Student Bloggers

By Tiffany D., Arcadia in London Summer, England

My first week of the summer session is completed—Check!

The first couple of days was orientation and all the students from session II came together for a tour, some important travel information, and a bit of geography and political updates. After that short orientation we were free to roam the city and the coordinators were kind enough to plan little trips to the best sights in London for us like the theatre, Tower of London, Stonehenge, etc. The coordinators have been quite hands-off. They are there to help, but they allow you to enjoy your freedom safely, that is.

It has been a short time and I find myself in love, more so in love with the scenery, food and people. Okay, the mustard is a bit too spicy for my liking because my nostrils flare up and my eyes fill with tears but besides that, everything else is pretty good. I had my first introduction to my Health Policy class and I must say that I was delighted by my professor's wit and energy. The class is small but cozy. There are nine of us so it was easy to go around the room to interact with the professor and each other, stating our names, majors, and academic goals. The course is weighed heavily on projects and final papers, no tests, so that makes it even more important to do a good job. Also, it is mixed with a good amount of experiential learning, which I love by the way. My professor believes in the impact of history on everything so we will be having field trips to museums and other fascinating places to learn about its impact on health policy.

On to other things, the mannerisms of people in London are quite different. For one, people are pretty fast paced and direct, especially in subways. Number two, they speak English but it is still like another language, sometimes I find myself having to pay extra attention to what is being said just to hear the words through their accent. They say words like peckish (hungry), loo (the bathroom), bobby (the police) and “ta or cheers” for thank you and did I mention, no one says your welcome here, well they don’t. Number three, there is almost no need for a car because there are “tubes” (subways) everywhere, the buses, trains and tubes are easily accessible, efficient and punctual. The transportation is so reliable here, there are even 24 hour buses which I love and will miss when this journey is over. I don’t think I missed anything for now. I will see you next time!

Ciao!

Tiffany is a student at Providence College and is blogging from her summer abroad with the Arcadia in London Summer program, in London, England.