Having taken a few weeks to recoup and gather my thoughts following our return from London, I wanted to comment on a few things that I took away from the trip as a whole.
Culturally I had a general idea of what to expect before I went to London as I had traveled their 6 years earlier on a Boy Scout trip. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the generally open and welcoming attitude the British people had toward all of the visitors, something that I had not experienced on my previous trip. In addition, I found that I was able to better appreciate the subtleties of the British culture and traditions than I was previously, probably because I'm now a bit older and a bit more seasoned than I was as a 14/15 year old.
Historically, I learned a lot more than I expected to about both the British and Irish cultures. On the British side, trips to the British Museum and Newcastle providing a lot of interesting and relevant information regarding how Great Britain came to be what it is today. In Ireland, I found the Hop on/Hop Off Opentop Bus tour to be very entertaining and illuminating. It was also a great way to see and learn a lot about the city of Dublin, even though I didn't have a lot of time to spend there.
In terms of the Global Environment, I found the Olympic Reunion Center and the efforts of the British volunteers left the biggest impact on me. The Olympic Reunion Center really brought home, for me, the globalization of the Olympic Games. While I was there I met former Olympians from the United States, Sierra Leone, Jamaica, the Netherlands, and many other countries. The Olympic volunteers showed me how much a country wants to "impress" the rest of the world during the Olympic Games. The volunteers were all very friendly, very helpful, and very energetic about their job and the Olympics, even if that job was as simple as standing on a street corner and giving people directions.
Finally, I feel that, professionally, the trip has allowed me to learn from and network with people that have not only been successful athletically, but also academically and financially. One of the Olympians I met encouraged me to pursue a Fulbright scholarship after I graduate from Tiffin. Others inspired me to continue running, coaching, and competing throughout my life no matter any injuries or setbacks that I might have to endure. And finally, the trip gave me a new appreciation of the massive organization effort that is required to pull off the event. From the volunteers to the sponsors to the athletes and coaches themselves, the whole event requires everyone's cooperation and commitment in order to be successfully pulle
Culturally I had a general idea of what to expect before I went to London as I had traveled their 6 years earlier on a Boy Scout trip. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the generally open and welcoming attitude the British people had toward all of the visitors, something that I had not experienced on my previous trip. In addition, I found that I was able to better appreciate the subtleties of the British culture and traditions than I was previously, probably because I'm now a bit older and a bit more seasoned than I was as a 14/15 year old.
Historically, I learned a lot more than I expected to about both the British and Irish cultures. On the British side, trips to the British Museum and Newcastle providing a lot of interesting and relevant information regarding how Great Britain came to be what it is today. In Ireland, I found the Hop on/Hop Off Opentop Bus tour to be very entertaining and illuminating. It was also a great way to see and learn a lot about the city of Dublin, even though I didn't have a lot of time to spend there.
In terms of the Global Environment, I found the Olympic Reunion Center and the efforts of the British volunteers left the biggest impact on me. The Olympic Reunion Center really brought home, for me, the globalization of the Olympic Games. While I was there I met former Olympians from the United States, Sierra Leone, Jamaica, the Netherlands, and many other countries. The Olympic volunteers showed me how much a country wants to "impress" the rest of the world during the Olympic Games. The volunteers were all very friendly, very helpful, and very energetic about their job and the Olympics, even if that job was as simple as standing on a street corner and giving people directions.
Finally, I feel that, professionally, the trip has allowed me to learn from and network with people that have not only been successful athletically, but also academically and financially. One of the Olympians I met encouraged me to pursue a Fulbright scholarship after I graduate from Tiffin. Others inspired me to continue running, coaching, and competing throughout my life no matter any injuries or setbacks that I might have to endure. And finally, the trip gave me a new appreciation of the massive organization effort that is required to pull off the event. From the volunteers to the sponsors to the athletes and coaches themselves, the whole event requires everyone's cooperation and commitment in order to be successfully pulle