Post-trip Reflections

As I attempt to adjust back to being home in Phoenix, I find myself filled with nostalgia. I keep trying to remember how afraid I was to take this trip, and now I can't even explain why I was so anxious. This trip taught me so much about travel, people, and myself:
1. Always expect the unexpected when traveling, and even then, be prepared for sudden changes. This sounds simple, but for a person like me, change is very hard to cope with. Certain experiences throughout the past month helped me deal.
2. People are more friendly and kindhearted than you'd expect. There is always a friend to be found if you look hard enough.
3. I can do anything I want to do if I believe I can. Yeah, I know, it sounds cheesy. But it means a lot to me. I was terrified for this trip, and I am so incredibly proud to say I left the experience with an abundance of amazing pictures, fun stories, incredible friends, lessons learned, and, most importantly, hope for the future. I could not be more grateful that I was able to embrace this experience as I did. <3

Warning: the following blog post is not going to be a diary entry of the insane amount of fun I had during the Honors First-year Global Experience last month. Rather, it will be a reflective analysis (sounds boring, I know) of some things that have been on my mind since my return home and subsequent recuperation period from London on 30 July. Hopefully it is still somewhat entertaining. To make things easy, I will make a list of "things I learned".

1. Major cities really are like living, breathing organisms.
I've seen and read several interesting media about the idea of cities as "living", based on the classical scientific definition of life as a reproducing, eating, excreting type of object. After living in two of the world's large cities, I feel like this notion makes perfect sense. The cities feel like they're moving, breathing collective breaths of night and day (especially London, where night times were subdued as the city actually did go to sleep). The infrastructure itself felt like an extension of the human mind--I was constantly thinking of how everything was built by humans.

2. New Yorkers are not inherently rude, despite what the stereotypes say.
This is an interesting idea about how physical geography can influence human interaction. Manhattan itself is a small island, where millions of people live and work with no surrounding land area to diffuse. Because of this, New Yorkers have become desensitized to the increased amount of day-to-day human contact compared to a smaller city. It all is based on population density; the higher the density, the more "used to" humans people become, and it seems possible that this desensitization is perceived as rudeness to an outsider. At first, I also felt like native New Yorkers were rude (based on some preconceived notions as well), but when I left, I realized why I was wrong. After experiencing daily life in the city for two weeks, I too was someone immune to the sheer masses of people surrounding me daily. I did not act intentionally rude to anyone; rather, I almost acted as if I was not on an island with millions of other people. This should not be perceived as a loss of respect for humanity or a loss of common courtesy.

3. Experience dictates experience.
Preconceived notions can be dangerous, and often times they are inescapable. In one of our group discussions after an excursion day, Dr. Berry mentioned how New York City is seen by many young people as having taken on a caricature of itself, where it has intentionally tried to fill it's sort of phantom aura or preconceived idea of what it is as a place. This idea has been translated to the minds of people who have never visited New York City, and thus when they do travel there, they can be disappointed by how the city didn't meet their expectations. New York City has this sort of glorified presence in the minds of Americans as being a hub of success, but when one travels there, one realizes that it is a city where real people live just like any other place.

4. Being introverted is neither positive nor negative.
In cities as large as NYC and London, privacy and alone time are hard to come by. A personal revelation I experienced is that I cherish my solitude. I do enjoy the company of other people, but I also need time by myself pretty often. Fortunately, my experiences in both cities have allowed to feel more comfortable being alone in larger crowds, and some of my shyness has been eradicated. I feel like I can be more personable. However, I will always look forward to the time of day when I can relax in the comfort of my own mind.

5. The idea of place is, and always will be, important to humans.
This might be the most important thing I realized this past month. There is a fascinating and vital connection between where a human lives his life and how that life is lived. In other words, where one lives dictates one's life experience for several reasons. The place that we establish our lives, raise families, work, play, die, becomes important because of our physical and emotional connection to geographical locations. Humans make cognitive connections to locations as a way to contextualize our specific place on this planet. This ties in all the other lessons I learned. Both New York City and London are these iconic "places" that to outsiders represent a certain thing or things. But, to the people who were born there, who live there, or who will live there, they represent a single, simple idea: the idea of home. 

One thing Dr. Berry mentioned that really stuck with me was the importance of travel to getting to know ourselves. Travel, defined by leaving one's home, by leaving one's own place, allows us to examine how we react when we're put in a new situation. This trip did exactly that for me. I have officially been bitten by the travel bug because I now crave to gain even more exotic experiences as a vehicle to become completely acquainted with who I am.

Thank you to Dr. Berry, to my classmates, and to the Honors College for giving me this opportunity.

-Kyle Goble

The Morning of the Last Day of the Trip

On the morning of my last day of the study abroad trip, Autumn and I woke up early to take a morning excursion to Stonehenge. I had wanted to visit this site for the longest time but wasn't sure if I would have time to fit it into my stay. I was so excited that it worked out and I found it to be the perfect way to spend my last morning in London. For me, Stonehenge seemed to be one of those special places that took me back to the idea of early human history and how much of it is still unknown. I think I am so fascinated with Stonehenge because there is mystery surrounding its purpose. The actual rock formation itself is located in the English countryside.The site was more magical, in my opinion, because these massive rocks were even more incredulous when contrasted against the emptiness of the green landscape. It was so peaceful just walking around Stonehenge with the crisp air and wind blowing all around us.The morning could not have been more perfect.



 

Coming Home

I've been home for one jet-lagged day now, and as I begin my second only-slightly-less-jet-lagged morning I hope I can reflect on the importance of our trip in some coherent and important way that doesn't descend into exhausted rambling.

After a 16 hour travel extravaganza (during which I saw the actor who plays Ron Swanson for all you Parks and Rec fans!) I'm thrilled to be home, to sleep in my own bed and to take a hot shower, but I'm also a little depressed that our time abroad is over. I feel that I've grown so much in the past month, and returning home makes me wonder if I'll be able to sustain that growth. Will I remain as brave, bold, and independent as our trip made me feel? Can I carry my change over into the "real world" or was it only a reaction to extraordinary circumstances? Though I wonder, I feel in my heart that the answer to these questions is yes. I feel like a renewed person- a miniature superhero ready to conquer this term, next term, and, generally, the rest of my life; the feeling is brand new.

I also feel that yes is the answer to the question of our continuing friendships. The group of people that was selected to go on this trip could not have been any more perfect. So many backgrounds and personality types were represented, and yet we all meshed surprisingly well. By the end of our month together, I felt that there was not one member of the group who I would not be pleased as punch to see again; I hope that we can maintain the connections we made in NYC and London for many years to come. I'm even willing to sacrifice my strident non-Facebook-having crusade to ensure it.

I wish I could "insert picture here". I wish there was one image that represented and expressed the excellence that this program was in my life, but, really, there are many memories and many feelings which, though I'll carry them with me always, couldn't be summed up so easily. They mean far too much.  

--Katelyn        

Last Day by Sarah Saxton

Hello again everyone, this time from London. Today was our last day of our trip which

is infinitely sad, but I and a couple of others in the group drowned our sorrows in a

day of crash touristing. All in the course of the day we visited the Kensington Gardens,

Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the Tower of London, the Hard Rock Cafe, and took

a boat tour of the Thames. It was most definitely a very London-esque day and a

wonderful way to close out the trip.

I have learned during this trip that there is an adjustment period each time one visits a

new place, but in time it becomes easier to assimilate into the culture of the destination.

I, for one, feel much more comfortable traveling and have a renewed love for being

abroad. I would like to thank everyone who made this possible and for my classmates

who only made the experience more enjoyable.

Sarah Saxton

My Last Day In London

Hello again, everyone! It's Carrie here. The past 2 weeks in London have been absolutely incredible, but I must say I think today was one of my favorite days, and a perfect way to end the trip! We started bright and early this morning to head to Kensington Palace and Gardens. When we got there, the palace was under construction, but the gardens were beautiful. Around 11am we headed to Buckingham Palace to watch the ceremony of changing the guard, but it was slightly difficult to see so we didn't stay long.

Early in the afternoon Sarah Saxton and I went on a River Cruise from the London Eye down to the Tower of London. We saw many of the most famous sites in London from the river, and luckily the weather cooperated temporarily. Since the boat stopped at the London Eye, Sarah and I had the opportunity to walk to an adorable bakery and ate some tea, scones, and macarons. We were also right by Big Ben and Westminster Abbey at this time so we found ourselves taking some quintessential London pictures, red telephone booth and all.

In the late afternoon we tried to actually go to the Tower of London and see the Crown Jewels, but unfortunately we didn't have enough time to go in. Instead, we went down to Oxford Circus and did some souvenir shopping. For dinner, Sarah, Kendra, Jake, and I decided to splurge on our last night and go to the Hard Rock Cafe by Buckingham Palace. We enjoyed a delicious dinner before coming back to the quaint little Sundial Court to finish packing for the long journey home tomorrow.

Overall, this trip has been an amazing learning and growing experience for me. I've made many new friends, traveled two of the biggest cities in the world, and found out a lot about myself along the way. I am so grateful for the opportunity, and I can't wait to go home and share all about it! I hope you all have enjoyed hearing about Our Tale of Two Cities!

~Carrie

The Weekend When I Was a "Galway Girl" By: Sarah Staron

Two other students and I hopped the pond to the lovely country of Ireland for a weekend of live music, celtic folklore and breathtaking views. From the moment we stepped off the plane we were greeted by Irish charm and expansive greenery. On Saturday morning we took a three hour walking tour of Dublin and learned about the socio-political history. One of my favorite parts of the trip thus far has been touring the Irish countryside. It was inexplicably beautiful with rolling hills, glistening lakes, and some of the greenest greenery I have ever laid eyes on. Don't worry, I have pictures. Even with the "unseasonably" warm weather, I was still cold and unprepared for rain (I blame my Arizona upbringing), so I had to purchase an Ireland sweatshirt. An unforgettable weekend, all thanks for the First Year Honors Experience!