My experiences studying abroad – for just 2 weeks
As classes have started back up and I’m seeing certain friends for the first time since last December, the most popular phrase I’m greeted with isn’t “Welcome back!”
It isn’t “How was your winter break?”
It’s “Hey wait, I thought you were gone for the whole semester?”
Nope, I’m back on campus, folks. And you thought you got rid of me. Sorry to disappoint!
For the first two weeks in January, I was in London with seven other Marquette students, mostly English majors. We studied at City University in central London with our Marquette professor, Tyler Farrell. Going abroad for the J-Term (also known as January Term) session was one of the best experiences of my college career so far. While it was short, it was worth it, and it makes me wish I could have studied abroad for the whole semester.
I loved the group of Marquette students I went with. We all got along really well and ended up doing most things together, down to eating dinner and napping. We got to see a lot of tourist sites such as the British Museum, the Tower of London and Abbey Road crossing. Goofing around on the tube and trying to find our way using Google maps with our unstable data connection was always fun.
However, I felt that because we spent so much time with Americans and people we were used to, we didn’t really get to know what life was like for the locals. The study abroad website and friends of mine who studied abroad for a whole semester warned me about culture shock. Living in London for just two weeks, I did not get culture shock at all. The trip felt more like a vacation.
We didn’t have much interaction with people who lived in London, besides servers at restaurants or shopkeepers. Even then, how much can you really learn about a person and his culture from telling him, “I’ll order the fish and chips”?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining about the fact that it felt like a vacation, because it was a very fun study abroad trip. We saw four plays in London as a part of the class curriculum, what else could you ask for? But I felt that there was so much that I was missing that I couldn’t possibly obtain from being there for just two weeks.
At one point, one of my classmates brought a few British friends who she knew from when she studied abroad two years ago, for a full semester. We all went out to the pubs for a night, Americans and Brits. The two British friends were constantly making us laugh and were fun people to be around. I was able to try out my British accent with them and get a good opinion on it. I was surprised to learn that even though the British use the metric system, they describe how tall they are in feet and inches. That was probably the most interaction we had with the locals on the trip, and I learned a lot from it. I would’ve liked to have had time to do more.
We also lived together, as Americans, in one of City University’s college dorms. I would’ve liked to see what customs British people have in living situations. I had some Japanese students stay over at my house in high school as a part of our band foreign exchange program, and they always had a window open when sleeping – even though it was the middle of winter. I wondered if the British had any customs for living like these, different than my own. If we had any British roommates, we would have learned about living aspects of their lives as well.
In addition, I really enjoyed venturing off on my own. I learned a lot about myself in the process. This was the first time travelling somewhere new where I didn’t have to worry about anyone else. Family vacations and band trips to New York City are fun, but I’m always following someone else’s schedule. Here, I could follow my own schedule. I learned what fun it is to be around just myself, because I could go at my own pace. I could spend extra time at places and I could pop into gift shops whenever I wanted. I didn’t have to wait for anyone, and I never felt like a burden when asking for extra time in any given area.
The highlight of my London trip was the day I took a coach bus tour to Stonehenge and Bath, England. I was completely by myself that day, doing my own thing, breaking away from the other Marquette students. The only other people I was with were the random people on the same bus tour. I’m so glad I went, because Stonehenge is one of those must-see places, and Bath, England was beautiful. If I had stayed in London that day, I would’ve missed out.
Looking back at it, I would definitely do it all again if I had the chance. The J-Term session was very helpful because it’s not academically possible for me to take a full semester abroad. However, if it was possible, I would definitely study a whole semester in the beautiful city. But this time, I’d take the Chunnel and visit Paris on a weekend while I was at it.