No Time Better Spent

Last weekend Matt and I ventured to London to do some damage. We flew out on RyanAir on Wednesday night and had an epic time. We both agreed that the perfect combination of exploring, checking out the sights, and experiencing the nightlife was achieved. After catching the late train into the city from Stansted Airport, we navigated across London Bridge and into our hostel at 2 am. The flight times were not so friendly, but the price was right. After a quick brunch from a local grocery store the next morning, we started walking towards Southwark Cathedral (same building where Shakespeare attended mass), the Tate Modern Art Museum, Millennium Bridge, and St. Paul's Cathedral (which we scored free admission to by stumbling in during choral evensong). We later met up with David Rice,  a SJU alum who currently lives and works in London. He showed us a proper time around Piccadilly Circus and led us to a bar in Soho where we randomly met the csb/sju group studying in London. This was great as we were able to stay with our new friends for free on Friday night. Even though London is experiencing a recession and the pound is at its lowest rates in 8 years, London is still rather expensive.

On Friday morning, we received a rude awakening from the maid at the hostel and quickly found ourselves exploring the city again. After checking out the Globe Theatre, Big Ben, Parliament, and the National Gallery, we met up with David again for a late lunch before trekking to the Hyde Park area to find the csb/sju group we met the previous night. It felt great to be able to meet a group of people for the first time, be invited in, and feel completely safe sleeping in a group room. Besides time spent with the cross and track teams, that was the first time I really experienced and was appreciative of the whole community aspect of the St. John's philosophy. There's not many institutions where that kind of welcoming would seem natural. Anyways, after another night out and one more day of exploring museums and sights of London, we pushed ourselves out on the town Saturday and made it to Liverpool Street Station at 4 am Sunday for a flight back to Cork.

Needless to say, new friends were met, great times had, and many memories made. This London section could go on and on, as we really did experience a trip where not a moment could have been better spent.

One other note: I've noticed throughout this trip the increasing awareness of global problems. Never before did I realize the worldwide effect of the current recession or the amount of people whose lives are effected by global warming. While eating breakfast at the hostel in London one morning, Matt and I met a man from Peru who was en route to Paris to attend a conference about wind energy. Previously, I thought only low lying coastal countries felt the effects from global warming and that only advanced nations were discussing the problem/solutions. Because Peru is mountainous and losing snow pack/water runoff, entire towns are at risk of losing their water. Our new friend wondered what would happen when thousands of villagers lose their only source of water. 

Even the guys we met in the Dublin hostel had science backgrounds and worked with a windfarm company. Pat, a man Matt and I met at the airport to & from London also commented on how developed the world is and how one nation's problems are deeply interconnected with another's. I always considered the default view/that portrayed by the U.S. media was that America is putting forth the most effort towards solutions for the global warming, population control, and the recession, and that some of those aren't even regarded as a significant threat. I'm normally more optimistic, but the easiest conversation to start with the Irish (besides rugby or soccer) involves Obama, the recession, or global warming. While the problems truly are on a worldwide scale, hopefully that just means more people will be able to find solutions.