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Harrods Research Project Essay

The aim of the research project was to push us to involve ourselves in aspects of London life and become experts in our chosen projects. After having explored a number of issues that I thought would be interesting, I decided that Harrods would be an institution that would teach me a lot. Not only about life in London, but also about the economy, history, royal family and the attitudes of people living and working in London; whether they be UK citizens or not. Through this project, I learned a lot about the store itself and the impact it's had on London, the United Kingdom, and even the world.

Among the most notable things that I learned is the fact that Harrods's impact goes as far as it's almost 200 years of existence. What was once a small grocery business, expanded to become the largest retail store in Europe. With such growth came many ups and downs whether they be the store burning to the ground in 1883, or winning a bet against Selfridges in 1917 on who would make the most profit. Nevertheless, the most notable parts of Harrods's story go far beyond it 6 floors, three hundred and thirty departments and thirty-two restaurants.

While learning that they once procured a baby elephant as a gift to Ronald Reagan was interesting and that they once hired a cobra to protect a pair of diamond and ruby shoes was also the type of exciting stuff that people like to talk about. An in-depth look at Harrods reveal its far-reaching impact and place as an institution of London.

To start with Harrods was fairly involved in World War 2, where the store went from selling luxury goods to completely transforming as a producer of Lancaster bombers and military uniforms. Moreover, as a British landmark in its own right, Harrods has also been the sight of two IRA bombings, one in 1983 and the other in 1993. Thus, from the very start, it was clear to me that there was much more to Harrods than its superficial reputation as a store that sells expensive things.

Not that having an average of 100,000 customers walk through your door per day or 300,000 during Christmas is some minuscule feet, but throughout my research, I found that there was much more to talk about. For example, the "Harrods Effect" which is a term conjured up in real estate to describe the changes that happened to the Knightsbridge area due to the presence of Harrods. Where the difference between the price per square foot of a building that is a 5-minute walk away from Harrods and a building that is 20 minutes away can vary by a margin of 561 pounds per square foot. Therefore, it's clear that the presence of this building alone created considerable wealth for individuals who own property in the areas surrounding Harrods.

When conducting my research, it did not surprise me that celebrities and public figures, such as soccer player David Beckham and First Lady Asma Al-Asad were seen as regular customers and visited Harrods frequently to shop and eat. However, what did surprise me was the fact that in the store's efforts to create unique and exciting departments, they became responsible for the inspiration behind a global children's character Winnie the Pooh. Apparently, the author A.A Miline was inspired to create the character after buying a teddy bear from Harrods for his son Christopher Robin.

Moreover, Harrods being Europe's largest retail store has often been looked at as an example of how changes and trends in the economy will impact Britain's consumerism.  Where after Brexit multiple reports showed how the weakening of the British pound has helped increase consumption from overseas, where stores like Harrods experienced an increase in sales of 23.3% and an increase in profits of 38.8%. Thus, the more I researched the more I learned about how Harrods has had a considerable influence in a number of areas.

One aspect I was very excited to look into was the store's connection to the royal family. From the very start, I could see a clear line being drawn between royalty and luxury and as such it was not surprising to me at all that Harrods has had a detailed and heavily documented history with the Royal family. Beyond the fact that it held coveted Royal Warrants and banned the Duke of Edinburgh from ever entering. The relationship between the royals was built on the actions of Harrods's owner at the time Mr. Al Fayed, whose son was in a relationship with Princess Diana and was also killed with her in the 1997 car crash still remembered to this day. Mr. Al-Fayed claims that his son and the princess were engaged and that she was pregnant with his child and that is why the royal family ordered her death. He refused to believe that the deadly car crash was an accident and as such; he had memorials created in his store to commemorate them. Among these memorials, one showing Diana's alleged engagement ring and the other a stature with the engraving innocent victims plastered along the bottom. Thus, it is clear to see that Harrods's legacy will forever be tightly intertwined with the death of the famous Princess Diana and the fact that the memorials in the store are considered to be tourist attractions on their own speaks to Harrods position in Britain.

Beyond what I learned from watching documentaries and reading articles and reports, I was able to better grasp Harrods relationship to London by going there with people from the class as well as people who I met through my community involvement and giving them walking tours. These tours were never of the entire store as that would take a really long time, but focused more on what each group wanted to see. The most popular places we would visit were the Toyland, bookstore and Memorabilia area otherwise known as the Millionaire Gallery. I loved seeing how people would react to everything from the buildings illuminated exterior that's made up of twelve thousand light bulbs to the first edition copy of books, signed albums and huge stuffed animals for sale. It was easy to see why the store is considered a tourist attraction as everyone I took had to take out their phones to take pictures of the outrageous things they would find inside the store as well as the incredible interior and exterior architecture. Moreover, the Knightsbridge subway stop itself had signs leading to Harrods which is a testament to the stores’ prevalence in itself.

My portfolio also includes interviews with Harrods employees who gave me insight that I wouldn't have been able to find online or through my readings. What I learned was that Harrods is as much of a reflection on London as London is on Harrods. Where there were British employees who had worked at the store for the last 30 years despite the changing owners. These employees helped me debunk rumors that Harrods is no longer looked at positively by the British and explained to me how the connections and friendships they made working at the store are what make them such happy employees and what make the store so successful. Moreover, the number of employees from international backgrounds was outstanding, this was something that the store is clearly proud of as each employee has a name tag accompanied by the flag of the country they're originally from. This dedication to diversity as well as the melting pot of people from different cultures working happily together in a store that continues to break records and reach new levels of success every year, is in my opinion what London truly strives to be.

I'd have to say that my entire experience in regards to this project has been very positive. I found myself enjoying the work because I was genuinely interested in learning more about my topic. While I had no specific expectations on what kind of impacts or correlations there were between Harrods and different areas of culture and commerce, I was quite pleased with how much information I was able to find as well as the different ways I was able to articulate these findings whether it be through maps, timelines, newspaper clippings, interviews or pictures.

In conclusion, through this project, I not only learned more about a business but about a British institution. I was able to gain a wealth of knowledge on British history over the last 200 years, the royal family, Knightsbridge area and the British economy to name a few. Through introducing my friends to everything I learned I found myself becoming an expert on London's many faces and by interviewing real Londoners working in this city I was able to form a clear image of what it's like to live here, not only as a tourist or a student but as a local in my own right.

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Portfolio: Maps

Through my research I found myself coming across a lot of maps not just of the inside of Harrods because of how large it is. But of tour groups and London city maps which I thought spoke to its presence. 

Harrod’s Interior along with all the floors and departments:

Double Decker Afternoon Tea Bus Map:

The Orginal Tour map showing Harrods at G5:

The Big Bus Tour map showing Harrods, number 35:

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Portfolio: Brief Timeline I Created in Order to Have a Clearer Image of Harrods History

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Portfolio: Articles Old and New

Press Opinions on Harrods Moving Staircase, 1898

New York, Dail News 1997

The Guardian, 2010

Financial Times, 2017

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Portfolio: Employee Interviews

1. Front Door Guard

We talked about how the weekend’s at Harrods are absolutely crazy and that he told me that he’s been working there for 8 years. His favorite part of his work is getting to see the Christmas decorations and he declined to say what his least favorite part was.  

Liana: Oyster Bar 

Liana told me about how she’s only been working at Harrods for a year but she really likes. Through her work, she’s made great friends she said as she pointed to the butcher lady across the room who she told me has worked at Harrods for the last 30 years. She says she has no complaints about working there as it’s better than a lot of her previous jobs. Her favorite parts of working here are the employee discounts that she gets and the fact that she’s met and served a lot of celebrities. Apparently, David Guetta is a regular at her station. 

Puja: Bag’s Section 

  Puja has been working at Harrods for 5 years. Through her time there she’s noticed that young people don’t stay for too long as they consider this as a stepping stone job. She also gave me great insight into how Harrods has changed between when Al-Fayed owned it and when it sold to the state of Qatar. Where in the past Al-Fayed would be very strict and walk around the store making sure all the employees were in uniform and up to standard. Since it’s been sold to Qatar it’s become a much more relaxed environment, however, people do miss the one on one interaction they would have with Al-Fayed where he knew most of the employees by name and took the time to talk to them and form personal connections. In regards to celebrities, Puja has met David Beckham, Olly Murs, and Simon Cowell. 

She also told me about the incredible security the store has where guards dressed up in normal clothes circle the building in case someone attempts to steal anything. Her favorite parts of working at Harrods are the diversity and how even though it’s not your main career goal it’ll provide you with great skills like communication, confidence and project management. The people she’s met while working there are her friends for life and her favorite part of the day is when she makes a sale because she receives a commission.

 Anna: Information Desk

Anna has been working at Harrods for 6 years at the information center. She says her favorite part of her job is meeting people from all over the world and getting to spot celebrities. The weirdest question she’s been asked is where’s Harrods. I tried asking the security guard standing next to her some questions but he didn’t seem like he was in the mood too because when I also asked him what the weirdest question he’s heard while working at Harrods was he said “Hi, I'm doing a university project on Harrods and London can I ask you some questions?”

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Portfolio: Pictures of Harrods First Reaction’s

It was important to me to take people to Harrods on walking tours so that I could see their reactions. I found that every time I took someone new to Harrods for the first time, I would learn a little more about it depending on how that person saw it through their eyes. 

Some thought that it was overwhelming and ostentatious others enjoyed the luxury and absurdity of the products. One thing that I was able to note was that every person had their own favorite thing about Harrods depending on what interested them. Books, architecture, shoes, technology Harrods had at least one thing for everybody. 

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Thanksgiving Dinner

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Paris?

At some point in this semester, I think we all kinda got lost and had no idea where we were as you can see from my picture above. Paris was the last stop on my fall break trip and the reason it's taken me this long to write about it is that I frankly haven't had the time to even sit down and process visiting France.

We got to Paris at around 11:30 am on Wednesday and were leaving at 7am Friday so really I only had one day and a half to see everything that Paris has to offer. Seeing that it was the most expensive city to book accommodations and travel for I was determined not to let what limited time I had to go to waste.

You have to remember that by then I had already been traveling for five days through Amsterdam and Brussels, walking upwards of 20,000 steps per day so the exhaustion was really catching up to me. But Paris was just so amazing and that it was like the city gave me a burst of energy.

We started day one in Paris arguing with the hostel over our check-in time which the website said was 11am but they claimed was 3pm. So we had to wait by the hostel for a few hours so that we could put our bags. During this time, I planned out everything I wanted to do and how I was going to get to do that in a day and a half. Pretty much, our hostel was in the south of Paris and the most northern point of things I wanted togo to was Sac de Couer, so I took a map and blotted down everything I could do starting from the south and leading up to the north.

After I had finished planning and we were allowed to check in to our room Jake, Olivia, Julissa and I made our way to the Eiffel tower where we met up with Talia and Mikaela. There we took in the sights and made our way to a French restaurant so that we can celebrate Mikaela's birthday. I got to try escargot which was on my bucket list and it was really good, then we made our way back to the Eiffel tower where we bought our tickets to go to the top and waited in line for two hours.

It was so worth it I had no idea what we did, but we spent two hours on the top just looking around, laughing and taking pictures. I got to see a real proposal and take these hilarious pictures of Julissa who realized that Paris was not the city for her at this time in her life.

By the time we went back down, it was almost 1am so we decided to call it a night because I had only done two things on my Paris list and I had only had one more day to do the rest.

Day two started up bright and early, Olivia Jake and I walked to the Jardin de Luxemburg which was really cool, we then had a Parisian breakfast and it is true what they say Croissants are a lot better in France. We saw Notre Dam and I walked all the way from there to the Arch de Triumph which took like three hours so I pretty much walked the length of Paris, but I got to see a lot of things along the way like the Louvre which I wanted to go into but the line was too long and I had a lot of other things I wanted to see so I had to pass on that. I stopped at the historic Shakespeare and Company bookstore and picked up a nice book from there.  Jake and I explored the Jewish quarter and had the best falafel in Paris. I walked around the Champs Elyse which in my opinion is a bit overrated but it was still nice. Lastly, I made my way to the Arch de Triumph where I met up with Julissa and from there we went to Sac de Coeur.

Sac de Couer might have been my favorite part of Paris it was amazing and the area around it was full of little shops and artists. From there we went to the Galeries Lafayette, the glass ceiling there reportedly weights more than the Eiffel tower, I had some macaroons and then went to Pigel home of the Moulin Rouge. That was a very different area that reminded of Piccadilly Circus, I ended the night with some authentic French Onion soup before we made our way back to the hostel.

The next morning, we got up bright and early to catch our bus back to London. While it was supposed to take around 8 hours I think it was more like 11 because there was a lot of traffic and crossing the borders took forever. It was still really cool when our bus got on the Eurostar and I was in a bus on a train going to London. It really gave me an appreciation for how interconnected Europe is. The fact that I ended up going to three different countries without having to take a plane for such amazing prices was incredible. The trains that I took were really quick and so much less hassle than going to an airport.

It's crazy to think that the United States has still not been able to come up with a quick and affordable train system like Europe to encourage people to travel. Just thinking about the possibility of me being able to take a train to Montreal or New Orleans in under four hours would be crazy.

I'm hoping that with Brexit thing's like visa's, travel taxes and restrictions that could be implemented won't affect students in the future who wish to do a London semester. While I absolutely love London and purposely didn't plan to travel my last month here in order to experience everything it has to offer, I think my trips around Europe really helped shape this experience as a European one rather than one that's solely British. If I can take away anything from this it's that I've become much more of a go-getter, taking advantage of everything and seizing the day. Planning transportation and accommodation for four different countries while also having to remember details like time zone differences and the distance between the hostels and train stations and also everything you want to do in each country was exhausting but it really was a learning experience that I couldn’t get inside a classroom or by just staying in London and for that I know I'm more of an adaptable and adventurous person.  

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Oslo

You may remember from some of my previous posts that I am not the biggest fan of theatre, I know, shocking. I've seen the rest of my class's Tumblr posts and it's safe to say that they might disagree.  But here's the thing as I've explained before Netflix has just been so good lately and there's no way that any of the play's that we've seen can compare. I think that what also really affected my experience at the theatre is the fact that I found that the plot moved exactly where I expected it to go and what would really drive me over the edge is when the people I was sitting around would be laughing so hard or crying over the dumbest stuff. It just reinforced my belief that some of the theatre fans I know wanted to love theatre more than the actual play they were watching, like clearly if you're sitting there crying your eyes out at a scene I must feel a little sad, but no that reaction came across as completely over the top for me and I could never take the play seriously. However, my views have definitely changed after seeing Oslo.

James Cordon once said something that really stuck with me throughout this entire semester "If you watch 10 plays, 7 of them are going to be shit, 2 are going to be okay but 1 is going to be so good that it'll make you repeat the whole process again to find the next great one". Frankly, with the end of the semester getting closer and closer, along with the fact that we only had two more plays left I was beginning to lose hope.

Thankfully Oslo came along and I honestly really liked it. You could say it's because of the fact that the play was about a topic I knew too well from having lived in Jordan my entire life, or because my grandfather was a Palestinian refugee but something about the story and the way both sides were presented really made me gain an appreciation for theatre.

I thought that even in the best case scenario I would have left the play having felt like one side of the conflict was presented more accurately than the other but no. I truly gained an insight and appreciation into the Israeli view surrounding this conflict. Many parts of the play struck a chord with me when both men realized that they had daughters named Maya, for example, a word that translates to water in both Hebrew and Arabic. These elements of the play made me realize that the Israeli's and Palestinians have a lot more in common than they do differences and that's something that we never talk about.

At one point during the play I did tear up a little, I don't know whether it was the story or the real video footage of people losing their homes and getting attacked but at one point in the play, a discussion over Palestinians having to flee their own country and leave everything behind moved me.

It reminded me of a story I heard a lot growing up, about how my grandpa had to run out of his house when he was being attacked by Israeli forces. He got shot in the leg and spent some time at a convent where nuns helped stitch up and heal him, from there he ran away to Lebanon and then to Jordan where he started working as a construction worker thereafter starting a family and becoming a developer. Eventually after not having come back to his homeland for decades my parent's aunts and uncles decided to take him back to Palestine, something he had always dreamed of doing.

They made their way to his village only to find that there was nothing left but rubble and flattened land. Despite this, my grandpa kept walking using the tree's and to remember where everything was. The way my mother described it to me was that they reached this one area and looked down, my grandpa broke down crying, something that she had never seen him do before, all that was left of his house was a pointed arch that was used as one of the foundations of his old family home. Because he had a heart condition they decided that he had enough and it was best that they go back to the hotel.

The next day my grandpa insisted on going back, so they waked through the village again and made their way down to the remains of the house. He didn't cry this time, he just walked around showing everyone where the kitchen used to be and how this one area that was now just rocks used to be the living room they sat in every night having dinner. My mom asked him to take the picture below and I had her send it to me after the play.

This was always a story that I heard that made me sad but honestly never really got to me. My grandpa died when I was 7 so while I still remember him and have photo albums filled with pictures of us I clearly never had a conversation with him about his experience as a refugee and so I never got that first-person perspective.

Sitting in that theatre, looking at the videos, hearing the actors speak and having that story in the back of my head, my grandpa's experience became a little more real to me and that's something that I think that made me a little emotional.

So if you ask me whether I only liked the play because I have this attachment to it or because it was actually a great play my answer would have to be I honestly don’t know. The only thing that I am sure of is that James Cordon was correct and that I finally got to see a great play that'll make me want to watch another 9 average ones just to get to the next really good one.  

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Debate

I forgot how much fun it was to debate, in high school I did Model United Nations which is basically an excuse for people to verbally assault and belittle others on the grounds of representing a country. It taught me a lot, not only about the world and politics but about how to outsmart the person in front you and defend your arguments even if you don't necessarily believe that they're good.

I think that out of all of the classes we had with Professor Davis this one really taught me the most, I found myself combing through articles and research papers so as to create a solid strategy and have back up arguments in the bag in case things didn't go my way. I truly believe that I understand Brexit to its fullest extent now and if the topic ever came up in a political science class in the future or just in passing conversation I would be able to unequivocally shut down anyone who doesn't agree with me.

One thing that I wished the debate allowed us to do was jump in when other people were having arguments as I found that there were a lot of arguments that people missed out on that would have definitely made the debate more fruitful. Nonetheless, I think that even the people who were nervous about the debate beforehand left feeling more informed and proud of the work that they did.

If I learned one thing about Britain from this experience it's that the world is more interconnected than ever and in our quest to achieve unity we've become very codependent to the point where the second one party becomes a little more co-dependent on the other, we find ourselves in a position of weakness. The Pro-Brexit team made some excellent points, Britain has lost its sovereignty, its ability to choose who can and can't come into its country and the choice of who they wish to trade with.

However, one point that I felt was not stressed upon enough in this debate is how even with Brexit none of these great reasons to leave will come back. While it's been promised that Britain will have control over its government, that is a lie. Britain still needs to create a new trade deal with the EU as it is undeniably too dependent on the EU for imports and exports.

What's going to happen at the end of the line is that the EU will bring down the hammer and demand that Britain let go of some of its sovereignty in exchange for the trade that it so vitally needs in order to survive. But that's just my opinion.

All in all, I think that I am one of the very few people who can say that I spent six hours at a pub debating Brexit (some of us stayed afterward to have lunch with Professor Pete and his guests). If that isn't the most British experience you can get on a London Semester than I don't know what is.

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A Look Back At My Community Involvement

While my community involvement was not the typical club or activity that many of my classmates have been involved with, I think that if anything it has helped me immerse myself within the city of London more than most people.

It was clear from the very start that this part of the course was created in order to help us step out of the American University life bubble that we brought with us. Whether it be through our friends doing this semester of our flatmates, simply moving a group of people from one country to another is not enough to fully expose someone to another culture.

While at first this project was very much something that I struggled with and dreaded doing, once I came up with an idea and tried out my interviews I very much did a complete 360 and absolutely loved my community involvement exercises. It's truly helped me meet some people living in London and become very good friends with them, in fact, I'm meeting one of my interviewee's for lunch tomorrow.

My project relied on meeting people through the friends I already have in London. Where I found myself constantly being introduced to students from different London universities and learning things and getting advice that I wouldn't have had, had I not interacted with a local.  

I met people who have lived in London their entire lives, people who have lived in the country and moved to the city and students from all over the world who choose London as the place they want to pursue their college education. Through this rich diversity of students and learners whether they be pursuing their undergraduate or masters I was able to make lifelong friends and successfully say that I know London inside and out.

I found that because my meetings took place in different places around the London and because I met very different people with drastically different opinions, I was very much exposed to all sides of the city. Learning from someone who love's London is very different from learning from someone who hates's it but nonetheless, it remains to be just as educational.

All in all, I met so many people that I couldn’t possibly write out a blog post for each and every single one of them. In order to be efficient and document my involvement effectively, I decided to only write about the different people and opinions. I had one blog post from every person I met who went to a different university in London, I had one from a master's student and some from British citizen's and international students as well as some people who like London and some who don't.

If I had to sum up all my research I would say that London is a beautiful city with many different parts. You can't paint all the university students hear with one brush as some campuses are scattered all over London whereas others are on the quiet outskirts of the city. People here love to eat and love to go to all the restaurants and food markets around. They also stay up to date with the different events being offered throughout the year, the weather might be depressing but no one take's advantage of a rare sunny day more than a Londoner. Christmas time especially is something that everyone regardless of their religion gets excited about, whether it be the different lighting or ice rinks or the highly anticipated winter wonderland Christmas in London is something special.

As such, London is a city like no other and the people here are truly a melting pot of different cultures and opinions. While the recent terrorist attacks have impacted these students, they have not deterred the passion and love people have for the city. If I were to take anything away from this project it's that getting to do this London semester is truly a privilege and being able to say that I lived in London is something that I will always hold with pride much like many of the people and friends that I have met over the last three months. 

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Community Involvement Interview 5

1)    What’s your name and age?

My name’s Alia and I’m 19 years old

2)    Where do you study?

Univerity College London

3)    What are you studying?

I’m pursuing a degree in Science and Technology

4)    How long have you been in London?

I’m a British citizen but I’ve been living abroad for most of my life, so I've pretty much been in London for the last two years and a half

5)    How would you describe your experience living in London so far?

I love it, I just really really love it

6)    What do you think of university life in London?

My campus is literally my favorite place on earth, it’s so beautiful and right in the middle of London, it makes me feel like I’m a part of something bigger like I’m a part of history.

7)    What do you think is the biggest difference between a student studying in London or somewhere in America?

I feel like there’s a lot more emphasis on extracurriculars in America, just to get into universities in the US you need to do a lot more than get good grades and once you do get in I feel like students in the US do a lot more internships and play sports and stuff.

8)    What’s your favorite thing about London?

The food. Hands down you will never find so many places with such amazing food it’s insane.

9)    What’s your least favorite thing about London?

I honestly love living in London but if I had to nitpick I would say that the recent terrorist attacks do keep me a little on edge and I am afraid to go certain places because of them.

10) Do you have any recommendations for a study abroad student who is only going to be in London for a semester?  

Try all the food markets, my favorite is Camden market

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My take:

So far in my interviews, I don’t think I’ve found someone who loves London so much. Alia definitely takes advantage of everything the city has to offer and is by far an expert in her own right on food and restaurants here.

She’s also someone who has a lot of school pride when it comes to her university and I can’t tell if it’s the UCL university culture or who she is as a person but it’s something I haven’t seen before to this extent.

While a lot of people have expressed concern over the London terrorist attacks, it became clear to me that this is something that has affected Alia a lot more than other people. She told me how she call’s her mother multiple times a day so that she dosen’t worry and that whenever an attack does happen she makes it a point to avoid public transportation and only leave the house when she has to.

It’s sad to see that someone who loves the city so much and loves to go out and try everything it has to offer has been directly impacted because she fears for her safety but she said that in general she always finds a way to have a good time by just staying away from really crowded places and not worrying a lot  unless the city raises the threat level.

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I think I can(al) get used to this

The start of the Amsterdam leg of my Fall Break didn't get off to the best start, I had forgotten my eye drops (which I needed to use twice a day) in Brussels. We got the hostel location wrong so we spent the first half an hour rolling our carryon's on the uneven Amsterdam roads and then we eventually did find it, we realized that we had booked a hostel right in the middle of the red light district which isn't really the most pleasant area.

To add to that the hostel itself was really dark and I could tell that they did the bare minimum to clean. Moreover, Julissa and I had booked two beds in an eight-bedroom so we had six random roommates who we had to share one bathroom with. So really it just started off on a sour note but I was convinced that I had to let go of all the negativity and enjoy the three days we had there.

So we started walking around the city, soaking in all the bridges and brick homes, the city really was like what you see in postcards and it definitely provided an indescribable European charm that I could find in Brussels. Eventually, we happened upon this weird shady art gallery that was in the back of the storeroom, there were leaking pipes and unfinished walls, but the artists were really nice and it felt like we had happened upon some sort of hidden secret.

One thing that I found myself always being drawn to was the houseboats that lined the canals, I've seen a few before while walking in the Little Italy area in London. But there were so much more in Amsterdam and unlike London, you could tell that these boats were very much lived in. I, later on, asked some locals about the houseboats and they told me how they're very expensive to license and live in, almost 700,000 euros. This made me realize how embedded houseboats were to the culture in Amsterdam and how unique they were to Amsterdam. Sure people have houseboats in London and the US but they're so much more prevalent in Amsterdam.

I don't know what the requirements are for finding a place to park a houseboat. I'm assuming it would have to on a canal as a river would be a little too rocky. But I think that it could potentially be an answer to its housing problem adding some houseboats to canals of the Thames or the Canary Wharf area or maybe even the reservoirs at the edge of London could help provide more housing options for the 8.8 million people who live in this city.

Later that day I met up with one of my best friends from high school who I haven’t seen for three years. It was a really fun reunion and she introduced me to her friends in Amsterdam over dinner, they told me about how they took a one pound flight to London one year and it got me thinking about how interconnected Europe is and how much some people living in Europe are benefiting from being able to travel so easily and affordable. That night, I got to experience the Amsterdam Dance Festival which Julissa and I were previously debating on whether or not to go, but after getting back to the hostel at 4 am we agreed that we definitely made the right choice.

The next day I was up at 9am and despite running on very little sleep I was determined to experience everything I could from Amsterdam. I went to the Van Gough Museum which is something I don't think I would have honestly ever done had I not done this semester and gained the appreciation that I have now for museums and art. I highly recommended it to everyone I knew who was going to Amsterdam after me as it not only shows you Van Goughs work but takes you through his story showing you how he grew as an artist.

We also did a one-hour boat tour around the city which despite only being three pounds more expensive than the normal touristy boat tour had so much more to offer. Heated Blankets, drinks, tapas and there were only two other people on the boat so we had some great discussions with the tour guides and also got to lounge around on the pillows. It was the highlight of the trip and tied everything about Amsterdam together.

Another thing I noticed about Amsterdam was how obsessed they are with cycling. Granted there's plenty of cycling going around in London but the Dutch take it to a whole new level, the number of cycling stores and kids and adults on bikes was crazy. I'm not going to lie there were barely any cars on the road and if more people cycled in London the traffic would plummet. But I don't think it worth it because while it was easier for cars to get around, me as a pedestrian had the worst time trying to dodge crazy cyclists coming out of street and alley.

On my last day, I went to the floating flower market, had some Dutch pancakes and walked into 8 different cheese stores "sampling" their different products. I ended up getting this aged pesto and gouda which was so good. My last night ended by going to this amusement park in the middle of the city with my high school friend, we said goodbye and then I went back to the hostel to pack for Paris.

[saadlondon-blog]

Community Involvement Interview 4

1)    What’s your name and age?

My name is Pamela and I'm 21 years' old

 2)    Where do you study?

Brunel University  

 3)    What are you studying?

I'm currently doing my Master's Degree in Business Administration

 4)    How long have you been in London?

I've been in England for almost 5 years but this is my first year in London

 5)    How would you describe your experience living in London so far?

Well since Brunel is on the edge of London near Heathrow airport I would say that I'm still learning what it's like to live in London. But I think I would describe as a mixture of amazing fun and really boring, depending on the day

 6)    What do you think of university life in London?

I did my bachelor's degree in Leeds which is about 2 hours away from London and that was just completely different. London University life, especially for a Masters student is especially difficult, but being in a city surrounded by all these unique restaurants and movie premiers makes it easy to find a place to take a break and relax.

7)    What do you think is the biggest difference between a student studying in London or somewhere in America?

I'm not very close with the people who I know study in America but what I can tell from the movies and tv show I've seen is that American universities have a much closer sense of community whereas in London you feel like you're so much more of an individual on your own path and journey.

 8)    What’s your favorite thing about London?

The shopping here is out of this world, you're so close to any store you can think of and you also get access to exclusive pieces that are only offered in Selfridges or Harrods or other London stores.

 9)    What’s your least favorite thing about London?

The traffic, unless you're taking the tube to get to get somewhere the traffic is horrible and I personally hate walking in and out of the tube and being pressed against random people.

 10) Do you have any recommendations for a study abroad student who is only going to be in London for a semester?  

Walk around Mayfair every restaurant and store is different and unique, they're all really edgy and I just love that area.

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My take:

Pamela is the first person I met in London who's pursuing a master's degree so I was really excited to get her perspective. I thought that she would be a lot busier since it only takes a year to get your masters in England vs. two years in America. So I assumed it was a lot more concise and stressful as you're trying to fit two years of information in one but Pamela seemed to have found a great balance between getting her work done and enjoying life in London.

We talked a lot about how she felt a little out of place because all the friends she made in Leeds either started working in different places around the world or are taking a gap year before they pursue their masters. So she kind of felt like she was starting university all over again, but she said that it’s really easy to meet people in London and that's no longer an issue for her.

The suggestions she gave me all seem like really cool places that I don’t think I would have found online. So I'm excited to try and discover these things in my last few weeks here in London.

[saadlondon-blog]

Oxford Street Christmas Lighting

I don’t think I could claim to have fully immersed myself in the London experience if I didn’t go see the Oxford Street Christmas lighting. We got there at 5:45, just half an hour before they lit up the street and it’s a good thing we did because it took us half an hour to get all the way to the end of Oxford Street since there were so many people and police. 

While the entire thing was a great experience that I thoroughly enjoyed, I couldn’t help but be on edge a little bit as the police presence alone made you feel like you were just waiting for an attack. In fact, some of my other friends refused to go because their parents called them and told them not to go to a place that they knew could potentially be dangerous.

While I understand such a protective mentality and was aware of the fact that this potentially could be a terrorist attack waiting to happen, I decided that I was going to join some of the thousands of other Londoners who showed up because they weren’t going to let the actions of a deranged few impact their daily lives. 

I’m not going to lie though the number of police officers was crazy and as Olivia Jake and I were walking down and looking at them we started to jokingly discuss exit plans in case things went south. In general, though the only thing that honestly made me nervous was when all of sudden ten or twelve officers surrounded this one man standing in front of me an yelled at him demanding that he open his back, we quickly walked away as far possible. 

Other than that though the lighting was great, there were some British performers we never heard of on stage and then the singer Rita Ora walked out for all of two minutes didn’t sing a song and just pressed the button to light up the street and left, but it was still pretty fun. 

What I thought would be a cool and Christmas-y lighting ended up teaching me a lot more about the attitude of Londoners. They trust their police and security to keep them safe and they also refuse to live in fear or change the way they approach their daily lives based on threats and attacks that ultimately from what I’ve seen, have not worked to deter anybody’s Christmas spirit. 

[saadlondon-blog]

Community Involvement Interview 3

1)    What’s your name and age?

Rahmeh 21 years old 

2)    Where do you study?

Bruneel University

3)    What are you studying?

Business 

4)    How long have you been in London?

I’ve been in London for three years now. 

5)    How would you describe your experience living in London so far?

I have a love-hate relationship with London. Sometimes I get so sick of the weather and the stress and all in all it combines to make it so miserable. But whenever I leave I can’t help but miss it.

6)    What do you think of university life in London?

I’m in my third year now, so honestly, I have a lot of work to do and I don’t have time to do anything fun. I’m also trying to decide whether or not I wanna do a Masters. So really at this point in my life, I’m kind of done with it and I can’t wait for it to be over. Ask me again after I graduate and I'll probably look at it more positively.

7)    What do you think is the biggest difference between a student studying in London or somewhere in America?

I feel like my friends studying in the US are a lot more balanced. They don’t have to do a dissertation and in their final years, the University itself has a lot of traditions like senior walks and final day’s events. But I do graduate in three years whereas american universities take four years to receive an undergraduate degree.

8)    What’s your favorite thing about London?

I feel like my education is very hard driven and concise. As for the city itself, I think the friends and people I met here are what really make the city what it is.

9)    What’s your least favorite thing about London?

I’m just so stressed and I feel like that sentiment is shared by a lot of people whether they’re students or employees working here. 

10) Do you have any recommendations for a study abroad student who is only going to be in London for a semester?  

Go to Cirque, it’s a really cool club in Soho 

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My take:

I definitely met Rahmeh on a bad day, I never realized how stressful the final year of university is for students living in London. I think that it’very much amplified by the fact that there are so many fun things to do in the city, and if you don’t have time to go out and enjoy them you feel even worse about all the work you have to do. 

None the less, beyond the questions, I asked in the interview. Rahmeh gave me some great recommendations for clubs and restaurants that I have to try and I could tell from all her suggestions that she’s very much immersed in London and has experienced some of the best things the city has to offer.