Big, big London

As a crowning finale, today’s plan included a visit to London. At 06:30, we gathered at Poole Stadium, where after a week it was time to say goodbye to our host families. It was hard to believe, but I spotted a tear or two in some of the teenagers' eyes during the farewell. The majority of host families really put in a lot of effort. Unfortunately, we couldn’t achieve 100% satisfaction, despite all the efforts of Sara and the two teachers. The appropriate saying about the art of pleasing everyone remains true.

Once all the luggage was packed away, we set off promptly at 07:00 for the capital of the United Kingdom. To our dismay, the weather did not cooperate on the final day. Our drivers took us to a bus parking lot. From there, it was just a short walk to the O2 Arena, then to the subway and on to the WESTMINSTER station.

The devoted readers of this blog may believe me when I say that navigating a group of teenagers through the crowd in the London subway is more nerve-wracking than herding a sack of fleas.

The greatest tension always lay in whether the ticket would work for all 35 people and if the doors would open. After that, everyone had to get into the subway, and ideally, ALL had to get off at the SAME station. A little spoiler: We all managed to get in and out successfully. In Westminster, we continued on to Big Ben, Big Ben's Face (the clock face), the Palace of Westminster, and Westminster Hall. There, we took a short break and a group photo.

At this point, I must permit myself one last excursion into the field study 'Development of the Common Teenager.’ It shows that the density of the structures inside the ear is directly proportional to the number of repetitions needed for SIMPLE instructions like

“Stop that!”

“Please don’t do that!”

“Can you please stop!”

to stick in the brain and be performed as routine actions. In short, the greater the density, the more repetitions are necessary.

The desire for attention was again expressed and the resilience of the supervising nerves was tested.

But back to the trip: We continued on to Buckingham Palace and even went inside. I knew the security measures were very strict, but I was not aware that you must carry your backpack in hand. This way of transporting luggage was unfortunately very cumbersome and somewhat dampened the experience. The Brits have a quirky way of doing things! But we’ve known that since Asterix and Obelix.

The palace is opulent and beautiful, but I wouldn’t want to clean the windows there. And these electricity costs! 😂

After that, we had some free time, which the young people could spend in small groups on their own. This time was used quite differently. From visiting McDonald's, shopping, to sightseeing, everything was included. I must admit, I lacked a bit of energy, which might have been due to all the walking, the many people, and the unusually high noise level of a metropolis. Unfortunately, due to the somewhat dreary weather, the photos did not turn out as well as I had hoped.

After successfully overcoming the challenge of getting all the teenagers back through the adventure of the subway and rush hour to the bus, we have been on our way to Dover since 20:00.