First Day of Class

Attending class in a garden of roses or in a pub socializing with friends and locals would have seemed a bit out of the ordinary last week. After today I realize that classes can be held just about anywhere. I began the day in Regents Park where I had my first Travel and Tourism class. Journeying to this park was a new adventure seeing that it was a part of London that we had yet to visit. Upon arriving at the park, I saw a big beautiful pond and lots of local walking and jogging around it. As I continued into the park, I saw rows upon rows of roses and various other flowers. It was such a peaceful place to hold class and learn about a major point of relaxation for the locals. After the park we headed to Regents College which is located right in the park. Seeing what a local college looks like and and meeting some new people helped to further understand the culture of London. Between my first and second class the entire group headed to the Regency Hotel for a Cream Tea. This event has a long history in England, but is now mostly enjoyed by tourists. At the tea we had crumpets, scones, a variety of tea sandwiches including cucumber, cheese and smoked salmon, an array of layered desserts and of course, tea. This was a nice was for the group to come together for a relaxing afternoon. This evening was the first meeting of my European Business course. We began the course by heading into the city and exploring the financial district. We walked by Lloyds, the leading insurance market, and learned that HSBC (Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation) is the largest bank in the UK. It was neat to see and learn about the various banks and all of financial functions working with global companies to keep the world trade and finances flowing. In the middle of our journey the class headed to a pub for a debriefing of the week. This was a nice stop because of all the walking we had done. We continued our tour and saw a business school, a school for girls, the Wall of London, the London Museum and an old Roman wall. To conclude our class time we went to a different pub to ensure we were learning the appropriate culture of London. It would be terribly hard to study Euro Bus. without thoroughly appreciating the local pubs of the city. :) Check back soon!

AM