I am officially one month in to my semester abroad here in London, and I’m finally starting to settle into somewhat of a routine. For the GBI: London program, we live in a student accommodation located in North Acton, which is a short tube ride from Central London, which has sparked my new-found love for the Tube. London is so well connected. North Acton is between 2 main tube stations, with access to the Elizabeth and Central lines. If I need to get anywhere, there is always a train or bus to get me there, which is like a major culture shock, because Pittsburgh’s PRT buses are not very reliable or widespread. Another thing that I discovered since being here is an app called Too Good to Go. This is an app in the States, but I had never heard of it until getting here, and most cafés, restaurants, and grocery stores participate. Basically, it’s an app where you can pay extremely discounted prices for a surprise bag of food/products that would be thrown away at the end of the day anyway. I’ve gotten bags for $5 that actually value around $25… genuinely so much food. It is a life saver as someone on a tight budget. It’s also just very sustainable and is actively reducing food waste, which I love!

On the academic side, I was very nervous about the classes and workload before arriving in London, but it has ended up being almost a breeze in comparison. The content is very similar, but the workload is significantly less. Most of my classes only have one mid-term, a final exam, and maybe a paper or presentation somewhere in between, and then every class has a ‘guided learning’ due each week. The class sizes are significantly smaller, more equivalent to a typical recitation section or very specialized course. I was shocked that the university is housed on one floor of one building. There’s not really a campus. Classes are worth four credits and are mainly once a week for 3 hours. I only have one class on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday respectively. I would say that the ‘lecturers’ (professors) are pretty similar to Pitt in the way they lecture and the extent of their knowledge in their fields. All around, it was way scarier and a bigger deal in my head than it actually is. 

Here at RAUL, I’m enrolled in 3 courses that are counting towards my degree requirements. On Monday’s, I have an advertising, public relations, and media class, which counts toward my marketing major as an elective. This is definitely my favorite class so far. I really like how the lecturer runs the class, kind of more like a conversation than just talking to us. He is very knowledgeable and is great at relating examples to things that are relevant to students’ interests. My Tuesday class is an introduction to media and communications. This fulfills my art/music gen-ed credits. The way this class functions is very similar to my ADPR class, and they are actually pretty intertwined in topics. Both of these classes remind me very much of a class I would take at Pitt. My third and final class is managerial accounting, on Wednesdays. This is the class I’m most nervous for, and it is my most different class when comparing it to Pitt. Here at RAUL, managerial is the first accounting class taken for degree students, so many of my classmates have never been exposed to accounting concepts before, so the way the class is run functions around the fact that most people in the room don’t know anything about financial accounting, whereas I have already taken and passed it, so there’s some terminology that I know and recognize that my peers have no idea about. In that way, it is probably easier for me since I have that foundation, but when it comes to the brand new concepts that are specific towards managerial, I have to put in more work, because it takes me a while to understand and grasp these concepts. It doesn’t really come naturally or easy to me. In this environment, since classes are so small, it is crucial to be a good listener and active participant in class. It’s not only beneficial to you as the student, but also for the good of the class to argue your perspective or add to the conversation. I personally need to improve on my procrastination. Since I only have three assignments a week, it is easy for me to put them off until the very last minute, which leads me to scramble and not necessarily take in the information I’m researching or writing about. 

My schedule allows me to have free time to explore the beautiful, vast city that is London, while still being able to advance in my academic goals with courses that boost my knowledge in my field and help me engage in discussions that broaden my view within marketing in specific. This month has flown, I need to stop blinking!