Week One Observations

Week One

Class Activity Observations

            I really enjoyed our classroom activities this week, both the Bank of England Museum and meeting with Chief Fyfe and Mr. Cowan. Last semester I took Macroeconomics so I thought it was particularly interesting to see what I had learned in the classroom applied directly to economics in England. Then regarding our meeting I noted a couple things. First was that during our meeting Chief Fyfe was very reserved. Since we only met with one person (Chief Fyfe) I would think it would be interesting to know whether this was just a personal aspect of Chief Fyfe, or just a general way within London culture. Furthermore I thought it very interesting to learn the scale to which economic crime is committed and that the most likely individuals are middle age people generally businessmen or women going through a mid-life crisis. Other than that I thought it might be good to note that the information materials and videos you showed us in class were also very good.

Overall Experience Observations

            I’ve been to two other countries besides London, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, and out of the three London was initially the most lack luster for me given that it varies least from the U.S. However everyday I am here I like it more and more! Some of the cultural differences I have picked up on include the fashion, food and transportation. In America I think it’s normal to on a daily basis if you went out see someone in sweatpants or athletic wear or something along those lines. In London though I find this not to be the case, most people look nice and would never wear sweat pants out or athletic wear outside the gym it seems. Food here also is slightly different I find. While it does vary by what types of foods, I also feel that the food here is fresher and not as processed. Also I see considerably less fast food restaurants. Lastly there is a major difference in transportation. London has an amazing public transportation infrastructure. Almost every place is accessible without a car. That is kind of crazy I think, given that at home I would feel stranded without a car!