Note: this was originally posted in Fisch and Chips on September 9, 2013. Names have been mostly redacted to protect privacy (though everyone I mention by name originally gave permission to use their names in the original blog post). I haven't checked in with these folks in a while, so my inner lawyer wants to play it safe for now. I'll continue redacting for the time being by means of first name initials.
Ah, London-capital of England, the United Kingdom, and (historically) the British Empire.
I finally set foot in this fabled city today to receive student orientation. Starting in Eastcote, I rode the London Underground public transit system (which I will be referring to as the Tube from now on) into the heart of London, where the AHA Center was only a short walk away. The weather was grey and cloudy, so I felt like I was back in Portland. I also felt somewhat reminded of Philadelphia and New York, based on the quaint aura of the buildings and the multicultural-ness, respectively. I arrived at the AHA center an hour ahead of schedule, so I was quickly introduced to M, the AHA housing coordinator, and helped her set up the classroom for the orientation.
In the minutes leading up to orientation, M told me a little about the building’s history; namely, that it dated back to the eighteenth century and contained a decent amount of the original woodwork. My appreciation for this location increased even more when I was reminded that there are numerous law firms in the area! The orientation itself was nice: we were brought up to speed on what would be expected in this upcoming semester and given a host of tips regarding safety and transportation. We also received oyster cards, which will make traveling on the Tube much more convenient.
When the orientation was over, I met up with the other two Bearcats in the group, L and T, and we rode the Tube west together to return to our respective homesteads. Overall, my experiences today made me really excited about the coming months, as I was reminded that we have a lot of awesome field trips lined up, including a trip to the Tower of London tomorrow! Add in the fact that I can now travel around the London area with relative ease, it means I’ll be able to go through my criminal justice pilgrimage in no time! Executions ahoy!
One final thing to note: I was planning to include a photo or two of the AHA Center and London in general, but a combination of rain, obligations to friends, and not wanting to look too much like a tourist kept me from doing so. Don’t worry, I’ll have plenty of pictures soon enough!
Reflections from the present:
My predictions of a successful criminal justice pilgrimage due to plentiful field trips and ease of travel turned out to be very accurate. To this day, I still feel that London has some of the best public transportation I've ever seen. Paris, Portland, New York City, and Hawaii have been serviceable, but nothing I've seen compares to the Tube in terms of running on time, ease of use, and navigability.
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