Jo-Anne Swensson
I arrived safely in London last Sunday and was able to acclimate rather quickly, the weather was reminiscent of Florida 80+ degrees and high humidity. It has only rained twice since my arrival, which is good because I’ve become quite the walker. The only away to get around is on foot and via tube or bus and I am quickly becoming a tube guru. I spent the first two days getting used to my surroundings and exploring the city. It is an awesome experience to see buildings still in use that were built over 400 years ago and the parks that are sprinkled throughout the city are nice quiet retreats to the hustle and bustle of city life.
London is a cultural melting pot and for the first few days I felt like I was at Disneyworld. People are not sure if I am American or Austrailian and I am not sure where many people are from. I working hard to not get a British accent, but every now and then I find a few words coming out of my mouth that sound just odd.
I had a busy first week meeting with several police departments. I met with the City of London’s police, attended a Community Police meeting in Harringay and Police Open Day in Croydon. All meetings were full of information and I have learned how common sustainability and envrionmental awareness exists in London. It is everywhere from their recycling efforts, dual flush toilets, green transportation and even their construction efforts. Harringay Police is getting ready to build a new city jail on a Brownfied site and the builiding will follow BREEM building standards. When asked if there was a special process to go through to ensure the building was BREEM certified, I was looked upon with patient eyes and told no, that is how they do things here!