"Live from London" by MB Farley
As published in The Valley Mirror on November 11, 2010
As published in The Valley Mirror on November 11, 2010
Walking around London, you never know what you’re going to find. I’ve experienced this first hand by coming upon at least four new things in the past two weeks. I think that I finally have a decent grip of the city – I can tell you, without looking at a map, how to get from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace. I can’t however tell you exactly what you’re going to find when you get there.
Last week, a friend of mine from Villanova came to visit me in London. She’s studying in Geneva, Switzerland and has never been to London, so I decided to show her around. After seeing the famous sights in Westminster, we decided to wander around and see what we’d find. An hour later, we found ourselves in Trafalgar Square, a large square in central London that contains multiple statues and fountains.
I’d been there many times before, but this time was different. My friend and I had wandered into Trafalgar Square during the Hindu celebration of Diwali. Diwali, the festival of lights, is a five day celebration and major Hindu holiday. Never having seen the celebration before, I was in awe of this brilliant spectacle. I can’t say exactly, but it seemed as if there were hundreds of people there. The entire square was filled with people dancing, singing, clapping and watching the on-stage dance performance. We sampled some food and watched the light show before taking the Tube back to my flat. It was amazing to experience a new religious and cultural celebration in London.
There is an infinite mix of cultures in London. Religious traditions such as Diwali make up the culture, but there are also royal traditions from English history that add to the culture. Just this weekend, my mother and two of my aunts came to visit me and we witnessed one of England’s famous traditions, the changing of the guards a Buckingham Palace.
After riding a double decker bus around London, we stopped at Buckingham Palace and took a short informational tour which explained exactly what happens during the guard change. Every 48 hours, there is a short ceremony in which the guardsmen who are on duty change positions with the guards who are off duty. The guardsmen are members of five different regiments of the British Army: Scots Guards, Irish Guards, Welsh Guards, Grenadier Guards and Coldstream Guards. Not only do these soldiers guard Buckingham Palace, but they guard other palaces in London as well. My family and I watched the guards change at Buckingham Palace, home to Queen Elizabeth II and St. James’s Palace, home to Charles Prince of Wales.
We took in all of this information as we watched the Scots guards follow a band and march toward the Palace. As I watched the guardsmen change, I looked around and saw hundreds of people watching the same thing that I was watching. Cameras flashed as the guardsmen followed orders and took their positions to guard Buckingham Palace.
London is a very exciting city to live in. Each day I interact with many different people that each have their own story. I can walk down the street and experience both the culture and the history of the city. I’m learning valuable lessons and many things about myself. Although I miss West Homestead, I’m enjoying my time in London. Coming to London to study was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
