My Semester in London
By Vanessa Wilkins ‘15
This past semester I studied abroad in London, England through a journalism program with the USC Annenberg School of Communication & Journalism! It was an experience of a lifetime, and I would strongly recommend to anyone who has the opportunity to study abroad to take advantage of it! I’ve been asked many times what my favorite part of studying abroad was, but there are way too many to pick just one!
However, if I were to list every single thing I enjoyed about studying abroad, you would end up reading an encyclopedia, so I’ve narrowed it down to my top three favorites.
Without further ado, here are my favorite memories from studying abroad:
1. Getting to explore a new city and an entirely new culture
Studying abroad allowed me to immerse myself in a new culture for five whole months. People might think that because London is an English-speaking country that it can’t be that different from the United States, but I can tell you first hand that the United States and the United Kingdom are VERY different, and I went through culture-shock just as I would if I had studied in France or Spain or Italy. Getting adjusted to a new culture is part of the fun of studying abroad! Because everything was new to me, there was always something to do; whether it be visiting the British Museum to see the Rosetta Stone and ancient Egyptian artifacts, or simply meeting up with friends at the local pub down the street for fish and chips, embracing the British culture was one of my favorite parts of studying abroad.
2. Meet Interesting People
Although I was studying abroad in London, there were many students in my class who were from different countries altogether, like France, Scotland, and Poland. I also came across interesting people outside of class, like the cute ice cream server in Camden Market, or the employees at the Disney store in Harrods, who I had enjoyed having conversations with. Interacting with people from so many different places was awesome, because everyone was unique and interesting to get to know. The greatest part about meeting people abroad was realizing how similar, yet how different you are from someone from a different part of the world.
3. Traveling
Arguably the best part of studying abroad was getting to take weekend trips to explore throughout Europe! It’s just so much easier to travel in Europe than it is in the United States. For example, it takes less time to get from Luxembourg to Germany than it does to get from USC to Disneyland (seriously)! I visited a lot of different countries this semester, but my absolute favorite place I went to (besides London, of course) was Copenhagen, Denmark. In fact, I loved it so much that I visited two times! My biggest regret about studying abroad is that I didn’t travel to more countries; but that’s okay, because it just gives me an incentive to get back to Europe ASAP!
There are so many more reasons to study abroad in college if you are able to, but these were the main reasons that I enjoyed my semester so much. Now I’m not going to lie to you, there are some downsides to studying abroad too, such as the currency exchange rate, pickpockets, dealing with people who do not like tourists, or Americans (and especially not American tourists), and homesickness. But the good parts of studying abroad definitely outweigh the bad by a milestone, so those complaints are not even worth going into.
I miss a lot about London; I miss the extravagance of afternoon tea; I miss the delicious scotch eggs from Borough Market; and most of all I miss the gorgeous British accents that still made me smile even after I’d heard them for a whole semester. Five months may seem like a long time, but now that I’m back in the States, and as cheesy as it sounds, it really does feel like it was all a dream; that’s how quickly Study Abroad goes by. I will always remember the amazing times I had in London, and I hope that one day I get to return and see more of Europe. But if not, I will always be grateful for the semester I spent studying abroad.
