It's kind of hard to think that I only have 22 more days in London. Sure, I say I'm ready to leave and want to get back home as soon as possible, but in reality, I'm really going to miss London. While school has been a bit stressful at times and I'm definitely ready for a break from tests and papers, I have had the time of my life studying in London. I've gotten to go to so many places and experience so many things that most people will not be able to do in a lifetime. I talk to my grandparents on the phone and tell them about what I've been up to and every time they tell me how lucky I am to be doing something like this. I would always giggle and say, "yeah, you're right, I am lucky," but I never really appreciated their words until now. With less than a month to go, I've finally been realizing what a blessing this has been.
In a matter of months, I've been able to go to Bath, Stonehenge, York, Scotland, many fascinating museums and several other important places. I've learned a great deal on the economy of Europe as well as information on science and technology that shaped the world in which I live. While I most likely will not employ this information in my professional life, I'm still grateful that I got the opportunity to be exposed to this world of information as it has molded me into a more knowledgeable and sophisticated young adult. I'll be able to engage in conversations concerning this material and will be able to give first hand accounts as examples. Not a lot of people have been given an opportunity like this, and because of that I'm eternally grateful.
Outside of school trips I've been to Wales, Dublin, Paris, Geneva, Interlacken, Milan, Venice, Vienna and Amsterdam. I've become quite the experienced traveler and I'm only 20 years old. I know I've already said this but people go their entire lives and don't get the chance to visit a quarter as many countries as I already have. The fact that I'm only 20 and still have a (hopefully) long life ahead of me to travel, I can't express my sheer amazement that I actually got the magnificent opportunity to study abroad in a foreign country.
I have so many people to thank for this milestone in my life. First I have to thank my parents so incredibly much for supplying much of the finances. Without their help and support I would not have gotten to do this. I must also thank my family and friends for supporting my decision and helping me through the rough times while I've been away from home. I must also, of course, thank you, professors, for taking us to the many places you have and opening us all up to a new world of information. You have broaden my horizons on life and society and helped me become the person I am today. Thank you so much.
I'm looking forward to spending the rest of my college career back at Bucknell, but nothing can replace my time here in London; I will never forget my study abroad experience. I've become a different and better person as a result of this experience, and have also created strong-bonds to the people who embarked on this expedition with me. These next three weeks are going to fly by, but I know I will always remember the memories made, the information learned, and the places visited.
Sunday, 18 November 2007
Thursday, 15 November 2007
Imperial War Museum
On Thursday November 8, the Bucknell in London group toured the Imperial War Museum. Even before I walked into the building I knew it was going to be an interesting place; this was signaled by the huge gun/cannon and bomb shells situated directly in front of the entrance.
While walking through this enormous building and viewing the many exhibitions and artifacts concerning WWI and WWII, I found myself particularly interested in The Children's War exhibit. This fascinating area of the museum described in detail the second World War through the eyes of the children in Britain. It was absolutely amazing and extremely moving at the same time to listen to people's (now in old age) first-hand accounts of what it was like to live through WWII, and to also learn fascinating information on every aspect of life during this time.
Two things moved me deeply within The Children's War. The first was the sight of mannequins, resembling small children and infants, in gas masks. Every person in Britain owned a gas mask and was required to wear it during WWII; what touched me was seeing the little babies and small children with this huge apparatus on their head. I can't even imagine what it must have been like to be required to wear gas masks everywhere I went for fear of an air raid preventing my ability to breath. This must have been incredibly frightening for small children, especially since they lacked the capacity and maturity to fully understand the situation surrounding them. It was just so incredibly sad to walk through the exhibit, see the mannequins and experience what they had to endure.
The second was reading an original letter a couple sent to their daughter whom they sent to Canada to live with her aunt during the war and the accompanying newspaper article which described a fatal train wreck in which the daughter died while on her way to Canada. What upset me the most was reading the letter and realizing that the daughter would never get the chance to read it. The letter included details about how the couple missed her and couldn't wait to see her and also stated that they were sending care-packages soon full of her favorite things. To read the letter and then the article moved me to tears; imagine the shock and extreme sadness the couple had to endure when they received a letter that said there had been a fatal train wreck which was on its way to Canada and their child could not be accounted for. How horrible. What's even sadder is that these parents were not the only ones to receive such a letter by any stretch of the imagination; thousands of small, innocent children lost their lives during WWII and just as many depressing letters were sent to anxious parents.
Besides the aforementioned artifacts, I was also very interested in learning about the work the children did during WWII. This subject was not only fascinating but also ties in with the economics theme of our common course, as what the children did during this time greatly affected the British Economy. During the war, nearly 80% of boys and 70% of girls between the ages of 14 and 17 were in full-time employment. They worked in agriculture, in offices and the major industries such as engineering, aircraft production, shipbuilding and vehicle manufacture. From 1941 all those aged between 16 and 18 were required to register for some form of national service, even if they had a full-time job. At 18, boys received their call-up papers for the armed forces. By 1944, one in ten of them was required to work in coal mines as 'Bevin Boys.' Girls were also conscripted when they turned 18, and either joined one of the women's auxiliary services or undertook other essential war work. Younger children were expected to do their bit by salvaging scrap metal, paper, glass and waste food for recycling. They also raised money for munitions, knitted 'comforts' for the troops, and were encouraged to 'Dig for Victory' in gardens and allotments. As dangerous as it was, children of Britain were greatly involved in the war and offered their services wherever needed. Their work not only supported their troops but also helped to maintain the already severly damaged economy.
Another piece of sad information I must share was the youngest victim of the air raids, who happened to be only 11 hours old. Thousands upon thousands of children were killed or injured during these attacks; its such a shame that their young and promising lives had to be ended in such a cruel and unncessary way.
All of the other exhibitions within the Imperial War Museum were fascinating and/or moving in their own respects, but I was especially drawn to The Children's War exhibit. Overall I must say that I learned a great amount of valuable information about the twentieth century's wars. I can't wait to share this information with my grandfather who served in the American Army and was on duty in England and France (Storming of Normandy) during WWII.
While walking through this enormous building and viewing the many exhibitions and artifacts concerning WWI and WWII, I found myself particularly interested in The Children's War exhibit. This fascinating area of the museum described in detail the second World War through the eyes of the children in Britain. It was absolutely amazing and extremely moving at the same time to listen to people's (now in old age) first-hand accounts of what it was like to live through WWII, and to also learn fascinating information on every aspect of life during this time.
Two things moved me deeply within The Children's War. The first was the sight of mannequins, resembling small children and infants, in gas masks. Every person in Britain owned a gas mask and was required to wear it during WWII; what touched me was seeing the little babies and small children with this huge apparatus on their head. I can't even imagine what it must have been like to be required to wear gas masks everywhere I went for fear of an air raid preventing my ability to breath. This must have been incredibly frightening for small children, especially since they lacked the capacity and maturity to fully understand the situation surrounding them. It was just so incredibly sad to walk through the exhibit, see the mannequins and experience what they had to endure.
The second was reading an original letter a couple sent to their daughter whom they sent to Canada to live with her aunt during the war and the accompanying newspaper article which described a fatal train wreck in which the daughter died while on her way to Canada. What upset me the most was reading the letter and realizing that the daughter would never get the chance to read it. The letter included details about how the couple missed her and couldn't wait to see her and also stated that they were sending care-packages soon full of her favorite things. To read the letter and then the article moved me to tears; imagine the shock and extreme sadness the couple had to endure when they received a letter that said there had been a fatal train wreck which was on its way to Canada and their child could not be accounted for. How horrible. What's even sadder is that these parents were not the only ones to receive such a letter by any stretch of the imagination; thousands of small, innocent children lost their lives during WWII and just as many depressing letters were sent to anxious parents.
Besides the aforementioned artifacts, I was also very interested in learning about the work the children did during WWII. This subject was not only fascinating but also ties in with the economics theme of our common course, as what the children did during this time greatly affected the British Economy. During the war, nearly 80% of boys and 70% of girls between the ages of 14 and 17 were in full-time employment. They worked in agriculture, in offices and the major industries such as engineering, aircraft production, shipbuilding and vehicle manufacture. From 1941 all those aged between 16 and 18 were required to register for some form of national service, even if they had a full-time job. At 18, boys received their call-up papers for the armed forces. By 1944, one in ten of them was required to work in coal mines as 'Bevin Boys.' Girls were also conscripted when they turned 18, and either joined one of the women's auxiliary services or undertook other essential war work. Younger children were expected to do their bit by salvaging scrap metal, paper, glass and waste food for recycling. They also raised money for munitions, knitted 'comforts' for the troops, and were encouraged to 'Dig for Victory' in gardens and allotments. As dangerous as it was, children of Britain were greatly involved in the war and offered their services wherever needed. Their work not only supported their troops but also helped to maintain the already severly damaged economy.
Another piece of sad information I must share was the youngest victim of the air raids, who happened to be only 11 hours old. Thousands upon thousands of children were killed or injured during these attacks; its such a shame that their young and promising lives had to be ended in such a cruel and unncessary way.
All of the other exhibitions within the Imperial War Museum were fascinating and/or moving in their own respects, but I was especially drawn to The Children's War exhibit. Overall I must say that I learned a great amount of valuable information about the twentieth century's wars. I can't wait to share this information with my grandfather who served in the American Army and was on duty in England and France (Storming of Normandy) during WWII.
Tuesday, 6 November 2007
Bank of England
The Bank of England was established by an Act of Parliament in 1694. Since its beginning, the Bank (as it is known in British financial circles) has been extremely important in supporting Britain's economic growth. There are many ways in which it does this; below is a list of five major roles the Bank plays:
1. One of its major priorities is to maintain monetary stability. The first objective of any central bank is to safeguard the value of the currency in terms of what it will purchase at home and in terms of other currencies. To achieve this, the Bank sets a monetary policy to provide a framework for non-inflationary economic growth. The monetary policy in the UK operates mainly through influencing the price of money, in other words the interest rate. It is the Bank's responsibility to decide on the level of short-term interest rates necessary to meet the Government's inflation target, which is currently around 2%.
2. Another way the Bank supports Britain's economic growth is by maintaining its financial stability. To do this, the overall system must be safe and secure and all threats to financial stability must be detected and reduced; the Bank must make sure that these two objectives are met. It does so by monitoring and analyzing the behavior of participants in the financial system and the wider financial and economic environment. Also, by overseeing the payment and settlement systems, the Bank makes sure that the banking system as a whole flows smoothly.
3. The Bank also acts as a "lender of last resort" to financial institutions in difficulty by lending them tax payers' money in order to prevent a loss of confidence spreading through the financial system as a whole. This supports economic growth by ensuring against crisis and making sure the system remains stable.
4. Reliance by government on the Bank for economic growth and stability has developed from the 18th century. As such, the Bank acts as banker to the government and keeps the main government accounts, receives tax revenues, and facilitates payments in respect of government expenditure.
5. The last role (for this list) that the Bank plays in supporting Britain's economic growth is acting as the care-taker of the nation's gold supply. Although Britain's gold and foreign exchange reserves were transferred to the Treasury, their day-to-day management was and still is handled by the Bank.
1. One of its major priorities is to maintain monetary stability. The first objective of any central bank is to safeguard the value of the currency in terms of what it will purchase at home and in terms of other currencies. To achieve this, the Bank sets a monetary policy to provide a framework for non-inflationary economic growth. The monetary policy in the UK operates mainly through influencing the price of money, in other words the interest rate. It is the Bank's responsibility to decide on the level of short-term interest rates necessary to meet the Government's inflation target, which is currently around 2%.
2. Another way the Bank supports Britain's economic growth is by maintaining its financial stability. To do this, the overall system must be safe and secure and all threats to financial stability must be detected and reduced; the Bank must make sure that these two objectives are met. It does so by monitoring and analyzing the behavior of participants in the financial system and the wider financial and economic environment. Also, by overseeing the payment and settlement systems, the Bank makes sure that the banking system as a whole flows smoothly.
3. The Bank also acts as a "lender of last resort" to financial institutions in difficulty by lending them tax payers' money in order to prevent a loss of confidence spreading through the financial system as a whole. This supports economic growth by ensuring against crisis and making sure the system remains stable.
4. Reliance by government on the Bank for economic growth and stability has developed from the 18th century. As such, the Bank acts as banker to the government and keeps the main government accounts, receives tax revenues, and facilitates payments in respect of government expenditure.
5. The last role (for this list) that the Bank plays in supporting Britain's economic growth is acting as the care-taker of the nation's gold supply. Although Britain's gold and foreign exchange reserves were transferred to the Treasury, their day-to-day management was and still is handled by the Bank.
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