Alexandra

My travels this summer to London and several other European countries pulled me out of my habitual life in Arizona and greatly expanded my horizons.  For the first time in my life I had to orient myself to new cities and cultures.  I learned how to use the metro in Paris, the tube in London, and explored travel by night bus when traveling to Scotland.  Coming from Arizona, these forms of transportation were unfamiliar and I was actually proud when I figured out how to travel from place to place without getting lost.  I learned that asking for directions is very effective and to never shy away from asking and then asking again.  People tended to be helpful almost everywhere I traveled; something I was not expecting (especially in Paris).  Getting accustomed to city life in London took almost the whole three weeks and when it came time to depart I wished I had many more months to spend in this city.   It really helped to use all the resources I could to figure out what places to visit, what shows to see, and where to go out at night.  The information given to us at orientation was useful; however, the most useful resource was the students who had already completed summer session I at the University of Westminster.  It was easy to meet and become friends with other students attending the university’s study abroad program.  I even became friends with London students working at my dorm.  I made good friends in the program and they contributed greatly to making the trip enjoyable.   Everyone wanted to do and see different things, so there was always someone to join me in the activities I wanted to do in London.  For example, we went site seeing, to the movies to see Harry Potter, and to the musical The Lion King.   I went to the London Tower, to the Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral and to many other historic locations and museums.  I learned about London and its history and now feel more cultured and knowledgeable.  The class I took at the University of Westminster also aided me in becoming familiar with London and its history.  It was titled London through the Blitz and we learned about London’s history through both lecture and visiting museums.  Prior to my travels to London I was limited in my knowledge of this country, now I feel empowered by the knowledge I obtained.  The class schedule allowed for a flexible agenda to explore London and travel to other cities and countries.  I had class Monday through Thursday from ten am to one pm; therefore, the afternoons and weekends were open for other activities.  I traveled to Bath, Stonehenge, and Oxford one of the weekends and was supposed to travel to the Netherlands another weekend but unfortunately missed my plane.  I didn’t consider leaving to Heathrow airport early enough to leave room for traveling delays (such as the tube breaking down).   However, making this mistake was part of my learning experience this summer and I made sure to leave for the airport very early for my other flights out of Heathrow.  I also had the opportunity to meet the Lord Mayer and sit in on their council meeting.  This helped me better understand the judicial and traditional practices of London’s governing system.  The topic of having too few number of trash cans in London was actually one of the topics discussed during the council meeting.  This topic struck me as interesting because I had complained several times to my friends about it being impossible to find a trashcan in London.  The council said that there were only about 20 trashcans in the city of London!  They proposed the topic of installing more and actually had a debate about trashcans still being a safety issue and the cost of obtaining more bombproof trashcans over regular ones. It was interesting to listen to the members discuss an issue that was important to me as a visitor. The Lord Mayor was dressed in traditional clothing and presided over the whole committee. This has been the same tradition in London for hundreds of years.

 My favorite part about London was that I was able to live in its center and really experience the atmosphere of the city first hand.  I found it less enjoyable to travel to a country or city for just a day or several days and try to see as many famous places as possible in that short amount of time.  I would see the place and get to say I’ve been there; however, I didn’t really get to submerge myself into the culture and atmosphere of the city.  Living and going to school in London allowed me to experience London to the fullest.   I enjoyed taking public transportation everywhere, going to lunch at Brick Lane’s famous curry houses, and shopping in Oxford circus after class.  I experienced the every day life, the nightlife, and the tourist life of London and had one of the most amazing and rewarding times of my life. This experience has inspired me to want to travel more and become worldlier. The traveling I did this summer has allowed me to become more comfortable at figuring out my way around a foreign country and interacting with people from various nations. In the future, I hope to again get the chance to live in a different country for several months and soak in everything it has to offer.