London

Having completed my study abroad program in London and coming back home, I have had time to reflect on my experiences while abroad and how they have influenced not only my professional development, but my academic and personal growth as well. Before going on this program, I had hoped to be able to learn more about what business looked like internationally and be able to bring what I learned back with me and use it in future academic and professional endeavors. I believe that this experience allowed me to accomplish that and more.

Before attending my study abroad program in London, I was worried about whether or not I would be able to adjust to the living situation there. However, it was not as hard as I expected and the living arrangements I was given were in a great part of the city, right near the iconic London Tower Bridge! The university coordinates with a study abroad company to send students abroad and they arranged all the housing accommodations for us. We were given a housing questionnaire before the program started asking about our daily schedules and preferences.

As a self-proclaimed “foodie,” I truly believe that food is the window to the soul. I would venture to say that the best way to really experience a different culture is through food, and London is perhaps the best city in the world for discovering a culture (or cultures) through food. One of the things that I have done in my time in London is I have tried to mix up where I eat every week, whether it be trying a new restaurant nearby or cooking for myself at the flat. I would say that I typically cook anywhere from three to five nights each week and go out to eat the other days.

Living in London is such a unique experience based on the individual neighborhood you live in. What is so special about London, however, is that there truly is not a bad place to live. No matter where you are in the city, you are never far from a tube, bus, or train station, which makes the city seem so much smaller and more accessible. My living situation in London is definitely interesting, but I love everything about it. I live in a seven-person flat in the East End region of London, just a ten-minute walk away from the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge.

I have two pieces of advice for anyone thinking about this program in the future.  Firstly, this is a study abroad, it is meant to be fun.  That does not mean, however, that there is not work to be done and stressful situations.  You will have to balance classes and an internship, or a full semester’s worth of classes if you elect to not complete an internship.  I had an internship, so I can speak to this balance.  Twenty hours (which is the required hours of the internship in this project) takes up a lot more of your time than you would think.  You will likely have to work three or four da

I am living in an apartment in the east of London.  The neighborhood is in between The City of London and Whitechapel, part of the Tower Hamlets postal code and technically called Aldgate.  The apartment building itself is inconspicuous, sitting in a street that contains a pub, a grocery store, other businesses, and other apartment buildings as well.  My apartment itself is a great size.  We have a kitchen, living room, and dining area that is all open.  There are three bedrooms and three bathrooms, as the apartment fits seven students.  A common feature in European bathrooms is heated towe

You might be thinking to yourself right now how does one even establish, a quotidian routine as a foreign student, well allow me to explain. Moving to an unknown city may seem like a stressful and intense experience, let alone an unknown city that is also known to be as one of the world’s largest megapolises. I like to consider myself a pretty adaptable individual, but I will admit that it took me a while to achieve a so called “routine”.