A group of Banks County High School students visited London during spring break.
There were 18 students and three adults on the trip. The students were: Chelsea Grogan, Addison King, Jayda Richey, Samantha Steverson, Rebecca Wylie, Jessie McCall, Shayla Enman, Angie Nguyen, Brian Linn, Trey Martin, Savannah Blalock, Megan Ward, Faith Turk, Viet Pham, Kassie Martin, Tori Smallwood, Austin Smith and Asa Hubbard. Adults on the trip were Pamela Wisecup, Jerry King and Robert Wisecup.
Of the 18 students, 16 of them chose to do the trip for class credit. They get one semester credit of a social studies academic elective for the trip. They are required to do pre-trip and post-trip class meetings and assignments.
The students say it was an incredible opportunity and they were all glad that they went.
On Sunday, the first day of their journey, it was a travel day filled with airplanes. The students flew from Atlanta to Chicago and then from Chicago to London. The flight was around eight hours. The students say it seemed incredibly long, but most everyone did well.
When the students arrived Monday morning, they started exploring London. The first thing they noticed was that they drive on the opposite side of the road than in the United States. Their steering wheels are on the right side instead of the left.
The students traveled through a high school program with EF Educational Tours. Their EF director's name was Kay. She met the students at the airport, then took them to Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus. In order to get there, the students rode the underground station for the first time.
When the students got to Trafalgar Square, they found it was a very crowded area. The square is used for many events from rallies, demonstrations, filming movies, and photography shoots. It dates back nearly 200 years. It was first constructed in the 1800s. In the center, there are huge lions. The group saw many little kids climbing on them and parents snapping their pictures.
When the group arrived at Piccadilly Circus, some of the students thought it looked like the New York Square. There were hundreds of people walking around.
For lunch, the students went to a pub, which are what restaurants are called. Two of the students shared a plate of nachos. The report that they were good, but not like nachos served in the United States. Their chips had pepper and other spices on them, unlike the ones served in the United States that have salt.
After lunch, the students continued walking around checking out the area and then went to supper. Some of the students had fish and chips, but others didn’t want fish so they got a veggie burger. The fish didn’t really have a fish taste to it, and the chips were also good, the students report. The chips are what Americans call french fries. Many said the veggie burger wasn’t very good, but the dessert made up for it. Some of the students said that it may have been the best piece of cake they had ever had. That night, the group went to the hotel to get rested up for the second day in London.
