Thinking Globally, Acting Locally

  There are people all around the world that wants to make a difference in some sort of way; whether it concerns pollution, homeless people, or even a law thats about to be passed. This is a concept that people will think about the plant as a unit but act upon an issue within their own community. Thinking about a global issue that actually was acted on in London was a protest supporting the company Peta. People in London was protesting that the hats that 'Bobbies,' wear were made out of bear skins and it was not right. The thing is Peta is a global company, but the ladies were protesting in their London community because they felt that the bear skin hats were against the bear's rights. So the reason that I know this event happened was because of Constable Watson. He was presenting a slide show about events they had to control and how protesting is a big thing. No matter where someone is located, there is always protest about some sort of issue. But at the same time I believe it is a prime example of thinking globally but acting locally.
   London has shown me more them a different methods of a criminal justice department. It has open my eyes to come to the realization that if something happens in the states, it can easily effect the entire world. I have mentioned this example in a pervious blog but I also believe it is fitting for this blog as well. The Boston Marathon Bombing, it was hundreds of miles away from London but London had to act in a security matter within their community when their marathon was about to happen weeks later. Constable Watson has served his time to more high in the ranks in London's chain of command; within that comes more responsibility. He told us that his routine at home was to always keep an eye on the news and what is going on around the world because no matter what happens in can effect London. The effect it can have is security, because it has happened one place it can easily happen anywhere else in the world. Those are just a few example that I took away from my trip in London that I believe fit perfectly in the matter of thinking globally and acting locally.
   Back to the topic of being a global citizen. I believe that a global citizen needs to have the mentality to think globally and act locally, because global citizens can take what they learned all over the world and apply it in their community for hopefully a positive impact. Before this trip I was a person that thought and acted only locally. But since my return from my trip, my mindset has changed. I watch the news more, I even check up on London's news. There is so much going on in the world that I think everyone should take the time to learn about and if they want a different outcome then they need to act on it. Even though every country is different and have their own way of living, we can always be effect as an entire world.  

Global Competence

  A global citizen is a person who is knowledgable about everything that is happening around the world. It is also some one that is not  bias in anyway. Also a global citizen will be supportive of global situations and events and could even put forth some effort. I was defiantly not a global citizen before traveling to London, but now my interest is sparked to see what the life as a global citizen has to offer. I believe that global competence is the start of formation of a global citizen.  
   Some people see that there is more to the world then what it is right in front of them, then there are people that believe the world has nothing else to offer then what is in front of them. In the world today, it is very common for people to stay in their hometown for the rest of their life because they are content with living in a place they have always known the ways of living. These certain people are very closed minded people because they are not changing their life by moving somewhere else or exploring other places. When is comes to global competence it is a different story because it takes someone that is curious about the world.
  Global competence comes down to becoming aware and interested in learning about the world and also the way it works. A person needs to have the ambition to want to go investigate the world and the different cultures within. Ever since I travelled to London for study of broad, I have been interested in knowing more. I want to go travel other places and see how they handle their criminal justice department. I can easily say that I was that closed minded American and thought the world has nothing to offer but what was held within the states. That all changed when I went to London! There is so many different opportunity the world has to offer, it just comes down to a person and if they are going to pursue a global experience. I personally want to contribute to global competence once I finish my college degree, by knowing more about criminal justice around the world. There are so many different tasks and issues around the world to learn about but what has gotten my interest is exploring the different methods within the criminal justice departments in different countries. I want to be able to benefit the American justice system but learning more methods that are practiced around the world.
   It is great to go explore the world and learn the ways of different cultures. But what is the point of that if nothing is going to be given back to others? Some benefits of global competence is widening a person's perspective of things outside of their immediate environment, take actions of bettering conditions somewhere, and having diverse point of views. People can learn so much by seeing different parts of the world were by learning something from one place and bringing it back home lets say could easily better the conditions of a situation. An example I took from London and would really like to see in America is the handcuffs that they use over in London. Their handcuffs were more sturdy and allowed officers to have more power. To me their handcuffs made more sense to me to have and do not know why America does not have handcuffs like that. Something so simple like that can made a huge difference. Global competence starts with a person being interested and curious about the world, but people have to pursue that curiosity to bring the information back to others to get them curious as well. I plan to do just that and I can easily say that it is because of the London Study of Broad Program that has my curiosity of the world started!  

The Shocks About Expanding My Culture View

     Within a few hours we will be boarding a plane that will be taking us back to America! It is honestly a bittersweet moment. London has been an amazing place and more importantly a fantastic learning experience. Throughout the entire trip there has been a few culture shocks that have widen my view of the world. The list of what has personally shocked me along the journey could go on and on. So I will enlighten everyone with a top ten list. The list includes the following culture shocks: 

1.   There are so many people everywhere in London at all hours of the day. We always say that Las Vegas and New York are cities that never sleep in my opinion London is a city that never sleeps. I am a small town girl and the city of London has shocked my culture view to see a city that is crowded.
2.     Homeless people are everywhere in the world and can easily be considered a global problem. I personally have seen my share of homeless people but London is different in this sense as well. There are so many homeless people in London that will have dogs with them. I understand that people will more likely to give money to homeless people because of the dog but to me why does the dog have to live like that? It was just a new view of the world in financial trouble that is sad for the people and animals involved.
3.      The people here are not like American people I am use to back home. People here are very quiet and keep to themselves. When I first got to London I just thought that they were rude but as the days carried on I came to an understanding of their culture. It might even be weird to go back to America and deal with the loud people we have for awhile.
4.      The fashion here is something that I have not seen a lot in America. Something I noticed within hours of being in London is that everyone male or female wears skinny jeans all the time! I have not seen so many men in skinny jeans in one place before. Americans really stand out because we where regular Buckle jeans.
5.      So I am not going to lie because traveling and being single I could look at the guys in London. Let me tell you, I did not like what I was seeing. I am use to guys that are cowboys and in rancher clothing. Well the guys here might be a little more feminine then what I am. Our group talked about it and we decided that it was because most men in London have to do labor work. Therefore they are into more fashion and self presents.
6.      No matter where you go in America you will always be able to see a street sign on every corner. In London a person will be lucky to ever find a street sign on a corner of a street. To find out what street someone is on is to look up on a building that’s on the corner because it will have the name of the street on the side of the building. To me it was a eye opener because I was never taught to look on the side of the building.
7.      The police around London are like celebrities to tourists. As a group there were many events where we were with police officers and tourists would stop them for directions or just for pictures. I have to admit I am guilty of doing the exact same thing. It just blows my mind because people do not do that in America. We see a police officer and think negatively about them.   
8.     Coming into this trip we all knew ahead of time that it is expensive in London. Holy cow is stuff expensive in London; it makes me appreciate prices in America. The shock to me was just how easy it was to spend money here just on the simple things like food and drinks. Even getting use to what their money looks like such as their coins was a culture change within itself. 
9.      So I made a promise to myself before coming to London and that was to not pay to use a public toilet. In London most public toilets like in the train stations, a person has to pay to be able to use them. Well the last day in London I broke down and spent thirty pence to use the public toilets. It is a culture shock to have to pay to use a public bathroom because it is not like that in America. It kind of blew my mind.    
10.      This last culture shock that has widen my view of the world not everyone will understand. The beauty in London is not like I have ever seen before. Every building is just gorgeously built to perfection. The landscaping in every park is kept up to enjoy. I now look at London and see a city of history and art; instead of a dirt city like we have in America. I will miss having the views of London.

        Well I hope that in a few years from now I can come back to London and experience what it has to offer. I will honestly miss London but I have the memories of this place forever. It is now time to take what I learned here and use it towards my criminal justice career. I am lucky enough to see how a different culture can help me widen my personal view of the world. Peace out London, for now at least!

Dinning In

     In the American culture food is very important part of life for us. I believe this is where British people stereotype us as being hungry all the time. Eating in London compared to eating in London is completely different in more then just the way they make the food.  Since eating is they way we survive, we had to experience these differences on a daily bases. Just like each day is different each restaurant was different.

      I am a waitress and a bartender for a living while in college, and the way restaurants here was like trying to understand a foreign language. In America we all know that a waitress will take care of your table and get that table whatever they need. Well most places in London are not like that at all, people have to go up to a counter and order their drinks and food. A number will be given and that’s how the runner of the food will recognize where the food is going. Most places do not even ask how your food was or if you need anything. This was so weird to me because that is what my job back home consists of.

      All the food that I have had here in London has been very delicious! But I am not going to lie I can tell it is not cooked American style. The restaurants we have been had will more then likely have fish and chips or pies (like pot pies) on the menu, which in America is not so popular to have. Also restaurants here hardly have salt and pepper on the table which I love salts so eating has been different for me. I believe that people in London are just not big on salt like America is because there as been several of times where the chips (fries) I have ordered has not had salt on them. Also there is no ranch in London, which most Americans live off of, so that was crazy to see. It is just little things like that, where I noticed a difference in the food. 

      When it comes to paying for the bill, British people thinks it is rude to bring the bill to a table if they did not ask for the bill yet. In America the bill gets brought to a table when the table looks like they are done eating. Asking for the check each time was kind of hard to get use to. Once the bill was brought to use there would always be a service charge added to is because waitresses in London do not work off of what a table wants to give them it all depends on the amount of the bill and the percentage of that. For me personally I work off nothing but the tips tables give me. When I first got here I felt bad each time not leaving a tip but just like everything else I got use to the new culture.

      Dinning in London has really been an experience that I will always compare when dinning in America now. It was interesting to see the differences but I think American waitress give better service because they are trying to work for a good tip instead of the percentage of the bill.  But no matter what even the lack of salt both American and the British culture of food is all good! I do understand the way that British culture suns their restaurants but I like the systems American restaurants have.

Education is Different Around The Globe

       On Friday 22, 2015 as an entire group we loaded onto a coach and headed to Oxford. We got the opportunity to tour parts of the university there. I came into this tour thinking that every college is the same so we are here to look at the sights of the college. Little did I know I was completely wrong with my thoughts about Oxford.

      As of a year ago Oxford was the second best college in the world. This college takes students that have creative minds that can do brilliant things like writing several of novels or textbooks. Coming from Chadron Nebraska where a lot of people are accepted to attend college without having amazing test scores or creative minds; I felt so out of place! Criminal justice is where we have to know certain information because we need to follow it rather it beings a law or chain of command. So for me I am a type of student that memorizes information. Well Oxford did not want this type of student because they are looking for students that are going to make a break to amazing research and theories.

      There are several of different colleges that are broken off from Oxford but Oxford University gives them the syllabus and the dates of exams. Also Oxford does not have scheduled classes like CSC does, students have to independently go to lectures and tutors to learn from on their own time. Chadron State goes by semester for tests for students; well in Oxford it’s a different story. They have one test at the end of the year over everything that they should have been studying all year long. This test can either make them or break them. So a person could only imagine how intense it would be to receive a degree from Oxford University.

      The atmosphere that I gathered from visiting parts of the Oxford University is that everything like materials are at the students fingertips and it is up to them to take advantage of the opportunity. Also I believe that students have the mind set that they get to go to lectures and get to read all sorts of different materials instead of American students where we have the mind set that we have to do those things. It all comes down to how a student pursues their education that they are paying for.

            Even though I came on this trip to learn more about the criminal justice field it was quite beneficial to take a trip and exploring how education is different in different parts of the world. It has really caught my interest of how other universities are ran other places. Also it has made me realize that there are so many different types of mind in the world where universities such as Oxford need to exist.  

Art With Criminal Justice

       While being in London I got the opportunity to see professional military marching bands and a professional play in a theater. Anyone that knows me, that art in any sort of form is not my cup of tea and I lack knowledge in that department. But by experiencing the marching band and going to the theater I learned a lot and have a greater appreciation for the arts departments around the world.

      In June is when the celebration of the Queen’s birthday, which is in April, and an event called Trooping of the Colour takes place. This event is a huge event in London, and because of that the troops need to practice the ceremony from the beginning to the end. We were lucky enough to watch the troops second practice of this ceremony. It was something I have never seen before. Even though it was only their second practice they did very well. Even though I do not know a lot about marching bands or instruments I even notice a few mistakes; which I was proud of myself because of my lack of knowledge.  I believe that once the day comes for the official ceremony they well be fabulous. There were some soldiers that had instruments and others were marching with their guns that were SA-80s, with a knife attached to them. Seeing the soldiers in their ceremonial uniforms; was uniforms I have always seen in pictures and finally I saw them in person. After seeing this amazing event being prepared makes me wish that we would have something in America with our soldiers. I have a lot more respect for a military marching band or any marching band for that matter.

      I have only seen a handful of plays in my lifetime but they all have been high school plays, which we all know how those turn out. I went to watch them because my friends would always be in them. But I never really took much interest into them because I did not have a passion for that art department. Coming to London previous students were always so glad that they went to the theater. So when time got closer we booked tickets the go see ‘The Lion King.’ Growing up Lion King was always one of my favorite childhood movies, even though I cried every time. When Wednesday rolled around I was getting pretty excited to go see the play! I personally thought the performance was amazing and I loved the entire thing! But once the play was over we got together and disgusted it all and there were a few weaknesses in the performance that I did not catch because I did not know any differently. I have future plans to attend more theaters and have appreciation of a career like that because it cannot be easy.

   
  Even though criminal justice did not fall into these events directly I believed I have benefited from attending the events because it has help me have a new wider view art and help me be a well rounded person. I am excited to get back to the sates because I think it will lead to a interest theater and band, were I will attend events at Chadron State College when there are performances. I think everyone should know more about art departments before making up their minds or having judgments. I was closed minded to the theater and bands but the London trip has changed my mind completely.  

Seeing Myself in a Different Mirror

            In any criminal justice field no matter where it is there is always the side of the court systems. We were lucky enough to go see the Magistrate Court system. These levels of courts are the lowest level of courts in the UK. This court system is where some cases move to higher courts and other cases gets resolved right there. Our tour guide for the courts was a woman who was a formal lawyer for these court systems; she really was able to give us a better insight of the court system we were going to see.

            When we arrived to the front of the courts there was three guys and a women that two cameramen where waiting for to take their picture. No one really knew why she was there and the cameramen really would not tell us anything but her name. It was just interesting to see a situation like that because in the little town of Chadron something like that would never happen. After walking through security we sat down and was informed the way that this court system works. Their court system is completely different then the court systems back in the states. For instants someone that was arrested last night can go to court the very next day. In the states it is not like that as all there is at least a waiting period of a week or so before their hearing. There are cases that are in font of a district court or there is a case in front of the lay judges.

            The lay judges is something that we do not have back in the states because it is three volunteers that is advised by a legal adviser to make sure that the decisions that are being made are completely legal. The defendant in these courts have a choice to plead guilty or not guilty which results into the defendant wanting the case to stay in the Magistrate Court or move on to be tried in a Crowns Court. We were able to sit in three different cases with the lay judges. We got to witness a case that the lay judges got to make the sentencing, a case that got moved to be in tried in Crowns Court, and a case that filed for an all options report. The first two cases moved very slowly because the lay judges were struggling with what they were doing and even our guide commented on that. The legal advisor really had to step in and help them out a good amount within the cases.

            The case that grabbed my attention was the very last case that we witnessed with the lay judges with a girl that was just three years younger than me. This girl was being charge with five counts of assault against police officers. She pleads guilty to every count and because of that her case was going to be dealt with the lay judges. Her lawyer expressed to the lay judges that she has mental health problems that made her act the way she did because she was having an ‘episode.’ The lawyer decided to go further and tell the courts that her father died because of cancer; which resulted her to be homeless. This girl began to start crying heavily which was for all show because it paused her case for a moment for people to get her tissues and water. Her case continued and the lay judges came to the decision to wait for an all options report to come back to the courts in June. With this being accounted for she got off so easily because in the sates it would be five years for every assault against a police officer.

            The reasoning that I named this blog ‘Seeing Myself in a Different Mirror,’ is because a few years ago that could have been me. I did not come from a stable home just like she did not as well. I was her age and I could have easily chose that path as she did of acting out by assaulting officers when she got caught for disobeying the law. It is easy to blame it on mental health issues when life is out of control, which can result from being in an unstable home. I guess I saw myself in her and realize that I could have chose a terrible path and at the same time I wanted to be able to show her that cause she has no family does not mean her life has to be the way she is making it out to be. I think I looked at this case in a personal view more than anything else.

            We ended our tour of the courts by watching a district judge moving a case to a different date because the defendant was not there to attend. Our guide found out that the defendant was arrested in a different area. Just watching the little bit of what the district judge did, he moved so much faster then what the lay judges did. I believe that it is because the district judges are formal lawyers and have a better idea of the court systems and regulations that there are. All of the information that we learned that day about the Magistrate Courts was so educational and interesting to compare to the court system to see the differences and similarities between the two. I have a much better view of how the court systems work in the United Kingdom.