Sixth Week

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for coming to my blog and reading about my adventures.  It is scary to think that my adventure is almost halfway though.  In less than two months, I will have completed my final exams for my classes and will be anxiously awaiting my flight back to Canada where I can enjoy Christmas dinner with my family.

Looking back, I must commend the International Exchange Office at uWindsor for assisting me with the exchange process.  Michelle Fitzgerald and Dr. Alan Gold at the Exchange Office have been very helpful in assisting students to the best of their capacity.  For students that are contemplating an exchange, it is good to note that they host an Academic and General Orientation sessions to prepare you for your exchange.  While they were a bit lengthy, they covered a variety of information that you might not have considered.

 Additionally, Michelle introduces you to either a student that has previously attended your host school or a student from the host school that is participating at an exchange at the University of Windsor. During this orientation, I was introduced to a student from Rouen Business School who has been enormously helpful during my exchange. She helped clarify procedures at Rouen Business School (in particular that there isn’t a lengthy add-drop deadline as there is at uWindsor) and has assisted me with some French communication (such as how to ask for a cab in French!)

I once again took advantage of my lengthened weekends by visiting England. I visited a fellow exchange student that is studying at the University of Hertfordshire and visited London to view some tourist attractions.  While in London, I took advantage of the bicycle rentals and started my exploring by biking around Hyde Park – London’s large park in the center of the city. Below is a picture of me in motion:

If you ever visit London, you must rent a bicycle and roam around Hyde Park. It was an incredible experience.

My day continued with a boat tour on the Thames River allowing us to see a variety of attractions.  Particularly interesting to me was a replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, in the same location as his original theatre. Browse through my Flickr photo album to see some pictures of the theatre.

My second day exploring London consisted of visiting a variety of the attractions in person. I saw Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, the market in Camden Town, London Tower, Saint Paul’s Cathedral, and ended the night with some traditional Fish & Chips in Leicester Square.

On Sunday, I visited Canary Wharf and Greenwich.  If you do decide to browse through my photos on Flickr, I warn you that you will have to browse through an endless amount of large skyscrapers from Canary Wharf, London’s major business district.  It is the headquarters of numerous major banks, professional services firms and media organizations.

Me standing in front of the KPMG building in Canary Wharf.

I also visited Greenwich, which is most famously known as the Prime Meridian of the World and the Greenwich Mean Time.  It is the official starting point for each new day and year. 

The museum did not allow us to take any photos inside, so the photo above isn't of myself.  The concept of standing between the Prime Meridian however is the same.

On Monday before the airport, I took a detour and visited the City of Oxford.  I was given a tour of the city and its various buildings by a University of Windsor alumnus, Josh Chauvin. I was shown New College, Rhodes House, and the famous debate society – Oxford Union.  While looking through the Oxford Union, I was pointed to the photo from the 1933 team. See if you recognize anyone in the photo:

If you guessed Albert Einstein, you are correct.  He is in the bottom row, second to the left. The Oxford Union has had a variety of influential speakers attend in the past, including the Dalai Lama, Winston Churchill, Mother Teresa, and Stephen Hawking, Richard Nixon, and Albert Einstein.

Thanks for keeping up with my exchange and travels.  I’ll be sure to write again next Tuesday.