If there's something that I've had to learn the hard way in London, it's definitely getting sick. London is best known for its rainy days and unpredictable weather, and this is something that us TWC interns took a little too lightly these first couple of weeks. After running around the city, exploring day and night, through different neighborhoods and around massive amounts of people, we are all beginning to get into sick mode. The funny part about this is that we all seem to have gotten sick by flats -- by this, I mean that the boys got sick first, then a flat of girls got sick, and it has moved around to all of our different flats. My flat, of course, was able to tough it out as long as we could, but the inevitable sickness overcame us all a few days ago. So, as of now, there is a lot of tea-making, cough medicine and Vick's vapo rub circulating around.

So, I decided that it was best to take care of business.

Today, I ran out to Primark Department Store with my friend Anum, and we got some cold-weather necessities. I ended up getting a nice winter jacket for under twenty pounds, and we both stocked up on long-sleeved shirts and turtlenecks. We wanted to knock out these colds before we head to Barcelona, (and there's something else I'll tell you guys at the end of the post, but it's a surprise). After all, there's no way we are going to Spain with the sniffles!

Moral of my story?

Whenever you change environments, and are in a large concentration of people where sickness can spread easily, BE PREPARED!!  I'm so glad that my dad packed cough drops in my suitcase, as well as the necessary cold remedies. It's also really important to be aware of your surroundings at all times. If you're at an internship where everyone is suddenly getting sick, DONT LET IT HAPPEN TO YOU!! Do everything in your power to not get sick. I had to miss a day at my internship this week because of this, and it's a waste to not be able to go in to work and get things done.

But aside from that....

Oh yeah, we had a great opportunity this week during our Field Study class to visit the Olympic Park! Each week, we visit a different site in London that holds some sort of significance to the regeneration of the city, whether it's an area that needed economic assistance, how different events throughout history affect different areas, and how London stands today as an economic, political, and cultural powerhouse.

Our visit to the Olympic Park was a great experience. We weren't actually allowed into the Olympic Park, but we were able to observe it from afar, as well as walk through the neighborhood in the southern part of London.

Walking around the Olympic Park area was such a cool experience, because it was so fascinating to see how the London 2012 Games impacted the city. The businesses are in full boom, people are back in work, and these areas that would otherwise be ignored by tourists are now creeping with visitors! The London 2012 Olympics had such a positive affect on the city, and it is very easy to see just by re-visiting these areas.

Of course, our group had to take a photo near the Olympic site, right on the Prime Meridian. In fact, there was a pretty cool sundial on the ground, and although you can't really see it in the picture, we had a pretty good time figuring it out.

All in all, we are having a fantastic time in London. Hopefully we are all feeling 100 percent over the next few days, and we will definitely be resting it up until then!! Yes, all 20 of us who managed to get sick at the same time.

OH WAIT!!!

I completely forgot to tell you---

I will be heading to Paris in a few days for a day trip; I'm so excited to tell you all about that adventure in my next post!!

xoxo,

Sharon