FINDING OUR WAY THROUGH THE UNDERGROUND

Sunday, March 22 2009

The Underground tube system never fails!

Any destination is easily accessible, making the possibilities practically endless. Today, Mike Anderson, Ya-an Chan and myself trekked around Hyde Park all morning looking for sources for some stories. It was a beautiful Sunday morning in London. The sun shining with a nice breeze and people were out in bunches, but with little commotion in Speaker’s Corner. To say the least the park is huge and it’s easy to get a little lost.

It took me the better part of an hour to cruise one quarter of the park on my skateboard looking for a story while Mike and Ya-an scouted for people willing to talk about the nationalized health care system. They were more successful than I but it’s hard to say the morning was wasted because I was having so much fun.

I came across two inline skaters doing their thing in what, at first glance, looked like freestyle dancing. One cat, Samer Alhabash, 32, was a dreaded hair, semi hard-body with his shirt off who seemed like the rowdy type. He set up about 12 three-inch plastic cones and speedily criss-crossed in between them with backward spins, one-footed turns and ballerina-like pliers.

I took some pics and chatted with them long enough to find out that they were “freestyle slalom in-line skaters.” Apparently, according to Mr. tough guy, it’s been the craze the last five years or so but has yet to catch on in the states, aside from a small New York fetish. Sure enough, about a hundred yards away, there were another four or five sets of cones with another fifteen or so skaters. Samer (I love the name for some reason) took the cake, though.

After I met back up with Ya-an and Mike we made the journey to Big Ben, the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament, to take a group photo with the rest of the students on the trip. We also checked out a couple of hospitals for Ya-an’s story and a park to try and find some homeless folks for mine.

On a side note, Mike and I talked to a receptionist at one of the hospitals about health care. We asked about services for the homeless and she told us that everyone gets the same treatment regardless of their situation. She seemed surprised to hear that the homeless in the United States usually only get treatment when they are super ill. Mike and I pondered that for a little while we waited for Ya-an to do her thing. It is kind of crazy if you think about it. What a world, huh?

London is fantastic. I could easily live here.

John Ellis
Print Journalist

PICKING UP THE OLD AND DISCOVERING THE NEW

Today was meaningful in terms of picking up the old and discovering the new. I started the day a little nervous because I haven’t done much reporting at the field since I became copy editor for Spartan Daily. There was a sense of unfamiliarity, however, I went away and started talking to people, getting some nice quotes and encountering some trouble.

On this trip, where the time frame is less than three full days, you can plan as much as you want ahead of time but you can’t expect everything to go your way. There’s always something happening. And that’s the world of journalism, where the unexpected can bring you either a new angle for your current story or something you’ve never thought of.

As Mike, John and I were walking around London for the whole day, we came across some parks thinking we could find homeless people for John’s story. However, it seems to me that parks may not be the home for many homeless people in London. I saw a few of them sleeping on the sidewalks, but not one in the parks.

Hyde Park on Baywater Road (which was beautiful, by the way) was like a heaven for people who enjoy outdoor activities or just want to have a good time with family and friends. Soho Square was much smaller than Hyde Park, but people sat with their friends in small groups across the lawns, spending their afternoons with coffee, talking and laughter. For both places there was positive vibe about the city, but homeless people were nowhere to be seen.

The strong contrast reminds me of St. James Park in downtown San Jose, where it’s nothing like a social venue to me. Perhaps we can’t expect to see homeless people sleeping on the benches at every park just because that’s what we see a lot in San Jose.

One more full day in London, and more has yet to unfold.

Ya-an Chan
Magazine Journalism
My Blog.