På opdagelse i Greenwich! // On adventure in Greenwich!

De sidste to uger har været omkring eksamen forberedelse og de faktiske eksaminer selv. Jeg er heldigvis færdig med alle mine eksaminer vedrørende mine skolefag og har derfor kun mine eksaminer i engelsk tilbage. Det er mærkeligt at vide at hele ni måneders af undervisning er gået direkte til en eller to eksaminer. Jeg har indtil videre taget fem eksaminer – 2 i Sociology, 2 i Business Studies and 1 i World Development. Tre af disse var taget på den samme dag, tirsdag den 24. maj for at være helt akkurat, og da eksaminerne overlappede hinanden, var jeg nød til at blive holdt i isolation under hele skoledagen, så jeg ikke kunne snakke med nogle der allerede have taget den eksamen som jeg skulle op i senere på dagen. Jeg er lettet over at mine eksaminer (næsten) er ovre og jeg tror, at jeg gjorde nogenlunde i de fleste af dem.

Jeg har intet fag kaldt Space Studies og jeg ved meget lidt om astronomi, men efter et besøg i et Planetarium og Astronomi Center i Roya Observatory Greenwich, føler jeg at jeg ved en tand mere om vores univers end hvad jeg gjorde før. Jeg tog af sted sammen med Christina (Østrig), Laura (Schweiz) og Valentina (Italien), og vi havde alle billetter til et af deres planetarium shows for at finde ud af hvad rummet havde at tilbyde på nattehimlen efter vores besøg og måneden derpå. Præsenteret live af en Royal Oberservatory astronomer, udforskede showet Månen, stjernebilleder, planeter og andre rum genstande. Det var et rigtig fedt show og noget jeg helt klart vil foreslå at gøre hvis du bare har den mindste interesse indenfor det ydre rum og noget som du endnu ikke har fået gjort. Royal Observatory er også hjemmet til Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) – verdens internationale tidsstandard der deler verdens østlige og vestlige halvkugle. Det er en beæret tradition for besøgende af Greenwich at tage den pilgrimmen op af bakken i Greenwich Park og få deres billede taget på den officielle Prime Meridian Line, så det er præcis hvad jeg gjorde. I Greenwich har man også den bedste naturlige udsigt over byen af London, hvor du fra toppen af bakken i Greenwich Park har et fantastisk udsigt over River Thames og nogle af Londons berømte bygninger såsom London Eye, O2 arena, the Walkie-Talkie og The Shard. Greenwich Park er en kæmpe park og et af de største grønne områder i den sydøstlige del af London. Her får du en spektakulær udsigt over haver og landskaber, og hvis du er en god menneske-kigger, kan du muligvis få nogle særdeles sjove syn. For eksempel, en lille dreng der løb meter efter meter efter hans hoppebold som han blev ved med at smide væk, et barn der konstant faldt ned efter utallige mislykkes sving med battet, og en dreng der klamrede sig til hans mors ben og blev trækket over græsset. I parken formåede jeg også at fodre nogle egern hvilket var så kært, da de bare kom op til dig når du rakte din hånd ud. Alt i alt, så er Greenwich et super sted at tage ud til for en sjov dag ude af huset sammen med venner og familie, da det tilbyder alt fra parker, museer, betagende udsigter og lækre mad markeder!

// The past two weeks have been surrounded by exam preparation and the actual exams themselves. I am luckily finished with all my subject exams and only have my English Language exams left after the half term. It is weird to think that nine months of schooling all just went into one or two exams. I have so far done five exams - 2 in Sociology, 2 in Business Studies and 1 in World Development. Three of these were all on the same day, Tuesday 24^th May to be exact, and as the exams were overlapping each other, I had to be kept in isolation during the whole school day so I couldn’t talk to anyone who had already taken the exam I was doing later on. I am relieved that the exams are (almost) over now, and I think that I did alright in most of them.

I do no such subject such as Space Studies and I know very little about astronomy, but after a visit to the Planetarium and Astronomy Centre at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, I do feel like I know a tiny bit more about our universe than what I did before. I went with Christina (Austria), Laura (Switzerland) and Valentina (Italy), and we all had tickets to one of their planetarium shows to find out what the night sky had to offer on the night after out visit and the month ahead. Presented live by a Royal Observatory Astronomer, the show explored the Moon, constellations, planets and deep space objects. It was a really cool show, and something I would recommend you to do if you are just the tiniest bit interested in space and something you have not done before. Also the historic Royal Observatory is the home of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) – The world’s prime meridian that divides the eastern and western hemispheres of the earth. It is a time honoured tradition for visitors to Greenwich to make the pilgrimage up the hill in Greenwich Park and get their photo taken on the official Prime Meridian Line, so that’s exactly what I did.
Whilst in Greenwich you also have the very best natural view of the city of London, where you from the top of the hill in Greenwich Park have a fantastic viewpoint over the River Thames and some of London’s most famous buildings such as the London Eye, the O2 arena, the Walkie-Talkie and The Shard. Greenwich Park is a massive park and is one of the largest single green spaces in south-eat London. Here you get spectacular views over gardens and landscapes, and if you are a great people watcher, you might even be able to see quite the funny sights. For example, a young boy who ran miles and miles after a bouncy ball that he kept throwing away, a kid who constantly fell after an unsuccessful swing with his bat, and a boy who clung to his mother’s leg and got dragged over the grass. In the park I also managed to feed some squirrels which were the cutest thing ever as they just came to you when you reached your hand out. Overall, Greenwich is a great place to have a fun day out with family and friends that offers everything from parks, museums, stunning views and delicious food markets!