Pathologies Walking Tour and Post-Program Adventures
March 15th, 2023
Class Journal Prompt Response #2
I wouldn’t say I experienced culture shock on this trip, probably because everyone spoke the same language that I did, and the major things were not much different. However, there are some small cultural differences I made note of, including:
London is a very clean city for how huge and packed it is, but there are relatively few public trash cans. On me and Bryce’s self-guided walking tour before the program started on Sunday, I had to carry around my empty coffee cup for practically the whole time because I never really came across a trash can, until we got to the park near Buckingham Palace. This isn’t really a major thing by any means, just something interesting that I noted.
One common introduction or greeting is “You alright?” as opposed to “How are you?” or something like that used a lot in the US. Again, nothing major here, but just an interesting, small difference from the US and especially the Midwest.
I also noticed how a lot of the museums in London are free admission with some paid exhibits inside, though entrance to the museums are often no charge. I don’t know of any large, prominent museum in the US that offers free admission. We have student discounts and things, like at Newfield’s Art Museum in Indianapolis, but a lot of things cost to enter. I could make a comment on how this is sort of gatekeeping a piece of education in a way, but I will save that for another blog at another time.
Bryce and I at the fountain in Trafalgar Square, waiting for our walking tour to start.
Pathologies Walking Tour
This walking tour was one of my favorite activities during the week. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable but also incredibly engaging with how he approached each site and topic. The last three stops on the tour were key locations related to the Ghost Map and the cholera outbreak in the 1850s. Before that though, we stopped at so many locations that had history related to public health. A lot of unsuspecting buildings were actual rich in their historical significance and I learned a lot on this tour.
My favorite stop was at the Florence Nightingale statue. Previously, I had not known much about her other than her significance in the nursing realm. I learned a ton about her on this tour and have come to really respect and appreciate all her work. She was hugely influential in improving hygiene conditions in so many environments, such as in “poor houses” and military camps. She often blackmailed prominent English government officials to improve the conditions of these places and played a very important role in turning the tide on hygiene. History often portrays her as a timid, kind, gentle nurse when in reality she played a much larger role and was far from a timid nurse. The men who couldn’t control her or dampen her influence had a hand in how she is portrayed historically. I am glad I know pieces of her real story; she is certainly a woman to look up to.
On the very last stop of the walking tour, we saw the site of the Broad Street water pump, which was the site of the cholera accumulation during the outbreak in the 1850s. What we actually saw and took pictures of was a replica, while the exact site of the actual pump stood only a few feet away. It was surreal standing in the spot that caused that major cholera outbreak in Soho, London. We read The Ghost Map, written by Steven Johnson, which detailed the outbreak and mapped out where it started, who it affected, and the main people involved in solving this early epidemiology case. Seeing it in person made it feel like I was launched back to 1850s Soho, waiting to see John Snow or Reverend Henry Whitehead walk past hot on the trail of the cholera outbreak.
Post-Programming for the Day
Me and Bryce got lunch at an Indian restaurant after the walking tour concluded. It was delicious, as expected. After we finished, we walked to the original Twinings tea shop and tasted a few teas, which felt great after such a long day walking in the cold weather. Bryce ended up buying two boxes of this chai tea, which was probably the best chai tea I had ever had. It was strong and delicious, almost like a dessert when mixed with milk.
After the tea store, we stopped at the Dr. Marten’s store so I could feed my shoe addiction. I bought a pair of mule style docs that I had been eyeing for over a year at that point. When I first saw them on social media, they were not available in the US so what better time to finally buy them than in London? Not to mention they were also cheaper than the ones that eventually released in the US.
When we eventually got back to our hotel, we were drained. The cold weather and long day of walking took it out of us. We got another meal deal for dinner and stayed in to recuperate that night, which I think was very necessary if we wanted to be well for the rest of the week’s programming. I sat in bed, drank some tea, and journaled before going to sleep. All in all, one of the best days of the trip.