The month of December my friends and I had a gigantic detour from our planned itinerary. Originally, after Thailand we were going to fly to Africa and spend the month in Swaziland but Thailand did not cooperate with us. Protesting began at the airport the day before our scheduled flight. We were delayed over a week and still had no idea when we would be able to fly to Africa. So basically, the only way we could leave Thailand in time to still do some volunteer work for the month of December was to fly to London. So, cheers! Here we are in London! It has been a completely different month than we ever expected to have on this adventure, but it has been such a breath of fresh air. We were able to enjoy the holidays in a beautiful Western culture and fall in love with the British people.

I had no idea how diverse London was till I arrived. This is literally the melting pot for the entire world. I cannot walk down the street without hearing 5 different languages within a 30 second time span. I have loved being back in a country where the common language is English but it would be a lie to say I have not had some communication problems. Just part of the fun I suppose!

This month we got to know the people of London. We spent time serving the locals and trying to build relationships. We attended a conference that educated us about the diversity, different cultures, and religions around the world. We also attended Speaker’s Corner multiple times here, which is a landmark for the city. It is a forum where people of all backgrounds can openly and honestly debate topics of all including politics, religion, etc. It was so amazing to see people from all over the world passionately debate different topics in a positive way. It has been a month of my eyes being opened to different people groups and cultures from all over the world. One morning I had a discussion with a man from Turkey and by the afternoon was having lunch with a teenager from Palestine. That is the great thing about London, it seems like the world is a part of the city.

Since this has been a different month for me, I wanted this blog to be a little different as well. I did not work alongside an environmental or humanitarian group but I still wanted you to learn about London – learn about who the people of London are. They are diverse and they are beautiful. I found an awesome organization for students that have many of the same core values as Captain Planet. It is called People & Planet. It is the largest, student network in Britain campaigning to end world poverty, defend human rights and protect the environment. The former chair of Oxfam states, “More than any other youth organization it is encouraging the emerging generation to see themselves as global citizens with a responsibility for taking action on global problems of poverty and the environment.” Check out the website and become informed: http://peopleandplanet.org. You can support the group or even just purchase a trendy t-shirt from their website. It is heartening to see my generation rising up and taking a stand across the globe. I have been encouraged to see that the world is filled with passionate activists just like you and me who will say no to the injustices of this world.

Cheers from England!