Before going on this trip, I had only been out of the country once before, and had never traveled anywhere without my family. This being my first trip to England, I had no idea what to expect, but any expectations I did have got blown away. Manchester, York, and London are all very different and all jaw droppingly beautiful in every way. My favorite I have to say was London for sure. Going to the Buckingham Palace and being able to experience part of the changing of the guards was incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it before. To people that live there, this is probably an everyday normal thing to them, but for me it was amazing to watch the guards on horses come all the way down the street and into the gates of Buckingham Palace right in front of us. Standing in front of the palace I felt so close to royalty even though the Queen wasn’t even there at that time. It’s hard to believe that our trip to England is over and we are already back in the United States. Ever since I have been back home I can’t stop telling everyone I know about my trip and telling them that they HAVE to go there. From experiencing and conquering (kind of) the tubes, to having some afternoon tea and seeing all of the historical architecture, I already can’t wait to take another trip back to England (hopefully very soon). I usually am very scared and get nervous going outside of my comfort zone, but taking this class and going on this trip exceeded every expectation and was one of the best decisions I have ever made! It was truly an unreal experience that I am so grateful for having the opportunity to do.
-Kayla Sitterly