My Time In London...

The past two weeks have been quite interesting. I have learned a lot both from my journey in London and around Europe, and I have also learned so much from my internship. Two weekends ago my roommate and I ventured off to Prague. This is probably the most beautiful place that I have ever been. We only went for two days, but we walked pretty much nonstop, except for the short amount of time that we took to sleep and nap. It was truly amazing, and I was so glad we went; every building was so majestic and magnificent. When we got back we were in awe of everything we saw. I was so glad that we went on the trip because I had had a very tiring week at work and a very tiring Thursday before we left.

The day before I left I had gone to the Sports Program of the school and witnessed the children that were around age 13. This was quite a day as the kids were very rambunctious and by the end of the day they were basically in charge and running the school. I sat in a chair in the corner in complete awe of what was going on. The children were given zero discipline and there was no authority. It was crazy, and after this day I could not wait to get away. It only got worse when I arrived at the train station and saw what looked like the after math of a stabbing. There was a man lying on the floor covered in blood. I got scared and could not wait to get home.

I have learned a lot, especially from the children in the program about the ongoing problem with stabbing in the area. Teenagers and young adults all over London have a huge problem with knives; they are probably equivalent to the guns that we have in the states. I spoke with one of the teachers about this, and I talked to my director about it. My director decided to put me on a project while I am here that I am very excited about. I, along with a few other teachers have been given a project of teaching the kids in the program about knife violence and about how it is an ongoing problem. I am truly excited to start this project, and hopefully affect and help as many kids as I can. This will also help me get a grasp on London society and how it has changed.

This internship has definitely been an eye-opening experience for me. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do when I came over here, but I am having a great time working with the kids, and could possibly see myself as doing this job in New York or San Francisco. I love helping people, especially kids, and working with them through this program is making me want to work with children with disabilities. I am trying to learn all that I can while I am over in London, and I am taking full advantage of everything offered to me while I am here. I am voicing my opinions at my job when I have concerns, and I was encouraged to write a report about what I witnessed at the sports center; I was told by two of my coworkers that I did a great job. I hope to continue learning from this internship and I know that will.

My First Week in London and My First Day of Interning

My first week in London was quite an interesting experience. I learned a lot from the prices of housing, to the importance of looking left when I usually look right when crossing the street. I did all of the different tourist things that were offered to me, including the hop on hop off bus tours (which was a part of our tuition for this program), as well as the London eye, and a trip to the gorgeous and rocky Brighton Beach where I went on a tour bus to learn all that I could about the busy city. This all lead up to my first day on the job with Camden Jobtrain, a business that helps troubled teenagers to get more education, and finally to go out into the real world and get a job to make something of themselves.

As I went to find this large learning center, I was a little concerned about what I would expect, who I would meet, and what I would learn from being in such an environment. Before this we had an orientation with Anglo American where they brought a small group of us into a meeting room to tell us each individually about our placements. When they got to me, the Anglo American facilitator, Leslie, told me where I would be going and then hesitantly asked what my major was. When I answered sociology, he responded hesitantly and said, “Well maybe, I guess this goes along with your major.” This was extremely disconcerting, and made me wonder whether or not I was placed well.

When I arrived at the site I was greeted by my facilitator Kieran and was introduced to everyone in all of the offices. We visited the 5 sites available to the students, and I got to see what the children had offered to them when they were not studying and getting their education. Camden Jobtrain offers teenagers the chance to learn about practical skills such as retail, car mechanics, construction, wood building and athletics to help them to learn how to get a starting job. It was extremely interesting to see these children at work; and I was told that they were a bit of a handful; however they all seemed to be nice individuals who were getting the help that they needed to get back on their feet. Throughout the day it was interesting to talk to Kieran and ask him the many questions I had which helped me to see the differences between the American and European school system, of which there are many differences. This center is unique as I have seen nothing like it in America. It is a place for bullies, people who have been bullied, as well as dyslexic and special need children to go and get back on their feet. The first day was definitely an interesting one, and I learned a lot.