Quotations from 2.ak's English reports on their study trip to London

Arrival

2.ak went to London the 3^rd of April by train from Grenå to Copenhagen and by plane from Copenhagen to Heathrow. We stayed in a hostel called The Generator just in central London. We had some long and hard days of walking around in the big city but it was very interesting. (Camilla)

We saw a lot of exciting things like the Globe, Westminster, Tate Modern, St. Paul's Cathedral and some temples. All this gave us an insight in the different cultures and different people that are gathered in London. (Signe W.)

Most of us had been to London before (…) so some might have been slightly disappointed with the destination but we kept positive. Everyone was anxious to see what London had to offer and the teachers had promised us that it would be different from the usual mainstream sightseeing trips. Big Ben, London Eye, Parliament, Madam Tussaud's and so on were certainly not first on the to-do-list. They had different things in mind for us. (Anna)

The hostel was quite cheap but you also got what you paid for. The rooms had a certain similarity to a prison cell except a modern prison cell would most likely have a television. (Kristian)

The Orienteering race

The first day after we arrived in London, we started out with a 15-kilometer orienteering race in the vicinity of the hostel. We were divided into groups of four (who did not know each other that well) and given a list of names and location descriptions as well as questions or tasks related to each location. During the orienteering race we were forced to interact with the locals to ask for directions as our maps were not accurate enough to find all the locations. We also needed to contact locals to answer questions or take a picture of us as we needed a picture of the entire group from each location. (Jeppe)

It was great that the orienteering race was at the beginning of our stay because it taught us how to get around. Even if we did not know where something was, it made it easier for us - in the end - to ask for directions because we had already done it so many times. (Joshua)

On post 6 (on the orienteering race) we had to go to Drury Lane and take a picture of one of the famous street signs of the theatre area. Another thing we had to do was asking a local if he or she would tell us the first lines of the popular children's song "The Muffin Man". We asked a local but she didn't know. Suddenly an old lady behind us started to sing the lines to us which showed that Londoners are really polite and if they can, they love to help you! (Jeanne)

Visit to Shakespeare's The Globe

We had some trouble getting to the Globe (Shakespeare-theatre) in time but when we finally arrived it was really worth it. I think the guide we had was wonderful. We were all tired after the orienteering race but he said the right things to wake us up. He was very humorous and it is an amazing ability when you have to teach a bunch of young people about Shakespeare. (Line P.)

The workshop (at The Globe) was very good even though I hate acting. Mainly because I saw a different side of acting that I have never seen before. It was the part behind the scenes that was not only the acting part but also included how to analyze the scripts they are about to perform. (…) I have never realized that they have to do so much analysis and so much looking into the scripts to be able to perform it well. (Sif)

The Hindu Temple

We visited the most fantastically beautiful Hindu Temple. We were told about the history of this temple and when it was built and afterwards we went to the prayer hall to see a Hindu Ritual which was also very interesting. (Joakim)

We had to go through a metal detector before entering and we had to take off our shoes and jackets (…) As we sat on the floor in the temple we saw how the Hindus pray to their gods and compared to the Danish way the Hindus show a lot more enthusiasm than we do.(Sascha)

Camden Town

The trip to Camden was also very exciting. First of all the weather was great (…). The group work (on accents) was also very educational. Again we spoke a lot of English and it was a very multicultural city so we heard a lot of different accents. In fact none of the people we interviewed were English. (Simon)

The first person we interviewed was in Camden because she was studying (…). The third person we interviewed was from Wolverhampton which is a very industrial part of the UK. He was in Camden to earn money, and thought it was a nice place; a really cosmopolitan atmosphere, which means everyone gets along despite race. (Liv)

I thought Camden was a funny place. There were a lot of special shops and special people (…). (For example) I saw a "real" Goth person. She worked in the shop and she was dressed in black from top to toe, her face was pale white and her hair was black as well. At first I was a little scared of her because even though I used to be fascinated with Goths I had never actually seen a real person wearing the style. But she was very nice, of course (…). I wish there were a Camden in Denmark. (Sandra)

The Sikh Temple - the Gurdwara

The other temple we visited was a Sikh temple (Gurdwara). I liked this place the most because the guide spoke better English and we were offered a free meal (…). We often went by tube but once we drove with a bus and we drove around in a residential neighbourhood with typical English houses. (…) I felt that was a part of the cultural things we had to experience on our trip even though it was an unplanned event. (Malene)

One of the things that struck me the most was what he (the guide) told us about the men's turbans. Apparently it is one of their most cherished belongings and if it is removed from their heads it is otherworldly humiliating and some Sikhs would rather die than having it removed. (Sander)

After we'd had all the knowledge we needed (in the Gurdwara) we were led into the room where the rituals took place. The women had to sit in the left side, and the men in the right side. In front of everyone a man was sitting in a small pavilion waving with a big feather over their holy book. Some of my classmates went to the man and kneeled down in front of the book as the man had told us to - if we wanted to do it. To finish the ritual we had to eat a brown gooey mass made of butter, flour and water. It tasted weird and kind of disgusting but there was no way back after he had given it to you. (Caroline)

The Sikh-temple was very different from how I had imagined it and so was the Sikh- religion. I had imagined it would be more like Islam because of the people wearing scarves around their heads - but actually it reminded me more of Hinduism and the Hindu message - not to let desire and lust control you. This visit made quite an impression on me, and was actually very motivating and fascinating. (Joshua)

Tate Modern (Art museum)

It seemed like everything in there was a piece of art, even the benches did not look like ordinary benches and they were curved and light brown. There was also a display or ordinary things which was listed as art even though it was just things like a teddy bear, a bottle, a purse and so on. I chose the picture "Construction. Grey lines on Pink Ground" (for my review). (Alberte)

Evensong in St. Paul's Cathedral

Evensong in St. Paul's Cathedral was a very beautiful ceremony and it was not even close to what we do in Danish churches. I was really fascinated and if we had such a beautiful church in Tirstrup, I would go every Sunday. (Melina)

The Multicultural Experience

Bringing Religion on our trip and visiting the temples was a fantastic idea because it allowed me to see how other cultures and religions work and I find that very fascinating. Just hearing about Hinduism or the Sikh faith in the classroom is not enough; experiencing it for yourself is by far superior. (Nicklas)

The most interesting thing to me was the diversity that exists in London. There are so many different religions and so many different cultures and people accept it - accept each other. It was interesting to see how it influenced the city dividing it into different areas that were completely marked and characterized by where the inhabitants had their roots. SoHo, Camden and Southall are good examples. (Anna)

Evaluation of the study trip

The days in London went so fast. Far too fast! There was always something to do, a program to follow or someone to talk to. I saw so many different people with so many different destinies that it almost made me dizzy. Everywhere I looked there were so many smells, colors and new impressions I had to take in. I could have spent a week just sitting there, observing the life that was running through the veins of this diverse and beautiful city. (Trine)

What do I think of this study trip? I think I have seen a part of London that I didn't experience the first time I was in London. At first I thought that going to London without visiting the Millennium Wheel or the Wax Museum would be like missing the most important things but it turned out to be quite an interesting and fun trip. (Søren)

The events were basically okay. I think it went a bit out of control with all the walking. I hate to be such a wimp but my blisters actually had blisters! Of course it also reminded me that I'm in a quite bad shape. (Mickey)

My overall impression of all the events in London is that I'm impressed! I thought our program was really great. We saw things that we normally would not see if we were ordinary tourists and that was really super. Of course we had a lot in our program so we were really tired in both mind and feet when the day was finished but we are not in London to go on shopping and be a normal tourist. We had to learn something and I think we did. (Jeanne)

Se more pictures from the trip

To Copenhagen by Train