Mind The Gap

          Next station, Tower Hill; please remember to mind the gap and keep all belongings... I was startled awake by the sound of a British woman on the intercom of the London underground. I was surrounded by sleepy Girl Scout faces. We were on our way to the Tower Bridge in London and had just arrived after a twenty-hour flight from Texas and were extremely jet-lagged. We were staying at the Girl Scout house in London, Pax Lodge, and they had three days of activities planned for us, and our Girl Scout leader had planned the other six days of our trip. We were planning to go to the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Windsor Castle, Tower Of London, Stonehenge, Oxford, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and lots more; each activity had a piece of London to offer me. The more I experienced London the more I fell in love with the city and its culture. One of the best things about my trip was that Pax Lodge had organized a day when we would go visit a nursing home to entertain and talk with senior ladies that had grown up in London. They were very happy to talk with us. After talking with the ladies we got the chance to help them, as well. We planted flowers in their garden for them and cleaned up their backyard.        

            My favorite part of my trip was the new cultures I experienced. I was able to experience the British culture, and also the Austrian culture as well. We had the privilege to go to an Austrian pub/restaurant, which had a live Austrian accordion player, saxophone player, and singer that performed Austrian music. They were very interactive with the diners and even asked for volunteers occasionally. I was the first to volunteer and it turned out that I was going to have to yodel. I did, even though I was very embarrassed. It was so much fun, everyone cheered me on, which gave me the courage to continue. The next volunteer was taught how to play cow belles. It was absolutely fabulous, if this restaurant, The Tiroler Hut, was anything like Austria, then I want to travel to Austria as well to experience all it has to offer me.

            I fell in love with the British culture, architecture, and history of London. When we drove from the airport to Pax Lodge I went on and on about the beauty and quaint look of the buildings and flats that made up London; my friends got so annoyed by it that they had to tell me to talk about something else, because it was getting annoying. When I went to Windsor Castle, Warwick Castle, Tower Of London, and Tower Bridge it felt like I had gone back in time. There were guards, and people dressed up like they had back when there were knights. You felt like you were really there and were making history. There was so much history I don’t think I even got halfway through it all; I would love to go back someday for more then just a week.  

            This trip really opened up my eyes. I always lived in my own little world and had never gotten the chance to go over-seas before, but after this experience I want to travel all over Europe and even the world. I want to experience more cultures and continue experiencing the cultures I have already been exposed to.