Texas State students discover London on study abroad trip

A typical tourist in London may head straight to the famous landmarks such as Buckingham Palace (the seat of British monarchy), Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey and various museums. Students in Texas State University’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication’s London Study Abroad program, however, wrote travel-related stories and blogs that revealed a different perspective of this global metropolis based on group excusions, adding their personal experiences and insights.

Our Study Abroad trip last summer, June 12-22, came after a week of intensive classes on campus. Three faculty members (Judy Oskam, Harry Bowers and I) accompanied the 31 students. Just days before we left, terrorists had driven their van into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbed several people in Borough Market, leaving eight dead and several injured. And during our visit, the Grenfell Towers burned, killing more than 80 people. Our students, however, bravely embraced life with a “business as usual” attitude and pursued their passions. Following are some excerpts from the stories and blogs they wrote for my travel journalism and international communication classes.

Picnic in the Park

London is a city of beautifully landscaped gardens with several of these classified as Royal Parks, including Hyde Park, St. James Park and Regent’s Park. Green Park is one of the Royal Parks located next to the Houses of Parliament and student Margaret Fast decided to have lunch in the park along with the Londoners. She wrote: “Lunchtime in London is not about rushing about and quickly finding something to eat, but instead is a unique cultural experience. As I joined the crowds of families, friends and businessmen in one of the many parks scattered among the city’s landscape, I got to enjoy the daily pleasure that the average Londoner enjoys most mid-days, which was an hour or more sitting in the sun, slowly devouring a picnic lunch and gazing at the sights. In London like in other European countries, every meal is treated as an act of community. Whether you dine alone or with a group, it becomes a time to be among others doing the same, to savor the flavors not of just your food but of the life happening around you. This sadly is something that is not a common occurrence back in the states as most of us hustle about to dine and dash before the time we allot to each meal is over. Here, I learned what it is to feel completely satisfied with even the simplest of acts in life - like having your lunch.”

Tea at The Georgian

What could be more British than a cup of tea? History has it that the Portuguese queen Catherine Braganza who married Charles II popularized tea drinking in England in the 17th century. Dylan Lochridge-Fletcher wrote this of her experience drinking tea at The Georgian, which opened in 1911 to mark King George V’s coronation, housed in Harrods, Europe’s largest departmental store located in Knightsbridge: “Enjoying an afternoon of tea at The Georgian inside Harrods department store was like stepping back into the 1920s when members of high society enjoyed their mid-afternoon tea in that exact same place. … The table place setting was just as delicate as our pastries were. White linens and silverware and sugar bowls lined the circular table along with our china.… Surrounded by ... hydrangeas and blue butterflies, I took my first sip of the exquisite yet delicate Jasmine Dragon Pearls green tea from China. Although we had a sampling of English tea on the British Airways flight on the way to London, it could hardly compare to the rich flavor of the green Chinese Jasmine Dragon Pearls tea I carefully selected to accompany my plate of sweet delights.”

London’s West End

London’s West End Theatre district has numerous historic theatres offering a high level of cultural performances similar to New York’s Broadway shows. Denise Cervantes hurried down the escalators like the locals in a tube station on the way to the 120-year-old Her Majesty’s Theatre to see “The Phantom of the Opera.” The theatre had no air conditioning and she could see only half the stage from her seat at the top of the theatre. Here’s what she wrote about her experience: “I looked out and saw people finding their small red velvet seats. There were four different levels and ... balconies on either side of the theatre that old (resembled) Italian paintings. The gold painted architecture at the top of the stage was eccentric and it felt like what a theatre should feel like. This is what theatre in the West End is like, I thought to myself. … The actors delivered and for the first time I felt my eyes water at the end of the musical.”

The Harry Potter Experience

The Warner Brothers Studio in London offers tours of the making of Harry Potter films with details of the sets, props, costumes and special effects. Christina Leitch, who grew up reading J.K. Rowling’s books on Harry Potter and watching Harry Potter movies wrote about experiencing this tour: “Get your butter beer here! Pre-order your butter beer now!” As I walked into the place where my childhood was created, I could hear a guy faintly yelling this over the crowds of people anxious to see where a magic world was created and took place for 10 years.… The beloved Great Hall is the first set you walk onto during the tour. Walking through the giant fake wood doors and being able to run your hands along them turned out not only to be a dream of mine but everyone else’s on the tour as well. …The walls were lined with the first costume that Harry Potter wore when he was just 11 years old in the first movie and some of the most famous outfits from other cast members.… I have never been so excited about something and never in my wildest dreams did I dream that I would be taking this studio tour. Although the Great Hall was lacking the popular floating candles, it was still just as magical to me.”

Borough Market

London is home to many large markets such as the Greenwich Market, the Portobello Road Market, Camden Loch Market and Covent Garden but the 1,000-year-old Borough Market is the best-known food market in the city. Gabrielle Gibson visited the Borough Market on June 14, the day it reopened after the terrorist attacks on June 3, and wrote this about her experience: “Enjoying our tall pints of beer in the basement of the pub, we started up a conversation with a few bar patrons next to us. They happened to be journalists. They told us how crazy it had been the past few weeks and that they seemed to always have work to do. Since we had been talking to these men for about a half an hour or so, I felt comfortable asking them more about the attack. They didn’t mind my question and told us that the bar we were sitting in happened to be the first spot of the attack. We were shocked. Not only did we decide to visit the Borough Market on the day it reopened, but it also happened to be the bar that it happened in. The journalist told us that the door guy was stabbed by the attacker and that shortly after the attackers tried to come after the bar patrons but they fought back. … My friends and I (left) the pub with a newfound sense of appreciation for them. London is a city filled with people of all cultures, races and religions. In the days we had spent there, we felt welcome to explore and enjoy the beautiful city.”

CNN London

During the Study Abroad program in London, we visited a number of media houses including CNN London, The Guardian, Weber Shandwick public relations agency and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations. Our visit to CNN London was scheduled on June 15. It was the day after a fire destroyed a North Kensington high-rise apartment complex. CNN’s visit confirmation letter always has the phrase: “Breaking news can cancel the tour.” Thanks to Bharati Naik, producer at CNN London and alumna of Texas State’s master’s in mass communication program, our visit was not canceled and several top news coordinators spoke with our group and shared valuable insights. Here’s what student Blake Kotria has to say about the visit: “It was really emotional to see how much the reporters dropped everything to tell these innocent victims’ tragic stories. They made it clear that their job is about letting go of their own feelings and agendas and instead put the people’s story first.”

While discovering the world outside, students also discovered qualities about themselves they did not know they had. Student Taylor Kroutter summed up her study experience this way: “I learned more during two weeks abroad than I have learned in an entire lifetime.… I learned that against all odds and against what anyone says or thinks, I can be successful.… I not only learned so much about the world and others through this experience, I truly believe that I found myself while abroad. I finally learned who I am and who I want to become.”