I’ve been home in the States for a few days now and I’ve had the chance to truly reflect on my time studying abroad in London, England. I interned at two companies including 18-07 Careers and RUA Assistance. In addition, I took a class called Analyzing and Exploring the Global City where we took field trips every week to a different area of London. One area in particular was Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park where London hosted the 2012 Olympics. 

This was my first time working an internship and my first time traveling outside of the United States so I didn’t know what to expect. Despite my nerves, I felt very welcomed by my boss, by CEA CAPA Education Abroad, and the city overall. 

I learned alot about myself professionally, academically, and personally. In a professional sense, I was proud of how I handled my internship abroad. As I mentioned above, this was my first internship so I was going in “blind”. In my previous blog post, I mentioned my frustration with the lack of challenging tasks I was assigned. Despite this, I learned that I can handle anything that comes my way in a work environment whether it is the responsibility at hand or my feelings regarding the job itself. Academically, I have become more comfortable with participating in class. As a natural introvert, I don’t typically answer questions and participate in class discussions. However, in my class abroad, I have learned to step out of my comfort zone and share my thoughts. 

What surprised me the most about studying abroad is how much I enjoyed commuting to class. Sometimes the tube was very packed and it was an annoying process trying to get to class or back to my flat. However, now that I’m home, I miss how easy it was to hop on the tube and go anywhere in the city. A few weeks into my time in London, I felt like a local. I mentioned in my first post that there’s an unspoken rule on the tube: the right of the escalator is for standing and the left is for walking. This seems trivial, but the days I was rushing to work or class on the left side of the escalator made me feel like a true Londoner. 

Studying abroad has allowed me to make new friends, be exposed to new environments, and become a more confident individual. I have nothing but good things to say about my experience and definitely recommend studying abroad to any Pitt students who are considering it!