Final Dinner!

Amazingly, Thursday, August 18th marked the final day of the Cambridge program this summer.  We all trekked over to Brown's Restaurant where we had a fantastic last meal together.  It was certainly bittersweet as three of the crew (Adam M, Bill and Erik F) were leaving directly from dinner to catch a train into London, but it was a lovely close to a fantastic program.  Even better was knowing that we'll get to see each other back on campus this fall - there are already Cambridge reunion plans in the works.  

A quick break from surveying the options

Table two picks out some appetizers

I think Bill is shocked that the program could actually be over...

Awwwwww, too cute. 

We managed to pick up an extra Carl for the evening!

Cozying up

Full bellies - but don't forget dessert!

Saying goodbyes......snif!

One last group shot

And there you have it - another term abroad for the Carleton Cambridge program.  I hope you enjoyed following us along on this summer adventure, it was an absolute treat to get to know all of these fantastic students.  Safe travels home everyone and good luck this fall!

CNN, UBS and Alum Event

We started off our final week of the Cambridge program with a whirlwind day into London.  Our first stop was the CNN building where we got a glimpse of the high-intensity news making process.  There we met with Newsdesk Editor and Carleton alum, Richard Greene, along with Finance Anchor, Richard Quest and Director of Sports Coverage, Geoff Hill about their positions with the company and their philosophies on news (and life in general!).  We were even able to catch a segment being filmed as we toured the studio area.

Looking official in the meeting room

The CNN control booth

The busy newsroom

Checking out the anchor desk

The whole crew

From CNN we hustled over to one of the UBS buildings where we met with another Carl, Geoffrey Yu.  Geoffrey is Director of Foreign Exchange Strategy for the investment bank and had a wealth of information to share about working in the industry.

Jeffrey patiently waiting to get started!

Snacks and investment banking

The view from the conference room

Following a tiptoe through the trading floor (filled with more screens than people), we headed to Henry's for an alumni social.  It was a fantastic opportunity for our current students to learn more about the many ways alums have navigated their time since Carleton. 

It's hard to believe that we have only a few days left of the program.  Students are working hard on their papers and studying up for their exam on Thursday morning.  Our final group dinner is set to take place at Brown's in Cambridge on Thursday night, where we'll cap off a fantastic trip with one last meal together. 

Botanic Gardens

Not far from Hughes Hall (the primary Cambridge student housing) is the Cambridge University Botanic Garden.  It is a lovely 40 acer site founded in 1762.  On Friday a few students joined us to enjoy the spectacular weather and spend some time enjoying the grounds.

Ladies by the fountain

The Globe

No trip to the UK would be complete with out some form of Shakespeare.  We were fortunate enough to reserve both a tour of the Globe Theater and a performance of As You Like It on Wednesday, August 3rd.  Our tour guide gave us an excellent sense of the history of the Globe and the surrounding area, along with the evolving perception of theater, actors, and patrons since the time of Shakespeare.  As our tickets that evening were for standing down in "The Yard" we would have been known as Penny Stinkers back in the day.  One because our standing rights would have cost only a penny, and Stinkers, because, well, a yearly bath was considered the norm at the time.  We were shocked to hear that 1000 people would have been packed like sardines into the yard in the past (resulting in people often having to be "peeled apart" after performances) - now they only sell tickets to 700 so we (thankfully) had plenty of elbow room.

From our tour of the theater, it was onto some added extras - an Elizabethan dressing demonstration (Fay served as an excellent guinea pig) followed by a sword fighting demo.

On go the garters!

Next the corset...

Lacing up!

Nice and tight!

Now the skirt...

 ...and the coat.

The final touches!

Ta-da! Fay is ready for the stage!

After a break for some dinner, we headed back to the theater for As You Like It.  We all managed to get right up to the stage, where we had an excellent view of the actors.  It was a fantastic show and we were fortunate to have a lovely rain-free evening in the open-top theater.

Most of the crew inside the theater

Lesley and Vishal in front of the stage

Students in the yard and the seats above

Following the show, we had a beautiful view of the Millennium bridge and the lights of the city...

The Millennium bridge crossing the Thames river

Barclays Visit

Monday, August 1st took the group into London for an afternoon learning about Barclays and their internship program.  We headed to the company headquarters located on Canary Wharf.  There, we met with the CEO (and Carleton alum), John Winters, who talked candidly about his experience in the banking industry and his progression from student to CEO.  We also met with a group of current Barclays interns (among them current Carl, Tom Singell) who outlined the internship program and the skills they've gained during their time with Barclays.

The Barclays Canary Wharf headquarters (photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

Following the presentations, it was time for some refreshments in the stunning atrium overlooking Canary Wharf.  Students had a chance to mingle with the current interns, meet some other Barclays employees and nibble on delicious hors d'oeuvres, all while enjoying spectacular views.

Mingling with the interns and employees

The beautiful view from the atrium

Any future interns?

Our visit certainly piqued the interest of a number of students in the Barclays Internship Program, gave them an opportunity to think about post Carleton opportunities, and a glimpse of where serious dedication has taken some fellow Carls!

Carls in Italy

A number of students took the opportunity to make their way to Rome and Venice during independent study and travel week.  Below are a few pictures of Bill, Krishna and Ruben discovering some truly spectacular parts of Italy.

Thanks for the photos!

Safe and Sound in Cambridge

Just a quick note for anyone following the Carleton Cambridge crew this summer.  While we had plans to head into London for the next two evenings (with a tour of Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor Castle during the day tomorrow), we decided that given the unrest it would be wise to stay put in Cambridge.  While everyone is sad to miss out on this excursion, student safety is our utmost priority.  We are following the news and sincerely hope that the situation improves asap.  There is ongoing information available at www.bbc.co.uk.

Final Day in Brussels

Friday, July 22nd, marked our final day together in Brussels before heading off on independent study and travel week.  We spent breakfast discussing the Keynes reading, then took the "1000 Years of Commerce" walking tour of Brussels.  It was expertly led by Chris, a London transplant who has made Brussels his permanent home.  We followed Chris for 2 hours in the on-and-off rain learning about the industries of the area and how things have evolved to today.  It was a great overview of the city and connected right into our economic backgrounds.

The ants go marching two-by-two

An old fruit ripening building

Detail of the tile work along the top of the building

Part of the pis series of statues in Brussels: Zinneke Pis (The Peeing Dog)

Manneken Pis - The Krishna Edition

More beautiful tile work indicating what this building used to contain

A detail shot of one of the panels

Taking cover!

Erik F rubbing the lucky mustache of former Brussels mayor, Charles Buls

The spectacular Grand Place

To close out our time in Brussels (and as a surprise to the students!) we took a chocolate making class at Zaabar Chocolates.

Ready for some chocolate tasting!

We learned about where coca beans are grown, how they are processed and converted to the delicious, sweet treat so many of us enjoy.  Once we learned a little about how to correctly temper chocolate, we got to dig in and give it a try.

Waiting for our chocolate history and processing lesson

All suited up to start making (hairnets rather than hardhats this time!)

The utmost concentration is required!

The trays are filling up!

Making a special spicy chocolate for the professor

Switching to truffles

Mmmmmmm, Belgian chocolate.....

Putting on the final touches...

Viola!

A number of students were off to start their travels Friday evening, but those of us who were still around managed to fit in a few games of bowling. 

Checking out the scores

Alice setting up (for a strike, I'm sure)

Professor Aaron battles a split

From here everyone heads off on travel week to spend some time exploring on their own and working on independent study.  A few of the destinations on the list are: Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and Norway.  I hope to have some guest posts about all the amazing sights seen over the next week!