British History Lesson

Saturday morning was the first of our classes towards the Cambridge accredited Certificate in International Business. It was on British History and some of the kids in the program really did not take it seriously. It is so strange to be around younger people again. It is like being in college again. Many of the kids came in late, some were still hungover and still smelled like alcohol, they all congregated in the back of the room, and they left a huge mess at the concession area, whereas I went to bed early so that I could be bright and awake for class and I sat in the front of the room so that I could see the slides and hear the speaker. I thought it was a really interesting class and I feel bad that people were falling asleep right in front of him.

After a couple of hours, we were divided into groups and sent out to do a treasure hunt, but people in our group were mingling with another group and they all started dilly-dallying around this great food market called Boroughs Market (which we learned has been featured in several movies, such as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Bridget Jones' Diary). So, we all got separated and one guy (Tai) and I went off to go and figure out all the answers ourselves. Shhh...we sort of cheated though because we went to an internet cafe to find all the answers on the sheet instead of running around. Really, though, I think we learned a lot more this way and I don't think there was any way to get all the answers by running all over the area. Plus, I plan on going to all these places anyways. Once I get some money I want to start taking some tours. Well, our group ended up winning the competition thanks to Tai and I answering the most questions and our whole group won a free London bus tour and a murder and mystery in London tour! I am very excited! Maybe I will do them next weekend.

Some interesting facts:
- London was originally founded by the Romans. Any towns ending in "-chester" were most likely founded by the Romans.
- Towns founded by the Saxons end in "-ton".
- The Great Fire of 1666 was started by a baker who forgot to turn off his oven one night and it took 3 days to burn 3/4 of the city to the ground. Surprisingly, only 7 people died. After that, wooden structures were banned from being built, but the Globe Theater got special permission since it is all made out of wood.

The unfortunate thing was that at the end of the class, they handed out an assignment. I have about 2 weeks to write a 1000 - 1500 page essay on my choice of 6 different topics regarding British history. I think I'll get on it tomorrow. I'm going to try not to procrastinate this time.

Well, I got to meet a lot more interns and some were really cool. I found out that there are 3 or 4 Texans in the program and they are all Latinas as well. The one I met and that I happen to work on the same floor with is from Del Rio. I guess Mexicans really are getting around! :)