The Breakfast Club

Last night we had another group dinner (not at an Indian place, thankfully) at a more American-ized restaurant called “The Breakfast Club”, which is where I took the picture above (I didn’t find out what Bacon Rolls were, unfortunately).

I had a pulled pork sandwich and it tasted like America and it took everything in me to not shout “MERICA” after the first bite.

During dinner, Jeff came over to talk to me about his meeting with Charlotte and Charles. He said they were very impressed with everything I have done so far and he said that they couldn’t really give me any constructive criticism because I have been doing so well and they think I am very bright (WOOHOO I impressed the Brits- this also sounds like a conversation from parent/teacher conferences and I was once again reminded how much of a kiss a$$ I am).

So as of now I am working on a summary about all the data on lights I have found and presenting some suggestions I have for 8 Northumberland that could potentially increase their sales.

Aside from work, Jeff has also requested that we take a look back on our goals for this trip (we were assigned a Goal Assessment before leaving) and compare them to what has actually happened.

While in London, I have learned so much. Looking back on my goals, many of them still hold true, but I have learned much more than I had expected.

One of the questions that I have now looked at more closely is “what experiences abroad will you intentionally engage in to develop to apply your knowledge and skills in new/broader context?” I responded with “…You learn something new everyday and maybe I can teach someone in London what I have learned in America and vise versa.” And I realize how true that is, and in more ways than one.

Even though London is an English speaking country and has similarities to America (mostly the fact that we both have McDonald’s, Starbucks and KFC- still confused about the KFCs), there is so much that is different. My supervisor, Charlotte, had asked me a couple days ago if people smoked as much in America as they do in London. I immediately answered that we didn’t. That was actually one of the first things I had noticed when first coming to London, how much more popular smoking was here. I had actually seen a “truth.” add before coming to London that said that in 2003 20% of teenagers in America were smokers, and how that number is actually at 8% now. I told Charlotte and the rest of the office about how CVS had even stopped selling cigarettes in their stores (to which they scoffed at because of how that was such an oxymoron that a pharmacy was selling cigarettes in the first place- again, differences). After our little talk about smoking, Charlotte reckoned that America was healthier in that aspect compared to the UK, which was the nicest thing I’ve heard anyone say about America since being here.

There will be times during the day where we pass the time by talking about sports in America and partying in the UK and we compare and talk about slang words. One of the girls in the office, Olivia, showed me what she looked like when she had gotten her Driver’s License picture taken so I returned the favor with showing the office a picture of myself during high school (picture below).

Look at that hair (it unfortunately no longer looks like that, obviously).

So yeah, there have been other learning experiences other than work culture, I’ve learned much about my coworkers as people, not just the salespeople that they are at work, and I’ve taught them a lot about America.

Another one of the questions of the goals assessment was “how will you advance your awareness of global issues and current events?” And it’s like I don’t even have to try to be aware of global issues while here. Just from being on the tube for 10 minutes, I learn more about the world than I ever have in a 10 minute span. Everyone is reading newspapers and the headlines are everywhere. I have learned about the money crisis in Greece, the controversy of Heathrow airport wanting to add a third runway, and about how much the Queen supposedly hates Kate Middleton and her choice of clothing. Just from my job I have learned about the ever changing epidemic of suicides in the UK, Europe, and Asia- which are all far greater than the number of suicides in the US. In just 24 days I know more about the world than I ever have before. Sometimes living in the suburbs of America can make you feel like you’re living in a bubble because unless you expose yourself to world issues you’re not going to know much about them. But here, in London, you really have no choice on what you read/or hear, because its everywhere.

Hayley and I were talking about how fast time has flown while here, but also has seemed to drag on at times. I remember before we had left, I set a countdown until we left and how it never seemed like I’d be leaving home. I also remember the day I got off the plane and set my countdown for when I got to go back home.. 46 days. 46 days seems like a very long time, almost an eternity. I thought to myself “I have all the time in the world,” and now I look back and think how silly it is to think that. 24 days have passed and now I feel like my time is so limited; there is still so much to see and do. But I do know that I have made the most out of the majority of those 24 days, and the next 22 won’t be any different.

Although I am looking forward to returning to America, I know that there is much more to learn in the next 22 days- and many more adventures (like Paris this weekend!).