Crystal's Best Summer Vacation Ever

What I learned on My Best Summer Vacation Ever….

            This four week stint in London reminds me of studying a foreign language; such that a person learns more about her own language and culture by studying a different one.  Upon meeting Erin Mott on the third day of the trip, she said that over her two years of living in London she realized that there are “a thousand little differences” from living in America.  For some reason this stuck with me, and as time progressed, I knew that she was absolutely correct. 

            The sinks have separate faucets for hot and cold water, making it impossible to get warm water for hand washing.  Public toilets are hard to come by and do not have paper towels.  There is no drip coffee, only Americanos, and must be ordered “black” or “white.”  Food costs a difference price for “eat-in” and “take-away.”  It is most imperative to look right before crossing the street, and to do so at your own risk unless in a distinctly specified pedestrian crossing.  The price you see, is the price you get because taxes are included; unfortunately that is a 17.6% tax.  The customer is responsible for bagging his own groceries, but is only required to tip at a formal sit-down restaurant if it is not included in the bill.  Military time is most common and the “ground floor” is what Americans call the “first floor.”  There are certainly differences in speaking “British English” and “American English” and most importantly, CCTV sees everything and it is estimated that the average person is on camera over 330 times per day in London!  Instead of these “differences” being a nuisance, it was more fun to find as many of them as possible and make a list; it was better to soak up the dissimilarities because being in London was, unfortunately, a temporary adventure.

Now, to brag about how truly wonderful the COLAET committee and scholarship are:

            I was excited beyond belief when I got the call saying I was a recipient of this scholarship, but I really was not prepared for how well I would be treated by everyone involved.  Allowing us to have any flight dates was amazing because it allowed me to stay an extra week to go to Barcelona after the program ended in London.  It was also nice to have the non-stop flight from Phoenix to London, to travel with other scholarship recipients, and to have a car from the airport to the dorm to relieve unnecessary stress. 

            The dorms were nice for several reasons: the Wigram House is in the center on London very near to Victoria train and tube station, we each got our own room, and there were three kitchens on each floor.  We were within a ten minute walk of many attractions such as: Westminster Abbey, The London Eye, Parliament, Buckingham Palace, and several Parks. 

            My favorite three events of the four weeks were when we did the simple things that did not require much, if any, money.  The first was the series of collective events put on by the University because it allowed us to meet other students in our classes and dorm.  Another favorite was when four of us went to the beach town Brighton for a day.  Our round-trip train tickets cost a mere £12 each and we hung out on the beach all day before catching the last train back to London at 11pm.  Lastly, a small group of us tended to walk home instead of taking the night buses and one night we were walking down the South Bank of the Thames, starting near Tower Bridge.  We were not in a hurry to get home so we stopped on the Millennium Bridge for about and hour and just savored the moment, the opportunity of being in London, and our new friends. 

            I think that it is safe to speak on behalf of my whole group when I say that we were very impressed with the treatment we received in London.  It was quite impressive that we had the opportunity to go to Guildhall and meet the Lord Mayor; more impressive though, was how he was truly interested in the five of us and made special time to speak to us prior to the meeting. When the Lord Mayor walked to the front of Guildhall at the beginning of the meeting, he turned and winked at our group, which made us laugh and feel like we truly were personally invited to the event.

            As for the University of Westminster, I could not have imagined a better program!  The director, Martin, and his assistants were amongst the most personable university employees I have ever encountered.  The three events they had for all of the international students was a wonderful way for us to get oriented and meet other students.  In addition to standing outside before class each morning, they took our group to lunch and insisted that we tell them what they could do to change the program to make it better next year. I would quit a job as a dental hygienist to go work for Martin and his team in a heartbeat!