Student Bloggers
New Beginnings
Date
January 31, 2018
It has officially been a little over a week since I have settled in my new home here in London – so I’d like to reflect on the past week and what has been going on. Going into my study abroad experience, I was extremely nervous for multiple reasons: leaving America for a long time, not seeing my family and friends for a few months, going to a new, unfamiliar school, and so on. However, this past week has greatly exceeded any expectations I had in the best ways possible.
Since I had never been to the city of London before, I really did not have any expectations when arriving and settling into my new place. Sure, I knew it would be a lot colder and cloudier than I am used to, but other than that I welcomed London with open arms. Culture shock was definitely a fear I had at the back of my head when leaving America, but it really helped that one of my best friends from my home school, Lauren, came with me and is enrolled in the same program (if you would like to see how we are adapting and what we are doing to keep ourselves busy while abroad, here is our YouTube channel!). Luckily my flight, getting to my housing accommodation, and orientation all went smoothly.
The first week upon my arrival allowed me to get settled in and get used to living in London before classes started, which helped out tremendously. As not only an American, but a Californian, walking everywhere is quite a foreign concept to me, but the public transportation in London is very easy to get the hang of. Within the past week, I have been able to get my bearings within the city and view some tourist sites such as Waterloo Bridge and the Tower of London, which are all beautiful.
I have nothing but good things to say about my experience abroad so far (minus the occasional misread of maps). I feel so lucky to be studying in such an incredible city for the next few months. I cannot wait to share what the rest of my journey entails! Cheers!