Capilano University Students Blogging Abroad

MASCOT-I the mascot leaving with its luggage As the last daily leader of the London Field School 2014 trip with my partner Chris M, our last task was to take everyone from our hotel back to the airport, safely. Now as there were no events, meetings, and excursions for the final day, I simply have to think, reflect and try to remember all those great moments of this trip.   Now be forewarned in this blog post I’m going to get very sentimental, emotional and deep reflection of this study abroad program, especially the short term London Field School 2014 (LFS).   I believe with programs like this it should be cut in a pie to show the factors that are important to make this successful.   I’ve put 40% on the planning of the itinerary really make it crucial on seeing things that are both business, social, economic and culturally important to get the most of it.   A 50% really depends on the people in the group a...

Hola! So…today is my day to write the travel blog. You ask what we did today? Well... let me tell ya: we left beautiful Livingston at 9am and got on the boat for another hour ride to Puerto Barrios. On the way to the port, a few dolphins came to greet the awesome Canadians. When we got to the port, Marcos was already waiting there for us to board our “mobile home”: NanaExpress. Our goal today is to leave from the Caribbean Sea to the heart of Guatemala: Guatemala City. After 7 hours of travelling with a few stops in between for washroom breaks, lunch, and a short visit to an archeology site to see some bones and dinosaurs. We made it to Guatemala City safe and sound and that was all we did. Isn’t that great! If this is all I have to say about our incredible Guatemala trip, I would be remiss! We have spent so much time on this white, comfortable, and less-one-year-old bus, NanaExpress, for the last 10 days. She has explored 60% of Guatemala with us and thanks to Marcos; we a...

      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 d...

Experiences during London 2014 will all differ depending on whose eyes they are through. This is why a trip with such a large group is an amazing journey together. Today Mason and I (Michael) were the daily leaders for the day like NO OTHER. The original plan was to visit Primark, which is a major clothing department store in England, and then the afternoon was set aside for everyone to go experience and visit a museum of their choice. The day prior to our day, plans changed and unfortunately Primark was unable to host our group, therefore Robin was able to connect with a friend and we got the opportunity to tour Lloyds of London. Lloyd’s of London is where most of the insurance coverage around the world is underwritten and brokered. This was a visit like no other and it was a jaw dropping experience for all. Many of us were simply stunned. Lloyd’s was only able to tour half the group at a time, which wasn’t the best, but we made it work and it just took a bit of side pla...

With little past foreign travel experience I signed up for this trip with the hoping for a gentle introduction into a traveling lifestyle. This trip has done just that, but no amount of preparation could have prepared me for the culture shock I've experienced these past days. The Guatemalan people are so cheerful, accepting and eager to interact with us poor spoken Canadians. Today was a perfect example.   We awoke in Rio Dulce at the beautiful Nanajuana hotel, arguably the nicest of the hotels we have stayed at thus far. Nanajuana is located at the head of the Dulce River, which will also be our transportation for the day. Two boats were hired to take us from Rio Dulce to Livingston, with a few stops along the way. First being Castillo de San Felipe de Lara, an armed military fort built to stop pirates of the Caribbean pillaging Spanish riches. After the fort we enjoyed a leisurely ride to Casa Guatemala, an orphanage that also doubles as a school. Most of the child...

Our day begin in the lobby of our hotel where everyone took a brief moment to share what they did on their day off, which was the previous day. After hearing about everyone’s adventures and late returns home, the appropriate song of Kickstart My Heart by Motley Crue was played to try and rejuvenate all the tired faces for the busy day ahead. The first destination of the day was to the Ernst and Young (now known as just EY) offices for a tour and presentation made available to us thanks to Robin and his sister. In the presentation we heard from a few different speakers, mainly those from EY’s event planning division, about the trials and tribulations of daily operations in a large firm with unique, diverse, and demanding clientele. Additionally, we learnt a little bit about dealing with differing cultures within the EY organization and how they are being progressive in adopting, and adapting to, varying cultural needs. This divers...

Jana Nixon: The morning started off with a little confusion- but we were out the door for 9:45am to head to the University of Greenwich for our tour where we split into two groups. It was great to see the university and how they study. The weather winds, making the general feeling amongst the group down as everyone awful weather of heavy rains and winds cold left us wet. At the end of the tour, the decision was made to cancel the walking tour due to the weather and go to the British Museum instead. Before so, we took an hour to regroup at the hotel- this seems to get everyone back on track, including ourselves the leaders.     We played a game, sharing our favorite thing, and then going around a circle remembering what the previous person said and adding onto it. It felt like it went well and was played all in good fun. It was nice to see the interaction amongst the group members; it felt as if we could have just picked each other favorites things without saying so. It...

The experience of Tikal was nothing less than unforgettable.  The morning began at 5:00 am, starting with a walk through the darkness into the tropical rainforest. The air was humid and filled with the echo of unfamiliar birds and bugs. As we proceeded on our flash light lit tour towards the temples we could here the screaming of howler monkeys nearby. We were able to be settled on the peak of a temple as the sun began to rise; the forest came to life.  Fog bellowed over the vast canopy like a blanket of grey smoke. We could hear the chirps of the nearby yellow cheeked parrots, and watched as toucans bobbed through the air in the distance. Peaking through the enormous trees where four temples, becoming more and more visible as the sun rose and the fog began to shift. Once the sun had filled the forest with light we continued our tour to the central Plaza of the Mayan temples.  Surrounded by ancient buildings and ruins I stood in complete amazement. Twin temples touch...

Today was a fantastic day with some great learning experiences. We the were off into London city centre to catch a double decker bus, which took a little bit longer than usual because we had to take a slight detour because of the station being under construction. It was confusing being in a new city where there are so many different train lines, and is not easy to get used to. That is one thing I think we can take for granted back home. We are just so used to knowing where to go and what bus to take, that while travelling it was a shock at how hard it actually was to navigate such a massive train system, in a huge city. Having to figure out where we were suppose to go on the spot was stressful because we really wanted to do a good job and get to out destinations on time. Even though we had to figure out a new route we were able to make it to the bus tour on time! We spent the first two hours on the bus tour where everyone had an amazing time. We have been looking forward to seei...