Field Trip Day or "Quick, Quick Little Bunnies"

As promised - Tales from the Field Trip.

First- the students had to report to depart at 7:45am.  
(Yes there was ample grumbling about the time. The night before one student celebrated her 21st birthday, another group danced till dawn, and Megan and I need to replace a power converter so no coffee for us.  Personally, I was more than a little nervous that the trip wouldn't go as plan, or the students would think it was a waste of time.  We had a little glitch, we were told that Breakfast in the Refectory (cafeteria) started at 7:00; upon arrival, they stated 7:30.  I spoke with the staff, problem solved and I became the hero.  Renee would not let us leave without Breakfast, Mom strikes again.)


Then we walked about 20 minutes to the Overground Station for a 30 minute train ride to meet our guide, Mark.
(Yes, several students would have prefer to take the bus, but I am an obesity researcher - hello.  In our adventure TO the train, several side streets must be navigated.  I allowed several students to walk in front of me [they are all college age], and yes I had to yell to watch out for a car.  At this point I took the lead.  At the next street crossing, I yelled "Quick Quick, Little Bunnies, as I do when getting the Girls quickly across the street.  The Helicopter Mom has returned.  We arrived safely at the station, with all in tow.  From this point forward, the students have listened for "Quick, Quick Little Bunnies" to know when to move.  I joked with them, that if there was an emergency, and I yelled "Quick, Quick Little Bunnies, I would have their attention immediately.  Their response, if they needed me, they would just yell "MOM". )

We met Mark, our guide, for an approximately 4 hour Tour of the Olympic Venues starting with the Olympic Village at Stratford.  The tour was great, espeically when you added Mark's, Megan's and my expertise.  Here are some of the Highlights from my perspective.

• London beat Paris in the Olympic Bid for the 2012 games because of the British plan to reuse the Olympic Venues after the games. Reuse of Venues, and the waste of funds as a result has been a huge problem with past games.
• The Olympic Athletic Stadium will become the West Ham soccer venue, after being refitted.
• It is the first time the Olympics are in East London.  In 1908, and 1948 the games were held in West London.
• London, to date, has spent 9.3 Billion Pounds on the Games.
• There will be approximately 10,000 athletes and 6, 000 trainers in the Olympic Venues, but 20,000 credentialed journalists.
• The Olympic Natatorium, has 2, 50 meeter pools, and a diving well.   The floor of the pools can be raised or lowered to alter the depth and promote optimal hydrodynamics.  
• There are 4 McDonald in the Olympic Village.  One of which is the largest in the world.   McDonald's is a huge sponsor of the games, but again, I am an obesity researcher.
• The Olympic Mascots reflect the UK's rich Olympic and Paralympic histories. Wenlock’s name is inspired by the Shropshire village of Much Wenlock.  There, the idea was formed to have a competition that included sports/skills necessary for soldiers, which in the Modern games has become the Pentathlon.  Mandeville's name is inspired by Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire. The Stoke Mandeville Games, widely recognized as a forerunner of the modern Paralympic movement, were first held at the hospital there. (London2012.com)

After a brief stop for souvenir shopping, we headed to see the Excel Center, or the location of the "contact sports":  Wrestling, Boxing, Judo, Tai quan do, Judo and Table Tennis.  (I can't wait to watch Table Tennis now, if it is considered to Brits to be a contact sport:))   We also saw the O2/North Greenwich Arena, the location of Gymnastics, and some cool bridges.  The tour concluded with a trip over the Thames in a Gondola. 

FREEDOM, or maybe not . . . 

Now at this point, the students were free to explore London.   Apparently, we are a lot of fun because all but 2 followed us to Lunch followed by a tour through the British Museum.  I must admit, I truly enjoyed having them.  They all travel well, (either because of training, or willingness to take directions).  They all were truly excited to be exploring London and they are all bright interesting young people. 

Now comes the funny quirky part of life.  To all  former Flyerettes:  one of my students is from St. Louis.  She asked me where I was from, my response "I went to Lindbergh High School".  (In STL this is often how you sort out home locations.)  Student response: "I know where that is, I was on the Drill Team/Pom Squad/Dance Team at my school.  The Flyerettes were SOOO amazing.  My response: "I was a Flyerette, we won state my senior year for the 10th year in a row."  Small world eh?

Now back to the British Museum.  The Museum has an exhibit of the Olympic Medals.  It was cool to see replicas, the process by which they were made, and how the designs were choosen.  However, I would not have drug all the students there, just for that.   There was also other artifacts from the games throughout the Museum, but not easy to find or a cohesive collection.  All in all, interesting but not the highpoint of the trip.

Students are now saying goodby, slowly, and heading back to campus, except for the "Final Five".  They proceeded to walk another several miles with us to find Oxford Street, more Olympic Stores and NikeTown.  (I side stop was made at a Football Shop for 2 of our "Final Five" who play soccer.) 

9 hours later, back on Campus for dinner.  What a day!!!!!  Tomorrow, back to the classroom.  Next week, we will have another go at the Field Trip, this time to learn to play Cricket.

Cheers.