My Trip to London, Spring 2019!

While reading an article about cosmopolitanism, I found myself agreeing with much of what was said in favor of the approach to global relations.  America has swung on both sides of the spectrum, from being extremely closed off to world affairs during its early years, to becoming a global superpower after the second world war.  Often we as Americans are raised to believe that our country is superior economically, politically, and educationally to other nations.  This worldview is super biased and often leads people to snub other countries or even label them as "inferior." I really like the quote that cosmopolitans know that "no local loyalty can ever justify forgetting that each human being has responsibility to ever other." Partial cosmopolitanism strikes a nice balance between loyalty to one's own country and loyalty to the world as a whole.  It's pretty easy to be cocooned within my own understanding of the world from over here in Utah, but I'm really ...

I'm really excited to go on this trip, but as usual, I haven't thought very far ahead on what my goals are for my life while I get to have this amazing experience.  So in order to get focused on making the most of my time in Europe (and because I have to do this for class), here are my three major goals while I'm studying abroad: 1. Talk to the locals. I'm not a very chatty or outgoing person in general, but I am socially savvy when I want to be.  Going to different countries and only associating with others from BYU would be a total waste of opportunity. I'm going to try and ask people questions, greet people, and listen to stories of people who live in England, France, or Rome, if they choose to tell them.  Getting to know other people and their cultures is very important if I want to collect stories, which is one of the major reasons I decided to travel in the first place.  2. Draw and/or paint daily I really want to be able to capture the beauty and un...

For my prep course, we have an assignment to make a weekly post on this blog.  This week is on my takeaways from an article on British culture!  ___________________________________ Did you know that drinking tea isn't something British people do regularly anymore?  According to the article, tea-time has become somewhat obsolete.  People's lifestyles have changed a lot, in part due to the demands of the work schedule.  It also seems like come other stereotypical "British" things, like fish-and-chips, or having a large and hearty breakfast, are going away in favor of things Americans would be more familiar with, like hamburgers or grabbing a quick coffee in the morning.  Soccer is still the most popular sport in the UK, and golf, rugby, and tennis are also widely played.  An interesting fact: it's often unclear what exactly is being celebrated on Guy Fawkes' Night: the revolutionists or the failure of a plan to blow up parliament.  Regardless...