Foreign Affairs: A Day in Brighton...

Yesterday we took a high-speed train to Brighton to see the shore. It was definitely a nice change in pace to get out of London into a smaller, artsy town. The train ride lasted an hour and provided wonderful scenery of British countryside. Once we arrived, we walked around and looked in all of the antique shops in the area. After lunch, we went to the beach, pier, and Royal Pavilion. It’s nice to see buildings in person that I was forced to learn in all of my architecture history classes (it makes me appreciate my education more, too :D). We ate at a lovely restaurant on the shore that provided a beautiful sunset. It was a relief to see really nice meals that were half the price of those in London. London is currently the most expensive city in the world, and we are definitely noticing it. After dinner we rode on a ferris wheel and saw the entire town of Brighton. We concluded that this little town was one that we must visit at least one more time before we go home in April.

There are a few things that we are still trying to adjust to in London. First off, their currency system is completely different than ours with more coins than we can interpret. People tend to laugh at us as we scramble through our coin bags. Secondly, it is fairly common for people to walk on the left side of the sidewalk (assuming since they drive that way). Our minds automatically force us to the right, which leads to a few issues in a town of 7 million people. This also results in us looking the wrong way when attempting to cross the street. Luckily there is normally one person out of the eight of us who pays full attention when walking. The Underground has been an absolutely wonderful way of getting around, especially in the evening when it is cold. They close at 12:30 am and open back up at 5:00 am. We have had to sprint a few times to make the last train on our way home from pubs, but it was well worth the story.

This trip has not only expanded my horizons with traveling, but also opened up a little bit more free time than I am used to having in the typical semester. We met with our professor today and started on our research projects. I will be studying the wayfinding design systems of the 2012 London Olympics as well as other Olympic sites in Europe such as Barcelona and Athens. I am very anxious, to say the least. It has been amazing to get the recommended hours of sleep every night as well as get a run in on occasion when it is warm enough. Although it was a culture shock at first, I am feeling blessed to have this once in a lifetime opportunity.