Study Abroad Class of 2013

Thanks so much to the wonderful students of the 2013 LONDON:ENG 331 class.

Adam, Alex, Aniket, Ashleigh, Brittany, Johnny, Jose, Katie, Leah, Luke, Michael, Robert, Sunni, and Thomas, you were a fantastic group to take to London. I appreciated your adventurous spirit and I enjoyed reading your TWP posts and hearing the stories of your travels and experiences.

Thanks for staying safe, making good choices, paying attention, and being excellent representatives of NC State and the U.S.

Final Project

As the final project for LONDON: ENG 331, the students collaborated on a report about what they have learned about professional communication from the class and from the site visits.

The report was a massive undertaking--trying to consolidate 5 weeks of information into a report with 14 authors is a difficult challenge. However, after brainstorming together (see http://london-eng331.blogspot.com/2013/07/collaboration-project.html ) the students had a great plan to focus on three main ideas. They used Google docs to flesh out the report and then formatted off line.

I was very pleased with the work they did and with the lessons they learned. It has been a great summer with these students and I feel lucky to have worked with them this year.

Farewell Dinner

The General Studies group and the LONDON: ENG 331 group enjoyed a meal together at Coco Momo on Gloucester Road. Food was good. Company was good. And Larry Neilsen even gave a quick speech.

PROMS

Michael's exeperience at PROMS

I had the pleasure of attending a concert at the Royal Albert Hall of Music. Since learning that I would be studying in London during the prestigious BBC Proms concert series, I have been determined to find tickets for at least one of the fantastic events. 

When leafing through the Proms booklet, which outlines each day’s concert and the music to be performed, I was immediately drawn to one of the “Late Night Proms” where a group called Naturally 7 was to perform. Most of the Proms concerts feature symphonic and classical pieces performed by celebrated musicians and orchestras, but this one appeared to be quite different. 

Hailing from New York, Naturally 7, is a group built upon the power of the human voice and its many capabilities. I have always loved and appreciated good music, no matter the style or performer, yet I have developed a growing passion of a capella music since I joined an a capella performance group in high school. A capella music is an ancient musical practice utilizing only the human voice to produce sound, without the assistance of any instruments whatsoever. Its modern practice dates back to 14^th century France, when street performers realized the capabilities to which they could train their voices. When you strip away the instrumental accompaniment, it is truly amazing how the human voice can be used to replicate and enhance the sound of an existing song, or even create new ones. 

At the concert tonight, Naturally 7 described their style as ‘vocal play’, where each member of the septet replicated an instrument or vocal line to create harmony and melody. I was blown away at how the group was able to incorporate DJ scratching, percussion, harmonica, brass, and electric and bass guitars into their musical arrangements– doing so naturally, with just their voices. The group performed its own original material as well as magnificent arrangements of iconic hits, including George Harrison’s ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’, Phil Collins’s ‘In the Air Tonight’, and Coldplay’s ‘Fix You.’ They explored Hip-Hop, R&B, and gospel music, sometimes all within the same song, to provide the crowd with a diverse flavor of their many talents. 

As someone who has participated in an a capella group comprised of nearly 30 people, it is breathtaking what these seven men were able to accomplish on stage. To sum up the talent on stage tonight is nearly impossible and just not fair to the musicians who have trained for over a decade to provide the quality of music presented at the Royal Albert Hall tonight. 

Aside from the fantastic music that Naturally 7 presented tonight, it was difficult not to be moved by the beauty and grandiosity of the concert venue itself. I have never experienced a musical venue so well thought out and executed, with respect to the acoustic profile. Throughout the concert, the music was magically amplified and created an awe-inspiring atmosphere. The concert tonight marks a wonderful end to what has been an amazing experience in London, and I hope that I will be able to return to the Royal Albert Hall for the fantastic BBC Proms series again in the future.

Ice Bar

Brittany's reflections

As a material science engineering major, I was really interested in going to the Ice Bar while in London. Three of us went on a Wednesday evening to the Ice Bar down off of Regent St. Just getting there was an adventure. The actual Ice Hotel is in a very fancy part of the Oxford Circus area. There was a string quartet playing when we walked down the alley and we saw many people dressed in business formal attire. We had definitely turned the corner into an alleyway of class without even knowing it was back there originally. I have walked down Regent St. many times over the past 5 weeks and have never noticed the small area until now. We arrived a bit late, but the bouncer let us in. It was so remarkable to see. Everything, and I mean everything, was made of ice. The bar was set at -9 °C and the walls, bar, and benches were frozen solid. The employees gave us large parkas with attached mittens to keep us warm. At first, the bar seemed very refreshing, but then it became a tad unbearable at the end. Our noses were almost chilled and my fingers were feeling numb. Each session is only 40 minutes long but we only stayed in for an estimated 25 minutes. We also received a free cocktail upon entry. All the drinks were served in solid cube glasses! It was amazing to see how many people came out to see the attraction and how they brought it together. Pictures outside of the bar in the waiting room displayed screenshots of the Ice Bar being completed. My favorite part had to be an ice carving of the world inside a cube of ice. It’s unreal to see how creative people can be when they put their mind to it. It was also fascinating as a material science major to see how they kept the bar at optimal temperatures and how the ice could remain so solid within the walls surrounded by body heat.

Adam's Reflections

THE ICE BAR! The legend and the myth that contains ice everything. Ice cups, ice bar (obviously), ice walls, ice seats, ice sculptures, the whole nine yards. I am here to tell you it’s not just a myth, it’s a real place. Along with a few of my classmates, I made my way to the Ice Bar without making a reservation and it actually worked out better this way. We arrived at the bar around 8:15pm, which was 15 minutes into the current 45 minute session. So we either had to wait for the next session, or go in late. We made a group choice to go in late. Once we stepped to the preparation area we were greeted by a man with a parka ready for us. This was pretty cool because it was all one piece with a hood and gloves attached, may have been a little thing but I loved the hood. Once we made it inside it was automatically noticeable that the HVAC system was the main reason this was all possible. It was blowing constantly, and I am sure it was hitting all sides of the wall to make sure the walls stay up. The walls were interesting because they had cool markings inside of the ice walls. This is something I had never seen before. Overall it was an experience that I am glad I had because it was all new to me. I recommend it. And it worked out because by the end of the 30 minutes we were finished with our complimentary drinks and started to get cold for sure.

Ireland

Ashleigh's reflections

From July 26^th to 29^th I went with a group of students to Ireland. We took a train and ferry there Thursday night and arrived in Dublin Friday morning. 

Friday we took a nap on a Trinity College playing field and went on a walking tour of Dublin. On this walking tour we visited different areas of Dublin from Christ Church to Dublin Castle to Dubh Linn. 

Saturday, we took a tour through our hostel of Western Ireland to the Cliffs of Moher. On this tour we got to visit a small seaside town, a church/graveyard in the mountains, Black Head, Doolin, and the Cliffs of Moher. The countryside was absolutely stunning and the cliffs were amazing. 

Sunday, a group of us decided to try and go cliff jumping, so we looked up a place online. We took a bus to Cork where we had lunch before taking a bus to Kinsale and then catching a cab to take us to the cliffs. Unfortunately, due to the low tide, we were unable to jump, so instead we climbed down and walked out on the rocks. We got to explore a cave that would normally be underwater and jump off the rocks a few feet into the ocean, so while not exactly what we were looking for it was still a lot of fun. 

On the final day I decided to walk around Dublin some more. I got to visit St. Patrick’s Cathedral and walk around the gardens outside. Overall it was a wonderful trip and I believe anyone who can, should defiantly visit Ireland. I would not however spend much time visiting Dublin, but instead the countryside.

Sunni's Reflections

This past weekend, a group of us were lucky enough to be able to travel to Dublin, Ireland. Getting there was a big challenge for us because we waited too long to get a cheap flight, so we ended up taking the tube to a train to a ferry, and arrived in Dublin at 6 am on Friday morning. After a full day of tours and sight seeing, we decided as a group to go out into the country side and try to see parts of the western coast of Ireland while we were there. The weather forecast for Saturday seemed the most promising, so instead of trying to arrange everything for 10 people by ourselves, we booked a tour through Paddy’s Palace.

The tour started at the crack of dawn Saturday morning —7:40am to be exact. We loaded into the bus and took off for the west coast. I thought that it was amazing to be able to travel from the east to west coast in 3 hours. We can’t even drive across North Carolina that quickly. Everything in Europe in so much smaller than what I am accustomed to. We made several stops along the way, picking up more people and having lunch in a small touristy village on the coast. Finally, in the afternoon we made it to the big attraction – the Cliffs of Moher! I had been waiting years to see them and not even the small drizzle could dampen my mood that day. Luckily, the rain cleared up and we were able to take some amazing pictures of the views. Looking back at those pictures, I don’t think that they accurately depict the beauty of the cliffs. Nothing will ever compare to actually being there and seeing them myself. It always amazes me how beautiful the world is in which we live, and I am so happy that I had the chance to see these cliffs while I was in Ireland!

Strata SE1

All modern London architecture is nicknamed based on appearance and it is by this name that it is most often known. The building I went to is called the Lipstick or, the one I prefer, the Electric Razor. Its official name is the Strata SE1 and it is the first residential skyscraper of its kind. 

Upon looking at it your eyes are immediately drawn to the three propellors that are built into the top of the building. These are wind turbines that generate enough electricity to power the buildings main utilities including the lifts running up and down the 48 floors and the common areas. This energy produced is just over 10% of the total energy requirements of the building. This is enough though to set the Razor apart from other residential and lower the energy costs by 40% of the typical British living quarters. 

Coincidentally to my interest in this building I actually visited Brookfield Multilex, the management company that held the design and build contract for Strata. It was interesting to actually see some of the behind the scenes for a project that will long be part of the London skyline. When the project was completed, it won numerous awards based on its sustainability and structural design bringing it to the forefront of Brookfield Multiplex's impressive resume. Though its initial sustainability reports are not conclusive, the building is on track to meet most of the primary predictions. Renewable energy once again showcased in London.