2024 Mullen United Kingdom Program

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Blog 5

London, we love you. Such a vibrant city, full of life and so much to see. Although we feel like we just got here, we now must say goodbye… however our trip is far from over! We boarded a train for Edinburgh, Scotland and began the second half of our trip. For many of us, this was our first train ride, and it was much more comfortable than our transatlantic flight. As we worked our way north, we caught our first glimpses of the Scotish countryside, which is quite beautiful.
Scotland is a magical place, it definitely feels much smaller than London, and the accent is a bit different as well. Scots are known for being some of the friendliest people in the UK, and we are seeing that first hand. We explored some of Edinburg’s most important monuments, such as Calton Hill, the National Monument of Scotland and Edinburgh Castle. The weather has been pretty cold, undoubtedly the coldest time of the year for the Scots, but us Coloradans aren’t phased by 30F weather. Rumors of a snow day in Denver and sub-zero temps made the cold weather here feel like a warm escape.
We’re having a blast with our friends and learning so much about history. We are seeing a lot of the places we have learned about in our English classes and learning about important literary works that were conceived in the UK. We are looking forward to new adventures in Scotland before heading back to the USA!

Blog 4

Yesterday, we made our first trip outside of London and made our way to Oxford, home of the world’s oldest English speaking university, Oxford University. Richard, one of our Program Leaders, is a former alum of Oxford and gave us a wonderful tour of campus. Walking around campus was nothing like being on campus at an American university, it felt more like walking through scenes of Harry Potter then walking through the quad. After our campus tour, we had some free time to explore the college town in small groups.

After our visit to Oxford, we headed to Stratford Upon Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. Stratford is a very idyllic countryside town, and along the drive we passed lush green pastures with sheep, a stark contract from the hustle and bustle of London. We learned all about the life of Shakespeare and enjoyed a slower pace of life for the afternoon before heading back to London.

This morning, we went to mass at Westminster Abbey, a big change from our usual church venue. We also visited the British Museum, home to some of the world’s oldest and most interesting artifacts. We’ve become experts at taking public transportation and are enjoying big city life. Tomorrow morning, we’re off to Edinburgh via train, and we’ll see a new country for the first time – Scotland! We’re having a ton of fun and looking forward to new adventures ahead of us.

Blog 3

After sharing some time with our new friends at St. Joseph’s College, we headed to the Borough Market in Central London to grab some lunch. The Borough Market is the oldest market in London and is home to a huge variety of food. It’s located along the River Thames and has become a trendy spot to hang out and enjoy foods from around the world. We broke out into small groups and had the choice to choose where we wanted to eat. From there, we walked along the River Thames to the Shakespeare Globe Theater, which was the highlight of the day for many. We learned all about Shakespeare, and were given a back stage tour where we were able to walk on stage and recite our favorite line from Romeo and Juliet “wherefore art thou Romeoooooo!” We also had an acting lesson where we learned about iambic pentameter.
From the Globe Theater, we walked to the Tate Modern museum, one of the world’s largest and most impressive modern art museums. The building itself used to be a huge power plant, and now it’s home to contemporary art from around the world. The building is huge! We are getting used to traveling like the locals by taking London’s famous Underground and red double-decker buses. London has one of the worlds largest, safest and most efficient public transit systems, and it’s been fun to see the city from a different perspective. We ended the evening with a fish and chips dinner.
This morning, we headed to Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guards. We’re currently doing some shopping downtown and are off to the Tower of London this afternoon! Everyone is having a wonderful time and jet lag doesn’t even phase us. Richard, our local guide, has given us so many history lessons and is teaching us all about what life is like as a Londoner.

Blog 2

We arrived to London on a cold, early morning eager to embark on an exciting adventure ahead of us. Our Program Leaders, Richard and Jordan, picked us up from Heathrow and will be showing us around for the duration of our trip. After dropping our bags at the hotel, we set off for our first meal in London – we broke out into small groups and had the chance to walk around and explore chilly London while eating some food. Our first stop was the National Gallery, where we saw some of the world’s most famous paintings from artists such as Monet, Picasso, Seurat, and many more. The building itself was huge, and we had time to wonder the galleries and admire in real life paintings that most of us have only seen in textbooks. Just around the corner is the National Portrait Gallery, which features some of Britain’s most renowned portraits – from the tudors to contemporary figures in pop culture. Throughout our visits to each museum, we were reminded how intertwined British and American history are. By the end of the day, most of us were exhausted from jet lag, however we rallied and made the most of the  long day. We enjoyed an asian fusion dinner in Soho, walking through Chinatown along the way. 

Overall, spirits are high and we are excited to get to know London! We are currently at St. Joseph’s College de LaSalle, the only Lasallian college in London. We were welcomed by the Director of Spirituality and members of the student government, who gave us a tour of the campus. St. Joseph’s College has a relic of St. John Baptist De LaSalle in the chapel, which was pretty cool to see! We also had the opportunity to shadow several classes, such as food tech, art, English, and woodworking. It’s been interesting to compare our Lasallian education in England to our education in Denver – there are many similarities and a few differences. The staff at St. Joseph’s College were excited to receive us, as they rarely get the opportunity to share time with Lasallian schools around the world.

This afternoon, we are headed to the Globe Theater to participate in a theatre workshop and learn all about William Shakespeare, as well as a visit to the Tate Modern Art Museum – stay tuned for more updates! We’re happy, healthy and having an amazing time together.

Blog 1

And we’re off! More to come soon.
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