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Show Page 14 THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Volume III, Issue III December 1, 2000 Eden Student’s Journey to England By Sage Weil, Student Part I — My Pre-travel Report People to People Sports [Ambassador Program] is giving me an incentive to learn more about London. Allowing me to participate in the student ambassador education program through Eastern Washington University. I am working on earning money for my trip, learning about England so I know what to expect, and looking forward to my first over-seas trip. Fundraising To earn money for my trip I have done numerous things to make it easier, because I found out that it is very hard to earn money doing one thing. The first thing that I did was go to my local library to get a list of local civic organizations. After I got this list I wrote a letter and sent it to most of the organizations. I did a few letters at a time, and after a month or so I had sent all the letters. I didn’t receive very many replies, but I didn’t give up on trying to earn money. I then sent letters to the major league sports teams in the area. I received some items for the gift exchange in England. After about a week I got two letters back from two teams. I really learned that some organizations really care about the community and the youth. The organizations that did reply showed how professional they are by reading my letter and acknowledging that they received it. This really shows me how some organizations don’t throw away mail they don’t need to read, or even ignore the fact they should reply. This really changed my view on certain organizations. This gives me a higher respect for the organization’s professionalism and care for their community. I went to a grocery store about a half a mile away from my house and applied for a job. I then received a call that said that I would be able to work on freight during nights and odd days. I then started to work at a low pay every Tuesday and Friday, and every so often on Wednesday. I would take items that came off the trucks, and then make displays or stock the shelves. Working on this job has taught me that it takes selfdiscipline to keep track of time so you don’t let the other employees down by not being able to help them. I also learned that doing a good job means that you can get done quicker, and other employees won’t have to make up for your mistakes. Also, doing a good job helps the chances of my getting another job there the following year. In April I called the local newspaper and asked if they would write an article about my trip. They were able to interview me and in the article it told how I am going to London, and playing in the P2P soccer tournament. From the article I got a few donations and was able to get some money for my trip. Some of my teachers read the article and were also very impressed about how I got to go to London to play soccer. My Studies During the time I took to study about England I went to the library and watched two movies on where to go in London. It really interests me how much history is in London, and also the history of the government. I also read two books on London and its history of kings and queens and how they affected England. I am really looking forward to going to England, to see how different our societies really are. Part II - My Report of England Last August I went with People to People Sports Ambassadors Program to compete in the P2P Soccer Festival in England. While in England we visited many historical sights and monuments, like West Minister Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and the Tower of London. We also played some very competitive soccer. The people were very nice in England, especially by giving their own time to help organize our vacation. Culture The people in England were very helpful to make our trip very worthwhile. When we arrived in England the organizers helped set us up into our groups. The few people that helped organize our trip really showed how much they cared about how we viewed ground seemed to be very hard where ever we went. England didn’t seem to have any mountains, just small hills everywhere. It is an island so I guess it wouldn’t have mountains there. The ground didn’t seem very fertile. At most of the parks and places we went where the ground wasn’t paved the ground was extremely hard. While in the United States the geography is so different from mountains to flatlands, and all different types of soil can be found. The city layouts were very peculiar also, like the city of London is only one square mile. They kept the same city boundaries as the first settlers of London—the Anglo Saxons. Most people think that London is the whole city, even where West Minister Abbey is it still isn’t in London, it is in West Minister. It fascinated me how their cities were mapped out. Here when a city grows in population we add on to the city and not make new ones based on the boundaries set up when it was first settled. Economy One thing I noticed about their money is that it is worth two thirds the The program isn't all about sports. Sage had the opportunity to experience the sights and culture of England. England. On the first trip to Windsor castle a lot of different people gave their time to help us with anything we needed. In England most everyone would tell you how to get where you wanted to go, in almost no time at all. If they didn’t know how to get to a place they would kindly say they didn’t know. The one negative thing about the people in England is the amount of foul language used by everybody, including really little kids. I also noticed that there are a lot of bars or “pubs” in the middle of the town. I guess people go to pubs regularly and there is such a demand they need a lot of them. At the grocery store I noticed that they have the wine and alcoholic beverages out on the shelf and not in a liquor store. In London I saw that there weren’t very many small stores. If there were a sports store, it had everything instead of a whole bunch of little stores. The mall was like this also. It was huge, but it had only three sports stores that were all connected. Every store on the street also had a guard standing in the doorway. I guess they are very protective against shoplifting. Geography In England it was very flat and the value of ours, which means for every pound in England, it is like one dollar and fifty cents [of American money]. Their prices on items are more expensive also. Like a car would be sixteen thousand pounds, which is the same as twenty four thousand dollars. History The history of England is incredible, it is amazing how much of it there is. The first day we arrived in London we went to Windsor Castle, that is one of the official residents of the Queen. At Windsor we toured the castle, it amazed me how big it was. Just thinking of how every block was laid by hand, and was carved and mined leaves me in awe. When we were at Windsor there was a flag flying in the middle on top of a round tower. One of the guides showed us how the flag tells you if the queen is in residents or not. The flag that was flying said the queen was there. I was amazed when I knew I was in the same building as the Queen. The tower of London is the best kept medieval fortress in Europe. It never saw battle with foreign countries, just during civil wars. Whenever an army would begin an attack against it the men inside the fortress would surrender to preserve the fortress. It was built to be used as a show of power. Now it is used to house the crown jewels. At the tower of London, people would be taken up the river and taken there to have their heads chopped off for some wrongdoing. One part that was fascinating about the Tower of London is that one of the kings was very superstitious. He made a law that said that they must keep at least six ravens at the tower all the time for good luck. The history of England is very different from ours. One reason it is different is because it is a lot older and a lot more complicated. One example is that our history is based on only two hundred years of settling in a country, and theirs is thousands of years of wars, plagues, and disasters. Soccer The soccer part of my trip was great. The team I played on had very good team players, and had a really good coach. At first I thought it would be hard to get a good team going in a week, but the other kids and I became very good friends and teammates. In the games we played very well together. I am very glad I went to play soccer with them. The coach of our team Kian Ashkani was the best coach for soccer I have ever had. He was able to put a team together in less then a week. I learned more from him then I have for a long time. Without our coach I don’t think our team could have performed as well as we did. I am really glad I went on this trip. Over the whole trip I learned things about history, soccer and culture. I probably won’t have another trip like this in my life, and I’m glad I went to London with this group. Conclusion On this trip I learned that England isn’t too much different from the United States. The thing that was the most different to me would have to be either the driving or the language. The driving was different because it was on the left side of the road, and the steering wheel is on the right. The language is a lot different, because they use different terms. One example is instead of saying “get in line,” it is “get in the ‘Q’.” I would probably go again. I’d like to visit another country and explore new cultures. If I didn’t have a choice I would still go back to England to visit some more of the sights and surrounding country also. The learning I found in England would never be found in a classroom. It would be more of a first-hand learning, and not the textbooks. I also learned some life lessons—that it is hard to go to a place and make friends then just leave and never see them again. I would have never learned what I learned in a classroom so I’m really glad that I went to London. A lot of individuals and companies helped me raise money to get to England and I would just like to thank: Tyler Otto, Kathy Anderson, Bob Well, Dawn Hansen of Aurora Bodyworks, Vern Iverson of Iverson Dental, and Roger Terry of The Valley Market, Utah Starzz, Barbie Sunderland of the Ogden Valley News, Diamond Peak, and Snow Basin. |