While I am here in London, I am taking a class as well as doing an internship. We are taking classes through Richmond American University. Richmond is a 20 to 30-minute bus ride and about a 45-minute walk from our accommodation. Our accommodation itself is located in North Acton, while the university is located in Cheswick. Richmond is a very small campus that has a lot to it. It actually used to be a studio lot for Disney before it was our campus. Richmond left some aspects of the lot; it’s really cool to walk around campus and see stage doors and other parts of the lot. At Richmond, I am taking a class called History of London. We have class twice a week on Thursday and Friday. On Thursday, we have a lecture with our professor, Anna; she talks about a certain period of time in London’s history. For example, last week we learnt about the Tudor period in London’s history. The following morning on Friday, we go on a site visit or walking tour related to the time period we learnt about. We have walked through parts of Ancient Roman London, and we have also gone to museums to explore their galleries. Anna gives us a tour of the exhibits and has us find artifacts and present them to the class as well. So far, we have visited the famous British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

My internship is in a small start-up company called China UK Gateway. They are more of a consultancy company that helps bridge the gap between students in China and the United Kingdom. They help students visit other countries and gain professional experiences while abroad. My commute to work is about a 45-minute to an hour tube ride on the London Underground. Typically, we work 2 days in person and 1 day online. There are tube strikes every so often here. Whenever there is a strike, my boss lets us work from home. I am technically a marketing intern. Since it is a small company, my fellow interns and I work on a lot of different projects. Right now, we are working on preparing a workshop that teaches participants about networking and workplace conflict resolution. This allows us to put on a real project from start to finish and learn the skills needed to put on an event like this. We are gaining skills in project management, event planning, marketing, and outreach. The company is very intern-focused, and I have gotten to meet people from other schools and countries who are also in London for the first time. 

I have gotten to make some great connections through my internship, and I am excited to continue growing in the rest of my time here.