Before traveling to London I had high expectations of the extended period I would be away. I expected to travel all over Europe and experience new countries. With traveling I had the expectation to meet new people everywhere I went. Being in classes with students from other universities, I expected to meet many new faces from all over the United States. Because I took up the role of completing an internship while I’m here as well I had a few expectations for that as well. I expected to be given little tasks throughout the semester and be known as the “intern.”

After living in London for a few weeks my expectations only slightly changed. I knew I would be able to travel to new locations pretty easily, but I soon realized that I would not be able to visit every country and city I had wanted to see. Now that I am in the end of my semester, I can say that every city and country I visited was a incredible and I would not take back anywhere I visited. Although I did not get to every place I hoped, I visited so many different places I would not ever go to if I didn’t live here for a semester. Traveling to new places also allowed me to meet locals from each place. One of my favorite things was when they asked me questions about the United States. One of the most common questions I was asked was, “Have you been to New York City? Is it as big and cool as everyone says it is.” I found it funny how interested everyone was in learning more about the United States. While in Paris, we had a couple ask if they could practice their English with us and if we could correct them. Traveling broadened my knowledge on other countries and has made me addicting to seeing new places.

Throughout the semester I took multiple classes. Because there are multiple US universities attending this program I had students in my classes from many other universities. My expectation came true, I met so many new students from Arizona to Minnesota. It’s interesting seeing how their schools academics are set up differently or similarly to Pitt’s.

While here, I am interning at Pringle of Scotland. I expected to be known as the intern and to complete a series of simple tasks. Throughout my semester with Pringle of Scotland, I was surprised how many different tasks they asked me to complete. While some were easy small tasks, I was given a lot of tasks with a higher responsibility. For example, I completed a powerpoint with research I completed. This powerpoint was then presented by my supervisor in a meeting with very high-up officials.

My expectations of this semester were fairly realistic and came true for the most part. Because I did not get to travel as much as expected, I guess it means I’ll have to come back and complete those travels another time!