One of the most memorable and influential experiences of my life. . .

The time that I spent in London has been one of the most memorable experiences of my entire life to date, and I would say one of the most influential. One of the greatest features that London offers to newcomers who are really interested in getting to know the culture of the city is its immersion of the visitor in so so many different cultures. By no means is London just a British city. It is Indian, Pakistani, Chinese, Italian, Russian, Polish, Moroccan. It is a Turkish pizza shop next to a Indian curry shop next to a Russian barber shop next to a Moroccan street-dancing team. The most amazing thing about London is that it could truly be called the capital of the world. It was almost rare for me to interact with someone who spoke with a native English accent because of the sheer amount of cultural diversity and number of people who flocked to London from all over the world. And it was amazing. Unlike some places in the world where being an American visitor might make you stand out to the locals (for better or for worse), in London, nobody bats an eye, because you're just one of the millions of people from a thousand different places, all with a different story to tell. I can think of no better place for someone to start their worldly travels and cultural journey than from the Mecca of culture that is London.

One of the strange things about London is how eerily the same, yet at the same time different life in the city is. You don't have to walk far in any direction to find a Starbucks or McDonalds, but right next to the Starbucks is a local bakery that'll sell you a much better coffee and a pastry for half the price. (A quick aside on McDonalds - McDonalds restaurants actually are a bit nicer in Europe than they are in the US. If you go to a McDonalds in a country out on the continent, you can actually usually find local dishes that McDonalds has adopted to their menu, some of which are quite good. The British menu is pretty much the same, with the exception of milkshakes. The milkshakes are VERY different here, so be forewarned.) There is a small family-owned bakery right across the street from the International House where we were living, and their sausage rolls, danishes, and paninis quickly became a major staple of my diet.

The course I took at the University of Westminster (on heavy recommendation from past students) was Londinium Through The Blitz, and it was, quite frankly, the best choice I could have made I think. The focus of the course was the history of London through its museums. The class was extremely interesting, taught by a professor who was both knowledgeable and passionate about the subject (he actually curates his own museum in London in an old operating theatre), and, best of all, around 80% of the class days were spent actually going out on trips to the museums or tours around the city's historical districts. It provided an amazing opportunity to get out and experience London, and enabled us to experience museums and parts of London that many visitors would probably likely overlook. I highly recommend the class to anyone who is taking this program.

Really the feature that sets the London Bridge Rotary Club program far apart from other similar programs that run at the University of Westminster is the opportunity to sit in on the City of London Common Council meeting, and to meet the Lord Mayor of the City of London. It was definitely one of the coolest parts of the trip. Although the current Lord Mayor was away from London out on business during the time we were there, we had the opportunity to meet and chat with a former Lord Mayor who was sitting as the acting Lord Mayor for the meeting. The thing that struck me most about the Common Council meeting was how similar it was to fraternity chapter meetings that I sat in back at ASU. There was  huge contention and a bit of drama in the meeting that we were sitting in on about how certain committee members were being allocated or switched around that sounded almost exactly like a fraternity chapter meeting I attended back in the Spring. After the Common Council meeting, we were provided with the extraordinary opportunity to be privately shown a tour around the Lord Mayor's Mansion House, and we got a chance to see both a massive treasury filled with gold and silver, and the very quarters where he and his wife sleep.

I would absolutely recommend anyone who goes on this program to see at least one or two West End shows. Cody and I both saw Rock of Ages one night in the middle of the week, and it was absolutely hilarious. I highly recommend taking a visit to the Tower of London as well. That is one attraction that is not covered in the museum field trips, but within the Tower of London is an armory museum that proved to be my favorite museum of the trip. I also really really highly recommend going and sitting in on a Parliament committee meeting. It's free and open to the public, and unlike the main chamber meetings, the committee meetings are almost always basically devoid of visitors. You get front row tickets to a really interesting political show. All you have to do is go to the British Parliament's website, check the schedule, write down the room numbers and the times, and tell security you're there for a certain committee meeting. You'll get sent right through; no waiting in queue.

All in all, this is really just a fantastic program, and it provides its participants some really extraordinary opportunities to do some really amazing things. I would like to humbly thank the London Bridge Rotary Club and the City of London for providing me with such an opportunity, and I would proudly encourage readers to apply for this excellent program.