It’s a Learning Experience

When I first arrived here in London, I had no idea what to expect. We have only been here for three and a half weeks but it feels like we have been here for much longer. I am having a great time learning about a new culture and making new friends. I am learning something new every day that I am here. The first week we made an effort to travel through as much of central London as we could by going on the bus and boat tours with the school, we also took a day trip of our own. We ventured out to the tube and managed to get ourselves right into the center of London (an accomplishment in itself) then walked for miles to see everything from the London Eye to the Tower Bridge and everything in between. I also learned quickly in that week how weak the U.S. dollar is and that I am not going to make the conversion in my head every time I make a purchase since that will only depress me.

Once we began classes, it was a completely new experience. We learned to integrate waking up on time and getting homework done with still exploring the place that we are living in. Then we began our first three week class which is what we are taking now, I am finding it a bit challenging to keep up with learning a week’s worth of material in a 3 hour time period but we are all working together.

Finally, in this three and a half week period, we are all finalizing our plans for the trips that we are going to take during the semester. Many people made plans during the summer but now we have to make sure our hostels are booked and there are planes, trains and automobiles to get us where we need to be. Personally, I had no idea what I was going to do for my fall break or who I was going with, all I knew was at some point I wanted to make it to Italy. Turns out, that is where I am going to spend an entire week! I had to work together with the people I am going with and the school to learn how to find cheap flights and hostels in a short amount of time and split up the payments for it all. Then, the whole group, all sixteen of us, decided that for our last hoorah, we are going to Porto, Portugal! Once again, we had to book hostels and flights.

As I’m sure you can tell, it has been a busy three and a half weeks and that is why it feel to me that we have been here for so much longer. This experience has been a great one so far and I am gaining so many tools that many of my peers back home will not acquire. I am not only learning about myself while I am here but I am becoming aware of a new culture and even though they speak my language, they are not at all the same as me.