Week 5: Coming of Age as a Global Citizen

Day 1: Museum of London

This week's book was Buddha of Suburbia, a story about a young Indian man growing up in a time of change for London. Our first stop was the Museum of London to get some background about the era our character, Karim, was growing up in. These are some of the big features of the decade.

A dress featuring the Beatles hangs surrounded by memorabilia. The Beatles' height was before Karim, but did set up a new genre of music that thrived during his time, rock.  

This is a print that displays the racial tension in London during Karim's time. Londoners viewed immigrants as "less-thans" and racism was everywhere. 

Day 2: V & A Museum

 Possibly my favorite site visit, the V & A Museum's exhibit of Pink Floyd did an excellent job in capturing the sound and ideas of London during Karim's time there.

 Pink Floyd was a psychedelic band that was highly anti-establishment and pro revolution. Their sounds were like none other and promoted those to think outside the box, much like what our study abroad class is doing.

 These masks were worn by a cover band to symbolize the deception that goes on in the world. People can be easily fooled into thinking and believing one way as opposed to another and Pink Floyd tried to teach their audience to pay closer attention to detail.

These suits from one of Pink Floyd's music videos help visualize the ideas floating around in society. However they are not always able to share it with the world. Becoming a global citizen can help us be more open to one another and better society as a whole. 

Day 3: London Eye 

 Our final day was spent at the famous London Eye. This massive ferris wheel allows people to see London from a whole new perspective. This is the embodiment of what our class' goal is. I was terrified by the height of the wheel but was glad to participate and see the city from a wider point of view.

 This is me nervously standing near the window. Don't be fooled by the smile, it was pure fear that I was feeling.

Although touristy, I really enjoyed this picture because i was able to see some of London's greatest structures from below and above. I greatly enjoyed my time there and am glad that I learned the skills necessary to be culturally informed. I am now, officially, a global citizen.

Final Video:

Click HERE to view our final video project, thank you!