Reflections on my UK adventure

Hey Guys!

So I am back in Canada now, internship all done. So it is time to reflect on the highlights and lowlights of my stay in London.

Lowlights

·         THE WEATHER.

o   As you may know, it was the coldest, rainiest, cloudiest summer in London in 250 years. I didn’t expect this at all which meant I packed incredibly inappropriately for the weather. It felt like it was November every day which made me depressed and uncomfortable almost constantly. And, because I was on an intern’s salary, it wasn’t like I could just get up and go to a warmer place on the weekend either. I was stuck, forced to suck it up for 3 months. Pretty annoying!

·         The cost of living for the most part.

o   Food at the grocery store is really cheap and museums are free. Everything else is crazy expensive by North America and mainland EU standards. A general rule is as follows: Take the price in dollars, change the dollar sign to a £ sign and that is the price of that product in London. That means everything in London is 1.56x the price in Canada (at today’s exchange rate). And again, on an intern’s salary, this minimizes the amount of fun you can have when you are always worried about expenses!!  

Depressing stuff, right? But never fear, I do have some good things to say too!

The Highlights

·         The food. I can’t say enough good things about the food in London.

o   In North America we are used to chain quick service restaurants (i.e. Tim Horton’s or Dunkin Donuts) having average food at best. In London, those sorts of places serve fresh food that is delicious and cheap. This was pretty great stuff!

o   The markets- Borough, Camden, Portobello, etc have such a range of such fresh and delicious food from peruvian to indian. So buying from these markets really helped make every meal perfect and delicious! 

o   Because there is such a huge immigrant population in the city and because of the UK colonial history, there is a TON of culinary variety in the city and you can get some pretty amazing meals for reasonable prices.

o   The meat and cheeses you buy at the grocery store are ½ the price they would be in Canada if not even cheaper. And it is all incredibly fresh and delicious stuff. So if you like to cook like I do, this was a huge plus and cost-saver!

·         Visiting Newcastle

o   I’d never in my life ever experienced a city like that (and I’ve been to some pretty crazy places). Based on the conversations I had with the people I met there, it seems like North Americans are unaware of Newcastle or what goes there (maybe because what goes on in Newcastle, stays in Newcastle…haha). But seriously, if you like to go out for a night on the town and have some fun, Newcastle, it’s people (“Geordies”) and its culture must be witnessed first-hand.  

·         My internship

o   You can read my linkedin profile to see the real business-y stuff I did but basically, having the opportunity to take a real leadership role in a business and see that business be hugely successful was incredibly rewarding and awesome!!  Knowing I could be a team leader and see success has me excited for when I get into the real world again post-MBA. 

·         The Olympics

o   Being in the city where the entire planet is focused was an absolutely incredible experience. It was so fun meeting people every day from all over the world, experiencing other cultures at each country’s “country houses” (that is, basically large banquet halls that each country uses to celebrate its own athletes at the Olympics, promote its culture and such) and seeing history get made right in front of my eyes. So cool!!

Anyways, now I am back home in Ottawa detoxing from my England adventure for a few days. Then back to Toronto for some meetings and to see my friends and then…MADRID!!!!