The Experience of a Lifetime

By Colin Pearson
in London

The London travelers dream starts with a ride in the notorious tube. This smelly and overly hot underground subway station is the prime form of transportation for all travelers and city commoners. We saw days where we packed like sardines and accustomed ourselves to the no personal space way of living. Nonetheless, we got to our destinations in a swift manner, and traveling was made easy by the tube. Next up, Greenwich, a very historical city for many different reasons, the invention of time, longitude and latitude, and especially the beautiful paintings within these building walls you see here. Built for worship, these sites are huge tourist attractions, as the walls are the original painting with no murals hung like you would see today in someones home. The last tea ship, the "Cutty Sark" expired here and was turned into a landmark museum, where others can learn about the history of this great ship, and all of its voyages. We got to ride a clipper boat on the Thames river to transport throughout the city one day, and along the way we caught a glimpse of all the tourist attractions, such as Big Ben, the London Bridge, and many other large towers or buildings. Wesminster church was a surreal experience, as we got to view the inside and see some of the best glass and carved sculptures a building has to offer on this planed. The London Eye was filled with performers of all types, but they gathered hundreds around them just to get a decent income for their talents.

The ultimate argument

By Colin Pearson

Today we ventured to Speaker's Corner within Hyde Park, a place designated for free speech. This park holds plenty of space for all sorts of speakers, as each brings their own chair to stand on. Each speaker has a different topic, and they seem to transition between individuals in a group every 10 minutes to keep the location running constantly. Swarms of people crowd around either to listen, or in most cases some push to the front to have an opposing statement that draws a response from the speaker. The conversations run rampant and the speaker can't seem to get enough of the attention. Most of the conversation is premature, as the speakers discuss issues that they have paid attention to recently, but their points aren't solid enough to have people consider them. Almost as if they are just shouting opinion rather than preaching a new mindset for others to chew on. This way of speech brought upon arguments that got nowhere, which isn't surprising from these religious folk.

A majority of the speakers were very intrusive, giving no leeway to others voices, and bothering those just passing by. Some people would walk up to others and start pushing topics and discussions. As I was taking photos, numerous others came up to me to tell me things and assure me that what they were discussing needed to be heard. The idea of throwing out speech for acceptance was lost, and it seemed as though others resorted to shouting, as some speakers offended and brought the form of discussion into a type of mockery, or insult. When opposition was confronted by a audience member, and the notion given was offensive to the speaker, they resulted bickering and disagreeing with one another, which brought down the credibility as a person of faith in my opinion. If I came to a place like this to hear someone and actually have a clean slate when listening to their evidence, I would expect them to hold themselves to a higher regard, which is expected by the figure they worship. I lost respect for those who held their beliefs and esteem to a higher level, when they lost all self control and acted ever so irrationally. The ability to maintain civil discourse, and communicate with credible or fact based evidence was lost, as most just bickered about what was felt emotionally.

This experience was ever so eye-opening, giving me insight as to what this environment is like. I found myself very bothered by the discussions, not because of what they were saying, but rather their behavior as a person of faith. If you truly want others to follow you or listen to your word, you have to behave in a way that is mutual between both parties; that means speaking in an calm voice, and truly having your statements backed up.

a clear mind to consider opposition.

A surprise near The London Eye

As I find my afternoon open before traveling to The Guardian newspaper, I took the opportunity to visit a popular place in the city, the London Eye. I embarked on this journey, with the hopes of taking the best photos possible, so that I could have memories that last forever, and I had to take the time to capture such a mesmorizing place. What I didn't expect to see was some of the greatest performers in the world. As I paced to each location looking for that perfect image, I stumbled across a world famous contortonist, whos income is purely based on tourists and London Eye casuals. Although I did not catch his name at the beginning of his performance, the man holds a world record for his best trick, fitting himself into a very small glass box. The flamboyant character played music while performing all sorts of body twisting manuevers, which shocked the audience from beginning to end. before each section of the performance, he would show his humorous personality to the public, and describe what was up next. People in the crowd would discuss to one another, as they all seemed unsure of whether or not that was achievable. Sure enough he impressed, and the audience showered him with money at the end. 

A younger woman with a guitar expressed her beautiful voice, similar to that of popular artists like Adele and Lorde, as she sang soft melodies to those getting off the London Eye. She had a billboard in front of her, with elaborate social media information and personal information, as if this was her only opportunty to sell herself as an arist. It seemed as though she could go places; with that much effort to go out each day and show others her voice, I wouldnt't be surprised if she ended up with a record label in the near future. 

My favorite performer was this tin/army man, who had this mechanism that would emit a small noise, that sounded as though he was truly a robot. He truly knew how to attract toursits and bring them in for a photograph. Whether it was his salute or incredible ability to remain still for a large period of time. Every tourist was recognized and he made sure to give them a handshake or communicate to them through sign language, as if his robot operations didnt offer vocal communication. The robot man even saluted me as I took his photograph. 

What was supposed to be a journey around the center of London, actually turned out to be a very interesting and exciting experience. I would recommend that anyone go to this area, not only for the food and pubs nearby, but to experience some of the best performers in the world, with all types of shows to be viewed. 

Starting the day off right

By Colin Pearson 

LONDON -- Before we started the journey into the city to sight-see, I took a jog around Russel Square Gardens to start my day off while waiting for the Gardens Cafe to open. I noticed this hidden gem the day we got to our hotel, and made certain that I would start the day off right by having a cup of coffee each morning before the program started. At this early hour the park is mostly empty, some joggers have their regular morning run, and a few others are trotting through while heading to work. Overall the park is quiet, before the swarm during the daytime, which usually crowds over most of the grass in the park. The sheer number of people tells me that inner city parks are a common gathering place or pass-time in this city, as hundreds choose to workout, eat, or just socialize everyday. What could be better than having a cafe in the middle of this environment? Coffee in the morning, ice cream or lunch during the day; who can't resist the temptations this park has to offer? I had a conversation with the cafe owner, and he agreed that the sight of the park in the morning is unparalleled to that of the daytime. It seemed clear he enjoys getting up to the site of an empty park when preparing for a busy day, as he smiled while explaining to me the positive aspects that surround his business. When conversing with the employees I noticed how friendly the atmosphere was, and their pricing is great, so the large amount of numbers truly shows that this business thrives in the center of Russel Square Gardens. Sitting at one of the tables and looking around at the trees was peaceful; as it put my mind to ease before a hectic day of walking around central London.