Bonjour de Paris et Geneva!

Bonjour de Paris et Geneva! It’s been a crazy week so far, and this is the first time I’ve been able to have some time to sit down and reflect on my experiences thus far. The first four days in London were absolutely perfect, and unfortunately it was time to say goodbye to London and bonjour a Paris et Geneva. It is incredible to be able to experience one of the largest international and cultural hubs of the world, and trust me, I’m looking for any excuse to get back to London after IBS is over.

The flight to London led to some fast friends among the NIU IBS students and the lone UIC student. It was a seven hour flight from O’Hare to Heathrow with no delays or hiccups. I sat next to Alex, an accounting masters student, and Curtis, a finance student. We had some chats on the plane, getting to know each other and talking about what we were looking forward to most in London.

When we landed at Heathrow and collected our baggage and walked out to the front of the airport, I had no idea what to expect. Everything I’ve heard of or read simply didn’t click with me until I actually saw it. One of the biggest things I noticed was how beautiful London’s neighborhoods were. The streets were clean and devoid of litter; the houses painted a nice bright white or were made out of brick; the buildings, while multistoried, were not tall by United States standards. All the people were well dressed—most people from Chicago couldn’t hold a candle to how the Englishmen were dressed. It was such a beautiful place, and I would love to come back to see more of its sights.

High Street Kensington

After we dropped our stuff off at the hotel in Kensington, we had about five hours to kill before we had a meeting at 3 pm. Some of the NIU students, the UIC student, and I formed a group to look for some food—Jenny, Su, Brian, Alex, Curtis, the two Chads, and Claudia (the UIC student). We were famished—airplane food can only do so much—so when were directed to High Street Kensington, we decided to walk around and find something to eat. Unfortunately, because it was a Boxing Day holiday, it was a little hard to find a place to settle down. We did, however, find a nice restaurant about a twenty minute walk from High Street Kensington that served a full English breakfast. It was amazing. A traditional full English breakfast consists of bacon, a fried egg, grilled tomato, fried mushrooms, sausage, baked beans, and toast and tea or coffee on the side. Needless to say, though we walked in hungry, we left stuffed and barely able to breathe.

English Breakfast from Billy's

After we ate, we walked back to High Street and then to Kensington Palace, located in the middle of Hyde Park. For a comparison on how iconic Hyde Park is, think Central Park in New York City. Families and couples strolled along the paths, dogs roamed (leashless!), the blue sky over us and the sun shining down on our tired faces. We viewed a little bit of the Palace, but didn’t have the opportunity to really go in since it was a little pricy and we wanted to keep walking. The garden and the Palace itself was absolutely beautiful.

 

Hyde Park

Hyde Park Gazebo

Kensington Gardens

Kensington Palace

Part of the program’s plan for our first day in London was to introduce us to the London Underground and to Leicester Square, which is what Times Square is to New York City. We were greeted by a complete change to what High Street was—instead of quiet buildings painted in neutral colors or made of reddish brick, Leicester Square assaulted your senses with its seductive flashing lights of theatre advertisements, carousels, food, and more. We were set loose and Jenny, Ha, Su, Claudia, and I headed to Chinatown, just a hop, skip and a leap from Leicester Square. We grabbed some bubble tea (Taiwanese style, which made me very happy) and some dinner from a great restaurant and then headed out to enjoy the nightlife that London had to offer. We met some other students from IBS at the Warwick Bar and enjoyed some of what the pub had to offer.

On the second day, we had an orientation session at 9 a.m., where the professors talked about what was expected of us as students and armed us with some information that we might need as students and tourists of London. They then let us go to have lunch, where we went to the Whole Foods food court in order to satisfy those needs (yes, you read that right, London has a Whole Foods and Whole Foods has a food court). We then ran back over to the hotel in order to meet with the rest of the IBS students so that we could embark on a city tour of London. Our tour guide, Warren, took us around the city and introduced us to the history of each of the landmarks and historical buildings that London had to offer. Some of the things he talked about were the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, and the museums. It was incredible to be able to learn more about such a historical place—as a history minor and European history enthusiast, it was amazing for me to actually see the places where royalty lived; the monuments constructed to commemorate heroes of the battlefield and of the pen; and how a culture and country that exists almost halfway across the world from where I live greatly influenced America.

Alex, me, Ha, and Brian in front of the Buckingham Palace gate

On the 3^rd day in London, we had a presentation on the Chelsea Football Club, as well as a guided tour of the club’s facilities. This was the first official presentation of IBS, and as such I learned quite a bit about how business works for a football club. We were led by the Chelsea FC guide Frank, an older man who knew quite a bit about football. He informed us that there will be a new stadium soon that has been estimated to cost approximately 600 million pounds in order to demolish the old and build the new stadium. The pitch, which we got to see, is made of real grass and is cut every day as well as nurtured by artificial sunlight in the wintertime. After the pitch, we saw the pressroom, where we learned that there is usually about 80-90 press who the managers are required to talk to after matches. As Chelsea FC is a sports team, there are of course sponsors who support athletics teams as well. Gazpram, Yokohama Tyres, and TV programs are among some of the largest supporters of Chelsea FC.

Chelsea Football Club pitch

Chelsea Football Club

 We had the opportunity and the privilege of also having John Hollins, an ex-football player turned ex-manager of Chelsea FC, to speak with. He spoke about why ex-football players go to America when they are no longer on top of the leagues—because they coach a new generation of football players in an area that is not quite as elite as the English Premier League. He also spoke about how there are also problems of bribery and betting within the football leagues. After John Hollins spoke, we then moved to the locker room, and then finished the tour off with a question and answer with John Hollins. It was a truly incredible experience to be able to have a great football player actually come to speak about the sport club that we were touring.

John Hollins and me

After Chelsea FC, we headed to the British Museum as a massive group in order to conduct a scavenger hunt. My team won of course, winning the grand total prize of 20 pounds, and a few students and I headed to lunch at a pub somewhere near the British Museum. There, I finally had my first ever fish and chips. Impressions? Delicious. America’s fry cooks can definitely learn a thing or two from the British on how to make fries and battered foods. We then headed out to see the London Eye and ride on the Eye. We were able to see an incredible view of London at night.

On the last day in London, we had another presentation, this time on the European Union. This particular presentation was given by Professor John White, who worked in Hong Kong, Belgium, Germany, and of course, London. He began by giving us a history of Europe in order to show that “change is brought by conflict.” Long story short, the Europe we see today is mostly brought together by the bloody conflicts of World War I and World War II. The European Union began with the European Economic Community, where twelve member states were the initial group. The European Union was officially founded in 1993 with the signing of the Maastricht treaty in 1992. One thing I noticed about this speaker is that his description of history was rather different than that of what I was taught. He was quite pro-British, providing jokingly disdainful remarks at the expense of America. It was very interesting to see that history is taught by the winner, which can also mean multiple winners.

The second part of the European Union presentation launched right into the creation of the European Union and the issues that the EU faces today: the migrant crisis caused by the Arab Spring, unemployment, and the Euro. Currently, there are thousands of migrants flooding Europe from areas affected by the results of the Arab Spring. This causes a huge crisis for the EU—as the Eurozone means free transfer from participating country to participating country, there are migrants moving quite freely from country to country now. The issue of unemployment is also another big problem: London is currently the sixth largest French city—that is, the number of French citizens in London outstrips the number of French citizens in other actual French cities. This is mainly because of unemployment in France, which causes young French to head over to their wealthier neighbor in order to find a job.

The issue with the Euro is that the Euro has been one of the causes of wealth inequality, which has led to the problems we see today with unemployment. As Dr. White pointed out, if you join the Euro, you release the right to manage your own currencies. This situation may be beneficial for some countries, but not all European countries are the same in terms of GDP, production, and other such economic factors.

After Dr. White’s presentation, I had lunch with Claudia and Rachel at a patisserie, where I had some of the best food I’ve had on this trip so far (and that’s saying a lot!). I then celebrated New Year’s Eve (and Joe’s birthday, happy birthday to Joe again!) at the O Bar, a bar and club that definitely knew how to bring the New Year in right.

The next day was the day we left on the Eurostar, which is where I will pick up on the next blog post and talk all about Paris. Overall, London was charming yet sophisticated, beautiful but not ornate, and fast paced but appreciative when necessary. It is by far my favorite city that we have visited so far, and I have missed London every day of this trip since then. I cannot wait until I can have the opportunity to see London once more. Goodbye London, and bonjour de Paris!