London Field School 2018 - Maryam, Larissa, and Lauren

Maryam, Larissa and Lauren: In This Place Where We All Belong

Song of the day: The Hockey Song by Stompin’ Tom Connors https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxJvrD80nJ4

We started off the day with a walking tour of Shoreditch. To get to Shoreditch, we boarded the Tube around 9:30 AM. This was our first time taking the Tube during the morning rush hour and we ended up having to split up and take two different trains. We regrouped at Liverpool station and after experiencing a little bit of confusion with Google Maps, we made our way to the Old Spitalfields Market. We met our tour guide, Emilie Houldsworth (you can follow her on Instagram) underneath the “Goat Statue” which we later learned symbolizes strength and independence of the British people. Emilie guided us through the streets of Shoreditch such as Brick Lane and explained the symbolism and inspiration for numerous art pieces by famous street artists such as Banksy, Stik, and Invader. She also touched on the history of Shoreditch and how recently gentrification and expensive real estate has led to many artists and artisans being pushed out of the neighborhood.

After the walking tour, we broke for a quick lunch and explored some of the ethnic cuisine in the Shoreditch district. Our next stop of the day was at the Canada House. At the start of our visit, we were fortunate enough to briefly meet the Canadian High Commissioner, Janice Charette, as she was leaving for lunch. We then made our way upstairs to the Quebec room, where we listened to a presentation by Nicole Lunstead and learnt about the mandate of the Trade Commissioner Service in London to promote Canada's trade and economic interests in the United Kingdom and the possible effects of Brexit on Canada – Uk trade relationships. We also had a presentation from Rupert Potter of British Columbia's Trade and Investment Representative office in London, who informed us of the of the opportunities and challenges facing Canadian companies who have selected UK as a target market for their products and the British businesses who are looking for investment opportunities in BC. After the presentations, we were given a tour of Canada House and explored the various meeting rooms named after each of Canada’s provinces and territories which were decorated with art works by artists from the respective provinces. We then stepped out onto the rooftop terrace with breathtaking views of Trafalgar square and took a group photo.

In the evening, we took the Tube to Piccadilly Circus where we enjoyed a Chinese buffet. After dinner, we saw the musical “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie” at the famous West End Apollo Theatre. As our group headed back to the hotel after this long but exciting day, the lyrics of the last song of the musical stayed with us:

There’s a place where you belong

There’s a place where you belong

And you’ll hear us sing our song

In this place where we belong

In this place where we all belong

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Maryam and Lauren are in their last term of the Bachelors of Business Administration and Larissa is pursuing a Liberal Arts Degree at Capilano University. They are currently participating in the 2018 London Field School.