Urban Theory and More!

This week was really great! I loved it for several reasons.

Lecture from Rice University
Dr. Emerson, a sociology professor from Rice, was here the entire week. He gave lectures on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. His lectures were about urbanization and urban theory. They were really great because they helped me put a lot of things into perspective. I'm seeing all these great things about the city of London, ranging from the fascinating transportation system to the upcoming excitement of the Olympic games. But now I can reflect about these great things using urban theory. For example, there is an important theory called the "growth mechanism," primarily by urban sociologists Logan and Molotch. They argue that cities grow because certain important actors, such as entrepreneurs and politicians adopt pro-growth policies. All growth is good! This made me think of the reasons behind the Olympic bid. In reality, it is being used to redevelop (grow) an area that is prime but currently destitute. I found the lectures extremely helpful and informative. I really wish Dr. Emerson could have stayed longer. Truly,  I learned more with him in three lectures than I have with CAPA for a whole month. Hearing a Rice professor lecture was a breath of fresh air and I appreciated it greatly.

Rice University Global Urban Lab students with Dr. Emerson

Internship Update
My internship is going great too! This week I did more work on projects for the Diversity Unit, regarding the Equality Act. I'm also in the process of listening to a 2hr debate between the parties that was held in the House of Commons a few weeks ago. I need to listen to it and summarize it for my site supervisor. I have found it really interesting so far!
I also got to go to a meeting for the entire headquarters. The chief of staff talked about the stances and priorities of the party, as well as some of the current challenges. He then asked every person individually what he or she thought his priority should be as new chief of staff. I was surprised that we wanted to hear everyone's opinion, and that he wrote everyone down. I was even more surprised when he asked for my opinion as well, even though I'm an intern and I haven't been there very long. Also, at the end of the meeting, he had all the new people introduce themselves, including myself. So I got up and told everyone my name, what office I was interning with, what I was working on, and where I was from. I appreciated the way everyone made me feel welcome and included. I certainly appreciated the chief of staff's way of talking to everyone, whether you had been there for years or for days.

Churchill War Rooms
On Friday I signed up with CAPA to go on an outing to the Churchill War Rooms, which are part of the Imperial War Museum. The are located just across the street from the Houses of Parliament, almost next to the Liberal Democrats office.
I really loved this museum! Mostly because I was a fan of Churchill before, but I honestly did not really know him well, apart from the fact that he was a great leader during World War II. I learned about his political style, the reasons behind it, his policies and ideas, his personality and the type of true leader that he was. He truly was insightful and wise. Being a leader is challenging, but the challenges he faced during war time were even greater. Yet he persevered using his wisdom and knowledge, and he became a true inspiration for the UK and the allies. I admire him even more now.
I also really enjoyed touring the war rooms. This was were Churchill and the War Cabinet met for weeks at a time to make important decisions about the war. It was essentially a bomb shelter in the basement of a building. Luckily, they never received a direct hit during the bleitz from the Germans.

At then end of the museum, I bought a small book about him titled All Will Be Well: Good Advice from Winston Churchill. It has some wonderful quotes and tidbits about him.

The War Rooms: how the looked during WWII (photo credit Angie Bautista Chavez)

Tracking the War (photo credit Angie Bautista-Chavez)

London Aquarium
On Saturday it was Angie's 21st birthday! Happy Birthday Angie!
To celebrate, we decided to go to the aquarium, which is located right next to the London Eye. We went because Angie loves sharks. She LOVES them. And the aquarium had just opened up a new exhibit featuring large sharks! So it was perfect.
I really love aquariums, so I had a very good time. I saw lots of beautiful creatures, including penguins, poison dart frogs, jellyfish, and sea horses. But more importantly, I learned how endangered some of these wonderful animals are and what one can do to help protect them. It is a shame that millions of sharks are killed to make shark fin soup in Asian countries, or that thousands of tiny sea horses are dried out in the sun to make souvenirs for tourists :(
I appreciated all of the conservation efforts that the museum is doing, plus the way it educates tourists about the dangers sea life faces.