Field Trip, Soup Kitchen, and Departure

When Grandma and Grandpa left I was hit with this reality: It was the last full week of October. 

Which meant one thing: Midterms

We've been talking about this week since the beginning, (mainly because after midterms we have Reading Week, a week-long vacation) but it still managed to sneak up on me :) 

Mini pecan pie for free from a coupon....I love free stuff!

As a result, my social calendar for this week was a bit lacking. Here are a few random snippets of the week:

Monday: Absentee ballot filled out and Nando's with Claire

Wednesday: My journalism class went to visit The Guardian's base in London. Two journalists talked to us about stories they'd written, what it was like to be a journalist, and the demands of a changing world of news (due to technology). It was fascinating, and had me loving the course even more.

(Above): a wall of past Guardian features that referenced previous U.S. elections/campaigns/etc...and some from this one, too.

 My professor teaches journalism to a homeless group, so the people she was working with also came along with us. It was interesting to talk to them (and to hear the questions they asked The Guardian staff) and prepped me for Thursday... 

(Above): Outside King's Cross St. Pancreas station. I switch trains here everyday, but never step outside the station. It's a beautiful area (the birdcage-like thing on the right is a play structure with a long rope swing for kids in the plaza. 

Thursday: Soup Kitchen

It took me awhile to find the church, and then to find the right door to get to the basement, and then to find where the kitchen was in the basement. The head chef immediately handed me a cutting board. She seemed very stressed and it was difficult to understand what she wanted me to help with due to her accent, but I think I managed to complete the tasks she asked. I can't imagine the stress of working there every day!

I started out in the kitchen, and then ended up serving soup and porridge out in the front. I'm not sure which was more stressful. It was certainly an eye-opening experience, and it reminded me to keep judge-mental thoughts in check. Such a variety of people; some well dressed, some not. 

This is Kirsty and me (at the end after we took our aprons and hair nets off). It was nice to have someone young and local to get to know. And, Emma, another other girl I met in the kitchen, was born in Warwick, Rhode Island! Small world. 

I have never been so aware of my age, gender, and upbringing as I was standing there in the room full of men. My uneasiness came full throttle when halfway through the meal, one man began to threaten another man. I couldn't completely understand what he was saying and why, but for the first time since arriving in London, I took my phone off of airplane mode to call the police (Kirsty's phone was back in the kitchen). Thankfully, the on-site security guard was able to help settle things down and drive the man and his wife away before they caused any harm. Kirsty said she's never seen anything like that happen before in all the weeks she's been volunteering. The security guard said to me, "Well you picked an exciting first day!" Oh boy.

Here's the outside of the building (the white door sticking out on the far right is the door into the kitchen, and I'm standing inside the recreational room where the food is served. Outside, the men and women used the sinks to do laundry, wash dishes, etc. It was a fairly friendly set up.

Immediately after the soup kitchen, I headed to Sociology (with my heavy backpack-packed for Scandinavia- in tow). Then right from school it was time to head out. Goodbye, London!

Emelie, Zoe, Anna, Melanie, Marisa (hiding behind my seat), and Me

We took an hour and a half Uber to Gatwick airport....and I sat in the front seat so I could talk with the driver. We had a very long conversation about farms, U.S. elections, driving laws, more politics, and travel. And he answered my earlier question about the zig-zag lines on the road. That in itself is cause for celebration. Scandinavia, here we come!