As I am adjusting back to life at home, I feel as though my time in London has gone by quicker than I ever could have imagined. Not so long ago I was attending our GBI orientation and talking with my roommate about how nervous/excited I was to be arriving in London this summer. I have been home for about 2 weeks and miss London so much. Going into my program, I had expected to enjoy my time in the United Kingdom, but I had not been prepared for how quickly I felt like I fit into London life. I think being able to live in an apartment (or ‘flat’), have work experience, commuting, and being pushed to explore the city by our teachers/advisors, created a unique experience that did genuinely make me feel like a ‘local’. Since being home, I have received a lot of questions about my favorite activity in London, or my favorite part about the program in general. I have found it quite hard to give a solid answer to these questions – I don’t know how to summarize my experience in a quick conversation and I don’t know how to properly describe what exactly made me like the city so much.
To start – I think studying abroad, even for six weeks, has provided me with personal growth and invaluable experiences. Being in a city with so many cultures and different people created endless opportunities to explore new foods, neighborhoods, and opened my eyes to more than the stereotypical cultural differences we have all heard about. Some of my favorite parts of my time in London would probably include exploring the different markets (Camden Market, Portobello Market, etc..) , the amazing public transportation that can take you just about anywhere in the city, my commute home from work past Big Ben and the House of Parliament, visiting multiple palace gardens and parks around the city, attending a traditional high tea, the many, many amazing meals I had, and so so so much more.
My program also consisted of a part-time internship – I am very grateful to have stepped foot in a professional/corporate environment, especially in one of the world’s biggest hubs for business. This was my first professional work experience and I gained so many transferable skills that I can bring with me to my future internships and career. Additionally, just being able to talk about my experiences is going to be extremely useful to me in future interviews and roles. I also got to learn from a professor who had hands-on experience in international marketing. One of my favorite parts of my class was visiting a marketing agency in Central London. We learned from the marketers about the behavioral science behind advertising – I found this to be very engaging and sparked my interest in learning more about that aspect of the field.
Overall, the end of my program has been a bittersweet experience. I met so many great people and learned so much both personally and professionally/academically, although I wish I had more time! There is still so much exploring to do in London and I am looking forward to someday visiting again.
