Tyler and Chun-Yi: Courts, Towers and Casualties

      Now we know what you all are thinking, “What do these three things have in common?” If you take a minute to read this blog we shall enlighten you. This is it, our last full day in London and it feels surreal to think that our ten day journey ends tomorrow... Today Chun Yi and myself were the leaders of the pack and it did not take long for Mother Nature to throw a wrench in our plans. The song of the day was “Winter Winds” by Mumford and Sons, which was quite fitting for the weather. Heavy wind and rain cause delays in rail services however we were still able to get around even if at times we were winging it. The day included a trip to Hampton Court Palace, the Tower of London and our Last Supper.
 

      Hampton Court was a brilliant sight to see, a proper Palace fit for a King. This Palace was home to along line of Kings including King Henry VIII. King Henry, who is best known as the Bloody King, was famous for divorcing his wives, beheading those who apposed him and becoming the first monarch to be the head of the Church. This Palace had 60 acres of gardens, a maze and a great hall fit for a dozen Kings. After stepping back in time over seven centuries it was time to make our way back to the train and start our journey towards Central London.

   During the train ride we lost a few souls to the land of slumber... Or as some might call it, Desperado's curse. Once back in Central London it was time to visit the historical Tower of London.  

The Tower of London is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the oldest building within the Tower of London is the White Tower, which is built in the early 1000s.  Unfortunately, some of us didn’t know the closing time of the tower, so we decided to visit it the last; as the result, we missed out the White Tower.   However, most of us saw the Crown Jewel.  In the Crown Jewels display room, it has numbers of different jewels, and part of the royal collection and still used by The Queen.  Seeing all the collections such as the Coronation Spoon, the sovereign’s sceptre with cross, and the crowns used by different Kings and Queens in the past, makes me wonder are these diamonds real?  A group of us were visiting different towers after the Crown Jewels, and one of the towers has a room that shows the history of making Crown Jewels.  In the display window, I saw a 350 carats diamond, so I asked one of the guides, “Are these diamonds real?”  She gave me smile, and said, “No, they are not.”  I was thinking, if these are not real, how about the one in Waterloo Block, where the Crown Jewels are displayed.  The Crown jewels are priceless and the symbol UK; however the level of security clearance was not the highest I’ve ever seen.  

After the Tower of London, most of us met in the Starbucks near by, and tubed back to the hotel and preparing for the Last Supper.

      The Last Supper was held at The Old Brewery close to the University of Greenwich. Highlights included musical chairs, individual student awards and Maple syrup shots; the locals must have thought we were insane.  Although we all knew that it was our Last Super together and we are flying back home tomorrow, everyone was enjoying every single second of what we had left.  I also want to say special thank you to Robin and Yvonne for arranging such a nice place to end our trip and making those certificates for each of us.  Although during the super Robin said that himself and Yvonne could have left us alone on Monday and we would have been fine, London Field School 2014 would not be the same without both of them. 

      Since the party started at Desperado, why not end it in the same way?  

      After a legendary break dance sow from our very own Chun Yi Fan it was to wrap up the final hurrah at Desperado’s. All and all the day ran fairly smoothly, except for the casualty... A right earring that belonged to Jana was lost in the Hampton Court Moat at the hands of Richard. Although it may have been emotionally damaging at the time lunch and some laughs helped calm the waters and mend the fences!

     

      It is all starting to sink in now that this ride is coming to an end. Over the past nine days new friendships were formed, new experiences enjoyed, personal boundaries were pushed, in positive ways, and laughs were had daily. For me, Tyler, this trip was about culture, history, experience and the possibility of starting a new life across the pond the future. For me the London Field School was the perfect balance of education, history, culture and free time, third times a charm. If I had to do it all over I wouldn't change a thing, not a single regret was had.  For me, Chun, I only wish I had a time machine that could take me back to Feb 6^th, 2014.  Not because I had any regret or wanted to change anything, but for the time of being with all of you.   


Tyler Belich and Chun -Yi Fan are Bachelor of Business Administration students