Last Day!

 ADIOS! wow what a time...i must say quite the culture shock for a kid that has never lived in a town of more than 3000 people...off to Heathrow we go bound for the good ol USA...turns out the trip home would be a bit hairier than the journey over...8 1/2 hour flight to chicago cuz volcanoes on iceland are erupting, 3+ hour layover in chicago because of weather, and finally arriving in denver at 1 am...im so glad i only had to go to cheyenne cuz i heard the bus ride home was a bear sorry :( funny thing tho when i got up monday morning i was watching the news and found out the a tornado had hit missouri and when we were waiting in chicago they wanted to reroute us thru missouri think we dodged a bullet there....

day 13

Crunch time! now its time to take in all the remaining things ive missed out on before tonight...or just pack and go for a walk in the park either way i liked it. tonight is the farewell baquet at the Beefeater by the Tower. wowza how come every meal couldnt be like this. if u want something you bang on the table and scream at the waitress and the food comes in cast iron pots...barbaric but awesome!...after the dinner we returned to the hotel for one last pint at the hotel pub and a good nights sleep to prepare for the trek home....

day 12

TGIF! i didnt think that two weeks would be enough time in london. was i ever wrong. yea i didnt get to see everything i wanted to see but hey that gives me an excuse to return, but as of now im tired of the crowds, the noise, the smells, and the city in general...i cant help it im COUNTRY!...friday we loaded up bound for Cambridge. i was kinda tired of the whole tourist thing so i spent most of the day roaming around trying to find some undiscovered treasure. unfortunately i missed the boat literally and didnt get to go punting but i did get to see some cows grazing in the middle of town which i thought was just as great...pretty nice cattle too even tho they were the wrong color (red)...even though i didnt go punting i had a blast sitting on the bridge watching foreigners trying to control a boat full of passengers with nothing but a long pole to steer with haha...friday night i finally gave into the peer pressure of attending the london club scene. i knew it was going to be a long night when i was asked to check my hat into the coat closet because they are not allowed into the club :/ which i then proceeded to forget there ugh!

day 11

oh what will we do today? its a big secret...unfortunately the secret had already been revealed but thats ok. thursday we went to buckingham palace where we had the honor and privelege to watch the changing of the guard from inside the gates of buckingham palace. i feel very lucky to be part of only the second group that was able to do so. the changing of the guard represents what i think of when i think about British culture and history. its very formal and the grandeur of the entire event is awesome. i hear that the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown is very similar except they dont have 20 lb bearskins on their heads

day 10

ugh cant go to the Supreme Court, but hey can sleep in again. Wednesday afternoon we went to the Magistrates' Court where most minor or misdemeanor cases are handled. here we learned about the concept of lay magistrates and got to observe some court proceedings...i have to say alot like home...too fast to understand what's going on and what's being said. wednesday evening we went on a tour of the white chapel area where the Jack the Ripper murders occured. again would have been alot more fun if we werent surrounded by high rise offices, run down shops, and constant traffic. but nonetheless, it was very interesting and our guide did an awesome job of trying to set a mood despite the forementioned.

Day 9

Prison time! Tuesday we got to spend a morning locked up abroad. we went to HMP Wormwood Scrubs a medium to maximum security prison. by this time i have gathered that the British dont lock up as many people as we do despite their history...weird...and that to get locked up u kinda have to screw up pretty bad. prior to this visit i had been to two other prisons so the idea didnt really envoke any feelings of uneasiness but i must say it was great seeing the looks on the faces of a couple of the omaha students faces when we entered the cell block hahaha! despite the design of the institution i didnt really see a whole lot of difference between american prison and english prison. there were some much more scary individuals at sterling though than at wormwood. the attitudes of the CO's toward the inmates was a little different than that of american CO's. the officer giving our tour if i may quote darren had a more headlocks than hugs mentality.

Monday Monday

week two...we're almost done...monday we went to the Old Bailey in the City of London, which i found out is alot different than the metro of london. the old bailey crown court is where most serious criminal cases are handled. in the basement we got to see the remnants of the old roman wall that used to encapsulate the old city of london. we also got to go into one of the courtrooms and see some barristers and solicitors. fun fact...there is still a shard of glass in one of the walls from an IRA bombing years ago. that afternoon we went on a legal studies walk through where all the barristers offices are...really nice neighborhood. im not that interested in legal studies even though bogner wants me to take the LSAT...yea right...