Battle, KCL Cross Country, and Wimbledon

Hey yall,

Here's to catch up on the last week or so.  Two Saturdays ago, I went to the town of Battle, England which is the site of the Hastings battlefield.  I chose that day because it was the anniversary of the 1066 battle and for the occasion a reenactment was being put on.  The first half of the day was mainly spent walking around the abbey and battlefield.  The abbey was built by the victorious William the Conqueror after the battle as penitence for all the Englishmen he had killed.  I ate my lunch sitting on the famous Senlac Hill where the battle was fought.  Again, for a self-proclaimed military history geek, it was pretty darn cool to be sitting on the hill.  Before the reenactment, there were various demonstrations such as how armor was made and how infantryman and cavalry fought during the time period.  Everyone even spoke French in the Norman encampment.  The battle itself was pretty cool, although the troop movements were in the wrong direction. (for event logistic reasons).

On Wednesday the 19th, I had my first cross country race in the red and blue striped King's College uniform.    On the chest are the letters "KCL" and the college's shield.  The 5-mile race was held at Parliament Hill on the south side of Hampstead Heath.  The course is considered the most famous in England, which is cool, but all of the hills were not.  It was a very hilly course.  After my season last year at Carolina being derailed with a broken foot in the first meet, I really just wanted to come out and run a decent time after a year since my last cross country race.  I ran a 28:56 which I was pretty happy with, especially considering the terrain and being early in the season.  That time should go down a good ways with more races and flatter courses.  Best yet, I finished #1 on the team and we beat our rivals over at University College London.

Then last Saturday, I stayed in London and went to see Wimbledon over south of the river.  With the subway closing large portions of the lines on weekends for maintenance, I had to get creative with how to get there, but I got there sure enough.  First off, I took a guided tour around the grounds.  The tour took us to see, among other sites, Centre Court, the interview room, and Court 18.  Centre Court is what it is.  In the interview room, I got to sit in the same chairs at the very desk that names like Federer, Nadal, and Sharapova have sat in.  But, for me, the highlight of the tour was, without doubt, Court 18:  famous for being the court where Greensboro Page alumnus John Isner played the longest match in history.

Class has been going well so far.  I must say I hate my class on War and International Order, as I really don't care what Hobbes, Rousseau, or Kant thought about the state of nature.  However, my War and Intelligence class is really cool.  My lesson this past week was on "Strategic Deception" which was really interesting.  My professor actually spent 20 minutes of the lesson instructing us how to craft an effective lie.  I promise, I'll only use the skill against bad guys in my future career.

Yall take it easy,
Will

Oxford and Brussels

Hey y'all,

So yeah, it's been a couple weeks since my last post, I apologize.  I'll give my dad credit for his blog, it takes some being intentional to keep these things up to date.  Anyhow, I've been busy the last couple weeks, but I'll try to keep it short.

Two weekends ago I went with four other Tar Heels to Oxford.  We left Victoria Station in London around 8:30, albeit I left slightly later on account of having a bad ticket.  Long story short, I got there 30 minutes behind everyone.  To be honest, I didn't think the university was all that interesting.  I skipped the long tour in preference for the 1 pound tour of the Divinity School.  Harry Potter fans would recognize it as the scene for the Hogwarts infirmary.

Best part of the day was by far the afternoon.  Two of my friends and I walked over to the River Cherwell to investigate "punting."  Punting is essentially an English version of riding a Venetian gondola.  The design of the boats and method of propulsion are the same; long length to beam ratio with a large pole to move and steer.  It took a couple minutes getting used to, but once I did, it was a lot of fun.  We got to float up and down the river for well over an hour.  After dinner and a walk down the (upstream) River Thames, I returned to London around 8 PM.

Last weekend I made my first international trip while abroad.  Destination: Brussels, Belgium.  This was also my first experience on-board the Eurostar, the high-speed train which runs underneath the English Channel over to the Continent.  My train left from St. Pancras International Station early in the morning on Friday.  The station was already prepared for the Olympics, with massive Olympic Rings hanging above the tracks.  We made stops at Ebbsfleet, England and Lille, France before reaching Brussels-Midi Station.  I spent most of my time Friday and Saturday walking around, seeing the sites of Brussels.  I saw the Berlaymont European  Union building, the Grand Place (considered one of the three most beautiful squares in Europe), and NATO Headquarters just to name a few.  Unfortunately it rained all weekend, but that didn't stop me (although it's left me with a cold this week).  Neither did the combination of having everything written and spoken in French and Dutch present too much of a problem.

Belgium is known for its food.  My initial experience on Friday was disappointing.  But I gave it another effort for dinner on Saturday and I'm sure glad that I did.  For dinner, I had Carbonnades Flamades, which was basically Flemish beef stew and it was excellent.  Then for dinner, the Belgian waffle entered my life.  Belgium has two main kinds of waffle, Brussels (light and crispy) and Liege (soft and sweet).  I got a Brussels waffle with hot chocolate syrup, powdered sugar, and chocolate ice cream and it was absolutely incredible.

The highlight of Belgium for a Peace, War, and Defense major, however, was a visit to the Waterloo Battlefield on Sunday.  I woke before the crack of dawn to get a train out of Brussels-Midi station bound for the small town of Braine l'Alleud, just 10 miles outside capital.  From there, I walked around 3 miles (through the rain) to reach the battlefield.  This is the history geek in me, but to stand on the same soil where possibly the most important European battle was fought was breathtaking.  To walk in the footprints of Napoleon, Wellington, and Blucher is a moment I'll never forget.  At the battlefield, I hiked up 290 stairs to the top of the monument and went on a guided tour of the battlefield on a tram.  For lunch, I ate at the Wellington Cafe, situated roughly where the center of Wellington's line would have been.  It truly was hard to leave, but I had to get back to Brussels.  After dinner, my return train left Brussels bound for London.

Dover and First Week of Classes

Hey y'all,

It's been a while since my last post, so there is a bit to catch up on.  The highlight of the past week was a trip to Dover on last Saturday.  I, along with five other UNC-KCL students, left on a bus from the London Victoria Coach Station in the morning for a 2-hour trip to the seaside town of Dover.  The drive took us through the Kent countryside and through a stop at Canterbury.  We arrived late in the morning and, as most of us had eaten little or no breakfast, we sat down for breakfast at a restaurant where I got my first full English breakfast.  It was a very good combination of a fried egg, (country) ham, sausage links and tomatoes.

Our main attraction in Dover was the castle located on a height east of the town.  It was truly an extraordinary site, as it contained history from the Romans, medieval times, 18th-century, both World Wars, and up through the Cold War.  The geographic value of the area was recognized by the Romans who built a lighthouse, or pharos, atop the cliffs.  Later King Henry II, daddy of Richard the Lionheart and King John of Robin Hood) built an imposing castle there for show as much as military reasons.  The main keep was surrounded by two curtain walls and the position atop the cliffs would've made it a tough nut to crack for an invader.  Under the castle was a network of medieval tunnels that were really cool to walk through.  Away from the keep, closer to the cliffs, the English later dug tunnels beneath the earth to house supplies and soldiers fearing an attack from Napoleon.  These in turn were improved upon and extended during the World Wars to include a hospital, command rooms, and larger barracks.  All told, there are some 4 miles of tunnels dug into the cliffs.  Most impressively, it was in these tunnels that Bertram Ramsay managed Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk in World War II.  During the Cold War, the deepest tunnels became nuclear fallout shelters to house the Regional Seat of Government should the country be attacked by the Soviets.  From the top of the cliffs (yes, the white cliffs of Dover), we could see the French coastline across the Channel.  Pretty neat.

I joined Ryan Dickey in attending All Souls Church Sunday morning in London.  All Souls was the church from which famous preacher and theologian, John Stott, played a primary role in returning the declining Anglican Church back to Gospel-centered Evangelism in the 80s.  Stott seems to be very highly regarded among Evangelicals here, almost like an English Billy Graham.  My school, King's College London, started classes this Monday, and all of my courses (or modules) are from the War Studies Department.  I'm taking classes on War and Global Conflict, Intelligence in War, Naval History, and War and International Order.  The Intel class seems like it's going to be pretty cool.  Beyond class, I attended the KCL Christian Union meeting on Tuesday, a Bible study at St. Luke's Church in Hampstead Wednesday, as well as going to the first KCL Cross Country training session.  I also joined a chorus which practiced on Thursday night.  Our concert is going to include Mozart's Requiem and Carmina Burana.

Anyhow, sorry for a long post.  I'm headed to Oxford tomorrow, and just booked a few days in Brussels for next weekend.  Glad to hear that the Red Sox had their hearts ripped out of their chest and trampled into the dust the other night.  Ah, how I hate them.

Yall be good,
Will

Getting There

On Thursday, my four and a half month summer came to an end, and I don't think anyone could blame me for saying "woe is me."  I reckon that spending three months in England will make up for killing my long summer.  Now that I've thrown that sarcasm away and ticked some folks off, here are the facts.

My plane departed from RDU at 11:30 Thursday morning.  Everything went smooth enough.  They did run me through the full-body x-ray machine, so I guess the Polo shirt, Sperrys, and blazer made me look like a bad guy.  Upon arriving at Boston-Logan, I found ways to kill time, including eating lunch at Wendy's for my last American meal.  I flew out of Boston around 7:15 PM and I feel no shame in saying that the sun setting behind the Boston skyline was a beautiful sight.  I had imagined after countless long bus trips with church and band that I had become hardened to the discomfort of those journeys.  However, the 5.5 hour plane ride did not suit my legs.  Only the movie "Battle: Los Angeles" could put me to sleep (yes, it's that bad).  In the morning darkness flying over Ireland, I used the plane's map to pick out the lights of Cork and Waterford far below, and I thought back to that trip years ago.  Shortly after 6 AM GMT on Friday morning, my plane touched down at London-Heathrow.

I was a bit worried that I received my visa without the security agent looking at any documentation besides my passport, but turns out I was just over-prepared.  Allison Bonner (Farmville, NC connection!) and I met some other Carolina-King's College students at a Krispy Kreme in the airport.  Everything tasted the same, but a single glazed doughnut cost an equivalent of $2.  From there we crammed four of us into a taxi and headed towards the neighborhood of West Hampstead, where my residence is.  My hall, Lord Cameron, is a university residence but is located off-campus in this, what is considered to be, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in England.  And sure enough, around the Heath (think big park), there are some huge houses.  Friday evening was filled with a hall meeting and social to meet new folks.  They are all real nice, mostly from England, but I have made friends with a guy from Berlin and a girl from Montpelier.  They seemed excited to have an American in their midst.  From my third story bedroom window, I can look out over West Hampstead, the Heath, and see the downtown skyline in the distance.

Today, after a cool (sub-50 degree) run on the Heath, I met up with a group of UNC/KCL students in the shadow of Big Ben.  They were actually having a cycling time trial for the 2012 Olympic qualifying.  After walking around Westminster (British Parliament) and Whitehall (British government agencies), our group continued on walking down the streets of downtown London.  We saw the London Eye, Thames River, Royal Courts, and St. Paul's Cathedral.  In the late afternoon, I went to visit the British Museum where I saw the Rosetta Stone and the library where Karl Marx infamously wrote "Das Kapital".

Overall, getting here and settling in has been alright.  I did feel bad missing church today, but luckily there is a Gospel-centered Evangelical church on my block that I hope to attend in the coming months.  Anyhow, sorry for the long post.  Hope all is well back in North Carolina.

                           Not a bad view from my bedroom window, huh?

The Last Week Down East

It's my last week down here in New Bern at the Governor's Eastern Office.  It hasn't been boring, either.  On Wednesday, the Governor called a last-minute press conference to be held at the Port of Morehead City.  Director Tate Johnson and I went down there for the 5 o'clock meeting.  She announced that PCS Phosphate had voluntarily withdrawn its plans to build a new sulfur smelting facility at the port.  In the last week, many environmentalists in Carteret County had gotten stirred up claiming that no public notice was given of the plans.  And while the Governor assured them that notice had been given, the protesters were happy to hear the news.  I was hoping for some excitement from the protesters, but got none.

On Thursday, my director and I went down to Havelock for the first of the Governor's Military Summits.  This amounted to the big project that I got to help on this summer.  The event was an opportunity for leaders from government, business, military, and education to get together and learn how to better address the concerns of North Carolina's military communities.  Besides the Governor, several Marine officers were present from MCAS Cherry Point as well as NC Secretary of State Elaine Marshall.  Speaking of Secretary Marshall, I recognized her face as she approached registration.  I had met her at a Smith-Grimsley football game in the fall.  But when she reached my desk, I blanked on who she was.  When I asked for her last name and she said "Marshall", the embarrassment was pretty bad.  Meanwhile, Tate Johnson found it downright hilarious and will likely never let me live that down.  Anyhow, a pretty cool day was capped off with me getting a picture with the Governor.

So that's it for this chapter.  I've been blessed with an amazing opportunity.  I can't thank Tate Johnson enough for selecting me and my uncle Alan for opening up his home to me for these 10 weeks.  After a round of golf at MCAS Cherry Point tomorrow, it's back to the Piedmont Paradise which is Greensboro.  Can't wait to get home.  Next up: London.

A Mansion and a Port

It's been a pretty cool last two days travelling for my internship.  On Tuesday, Governor Perdue hosted a reception at the Executive Mansion for the 64 state government interns.  Let's just say it was not a great day to be walking across downtown Raleigh in a suit.  I had to stop in the History Museum just to cool off.  The Mansion is really nice, as you might imagine.  I couldn't help but feel bad looking at portraits of the "first spouses", as Bob Eaves (Bev's husband) was the only man up there.  It was also cool to see a basketball goal in the back yard.  Anyhow, got to talk to several people, most notably Moses Carey, Secretary of the Department of Administration and Carolina alum.  The Governor gave a brief speech at the end of the reception.

On Wednesday, I traveled down to the State Port at Morehead City to represent the Governor's Office at a luncheon held by the Port Authority.  The event was held to celebrate the opening of a new woodchip facility at the port.  The facility will allow trees grown in eastern North Carolina to be turned into woodchips and exported overseas, creating jobs and hopefully helping to rejuvenate the region's economy.  After the luncheon, we got a tour of the port facilities.  Driving through a massive warehouse with rubber, we were told that Morehead City is the second largest recipient of rubber on the east coast behind only New Orleans.  On the far side of the port, we came to the M/V Stellar Grace, the vessel that will take the first shipment of woodchips.    We got to go on-board for a tour by the captain himself.  Leaving with its cargo from Morehead City, NC, the ship is bound for Istanbul, stopping only at Gibraltar.  I couldn't help but feel that North Carolina pride when thinking that our state's exports were bound for Turkey.  That's pretty cool.  For a state that once produced 96% of the nation's naval stores in the 19th century, it's interesting that North Carolina trees provide a global export for the state here now in the 21st century.  Go North Carolina!

Shoutin' About Redistricting

Sorry it's been a while since the last post, but things have slowed down in the Governor's Eastern Office since the General Assembly adjourned.  However, with the Assembly planning to reconvene for a four day session beginning next week to discuss electoral redistricting, Tar Heel politics is about to heat up once more.  With the numbers in from the 2010 Census, districts have to be redrawn to represent the changes in states.  And while North Carolina came up short of acquiring a 14th seat in the US House, lines will be redrawn.  And like I learned in Ms. Enright's AP Gov class several years ago, the party that controls the NC Assembly redraws the lines.  For the first time in nearly a century, the Republican Party will get the task, or more accurately, the opportunity.

Redistricting is politics plain and simple.  There's no hiding that whatever party runs the state will hammer new districts into shapes that increase its chances of winning down the road.  Everyone does it.  Consider the NC 12th Congressional District.  Literally, I've opened up text books and seen it provided as the example of Gerrymandering.  No Republican has a shot at winning that district; it was made that way by Democrats.  Consider the NC 5th, which is a Republican safe seat.  Republicans in the 2011 General Assembly will set forth to create a red state out of North Carolina.  Aside from some requirements for minority districts via the Voting Rights Act, there is nothing to restrain Republicans.  They'll need a simple majority in the Assembly (which they have) and its a type of bill that Governor Perdue can't veto.

Basic strategy for Republicans: Cluster Democratic precincts into minority precincts.  With minority districts required by law (which almost always vote Democratic), Republican legislators will try to pack these districts as liberal as they can make them.  Essentially, they'll seek to make a handful of districts ultra-liberal and dominated by minorities, leaving the rest and majority of the districts for them at best conservative, and at worst moderate.  For example, Greensborians can think of a neighborhood like Westerwood.  Westerwood is a very white, very liberal neighborhood.  Republicans will seek to put neighborhoods like Westerwood into minority districts like those found in East Greensboro, thereby conceding a liberal district they couldn't win anyway, and making Westerwood's former district more moderate.  This will likely result in black politicians representing a higher percentage of Democratic seats both in Congress and the Assembly.  NOTE: this is an example, I don't actually know of any plans specifically regarding Westerwood.  But hopefully for this post, the strategy for Republicans is clarified by such an example.  

To take a title from a book my mother read, "It's All Over But the Shoutin'."  With little the Democrats can do but file inevitable lawsuits, shoutin' is about all that will be done in Raleigh next week.  Here's to hoping the office doesn't get bombarded with people calling and shoutin' at me.