So far I have been in England a month and have gone to many places. I have been into Central London 7 times seeing a bunch of different tourist destinations and museums. I have been to Westminster Abbey, the British Museum, the National Gallery, took a tour of Buckingham Palace and took a tour of the famous Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. I have seen the London Eye, Big Ben/Parliament, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Leister Square, and explored the South side of the River Thames. I have taken every chance I have to go into Central London. Central London is like New York City, but it is also completely different. Everyone is a tourist there so you don’t feel weird or feel like you are bothering anyone by stopping to take pictures. Everyone is very nice as well! I have had to asked directions or questions to the police or workers of the tube. If you ask nicely they will be nice to you. Also, travel where you want to go! It’s okay to go see things by yourself. I have seen many things by myself because my friends aren’t interested in seeing it or our schedules clash.
I have also gotten to go out of the UK once. This past weekend I went with a tour group to Ireland. It was a lot of fun! If there are tour groups that your school supports then I would highly suggest that you go! I saw so much more than I would have on my own. I saw small things that most people just pass by. I wish the trip was a little longer, but there is only so much you can do while classes are in session. I highly recommend traveling as much as possible because it is very cheap once you are in Europe to get to a different country.
I definitely experienced culture shock when I first arrived in England. It was not a walking town like New Paltz. I was in a dorm in the middle of a neighborhood where it’s a 15-minute walk to a town. I was mainly overwhelmed with having to take buses everywhere I went and having to buy food for every meal. I slowly got used to it, but it was difficult at first. I was very open with the friends I had made since I arrived, so I didn’t feel so lonely with everything. They were experiencing the same things I was. That was a great thing to do because I felt so much better after. What made me feel better was knowing that other people were feeling the same way I was.
I also let my family know how I was feeling. With the help of my family, I took it day-by-day and focused on the next big adventure—normally a trip into central London. In order to make myself feel better, I made countdowns to everything: my Ireland tri, when my aunt and cousin are coming, when my family is coming to see me and when I am leaving. Another big thing that my sister told me to do was to keep my mind busy. I made sure to keep myself busy that way I didn’t get homesick as easily. I had to get UK Netflix in order to stay busy, but it gives me something to do at night. I also started hanging out with my flat mates more, which helped a lot.
I do not feel as overwhelmed or homesick anymore since I have been keeping myself busy, but I know I will always miss my family. I will see them soon enough, though. Plus, there is always Skype and FaceTime. I chose to study abroad because it was a dream I had since I was in high school. Now that I am finally here, I am going to make the most of it since I am only here for a short time. It makes me feel better knowing I am here for only a short time because it means I will see my family in a few short weeks. I just need to keep pushing myself out of my comfort zone because I know I will love the experience after it is done.
It did not hit me until we were about to land that I was going to be living in England for a few months. I was nervous to be alone in a completely different country. I had never been out of the United States; so flying internationally by myself was enough to make me nervous. I luckily had people that I knew traveling with me, but that did not help me feel comfortable with living by myself in a different country. It took the pressure off of the flight, but not of the entire study abroad experience.
Once I got off the plane I had to go through customs/immigration. Everybody was really nice and spoke in a British accent. This is when I realized that I was finally living out a dream I have always wanted. Since high school, I have loved everything British. I loved British novels, British stores and their culture. There I standing in front of immigration and I was about to live out my dream of living in England for a few months.
I was fortunate enough to get picked up from the airport, so I got to see the streets of England while relaxing on a coach bus. I was fascinated how the bus driver could maneuver their way around the small streets. There are also a lot of roundabouts, which made me smile because it was not something that we have in New York. The people that were from the University that picked us up from the airport were very nice and made sure that we were okay. I was both excited and nervous to start this experience.
I can’t believe spring break is officially over! I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to visit five countries in the course of three weeks. I’m constantly looking at my photos and my notes to realize that it wasn’t a dream.
There are so many things to cover and tell you guys, so I’m making four posts of my travels 🙂
I started my travels in London, England! London is the closest area to travel to from Wales (only three hours by bus). When I stayed in London, I stood in an Air B&B. For those who don’t know, an Air B&B is an alternative place to stay other than a hostel. You are able to find a room in an apartment or a house that can provide you with a variety of extra things to make your stay worthwhile such as free breakfast, kitchen access, your own bathroom, and more!
It was just three of us that had the room to ourselves with our own bathroom and breakfast every morning from the host. It was also a great location, only twenty minutes from all the main attractions.
The bus became our main transportation. It was a great way to travel and admire London from the top deck of the double decker.
Tip #1: The first thing to remember when you’re traveling through London is to buy an Oyster card. I learned that the harder way when I didn’t have one and it took us longer to get to our place than it should have.
Since our first day in London was spent getting there, we did everything the next day. On our second day in, we spent it doing all the ‘touristy’ things. That included Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, Millennium Bridge, St. Paul Cathedral, and King’s Cross. I still can’t believe we got all that done in one day and I think we only use transportation three times!
Tip #2: It made be hard and overwhelming, but try to plan as much as you can. We tried to do that as much as we can because there’s so much of London, but so little time.
On our third day in London, we saw other parts of London such as Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Street, Soho, Shoreditch, and Abbey Road. London really reminded me of New York City. Each area had a different presence, a different way of making me smile.
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- Piccadilly Circus
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- Shoreditch
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- Abbey Road
Two highlights of that day was finding a random picture of Bradley Cooper and getting to see the Cinderella exhibition…for free!
Our final day in London was filled with saying goodbye to our Air B&B, checking out Hyde Park which featured Princess Diana’s Memorial Fountain and saying goodbye to London overall.
Tip #3: Always ALWAYS double check on plans. Communication is key! I was stuck with my luggage for about two hours because of miscommunication. So always communicate with the people you’re traveling with.
Although the weather was never in our favor (maybe for a short while), it was still easy to travel in London. There wasn’t an area of London that we didn’t see, whether we were traveling by foot or not. I got so accustomed to traveling, I felt like I was a native in the city.
London was so fun and so rewarding with great friends. It was sad to leave London, but I was excited for the next journey. Hello Paris!
SPRING BREAK BABY! As I write this post my spring break unfortunately comes to an end. No, I am not bummed to be back in Milan. However, who would say no to more time off?
Ano Poli, Thessaloniki with Dyeemah
I had probably the greatest spring break of my life. My spring break started in Thessaloniki, Greece. Now I know what you’re thinking, why Thessaloniki? Lucky for me I have always wanted to go to Greece, and I have a friend from high school, Dyeemah, living there for the year! It was pretty much fate that our spring breaks collided and I could visit her and truly see her world. Greece to say the least is truly breathtaking. I love Milan, but it is a city through & through. To be able to spend my time along the Mediterranean, gazing upon the gorgeous skyline was something I made sure not to take for granted.
Dyeemah and I in front of the White Tower in Thessaloniki
The food in Greece was SO good! The best meal I had was my first night in Greece, where I tagged along to a dinner with Dyeemah, her students, and her colleagues. We all ordered multiple dishes, and just kind of split everything. Everything was so delicious, and authentic I can’t really pick a favorite! That meal really was unfair because of how high it set the bar so early on in my trip. But I did eat many, many yummy things while there, including a pork hero. Street food in Europe is one of my favorite things ever, we need more in the US. Street food is cheap, yummy, and a total comfort.
Pork Hero = Yum Yum
Greece was very relaxing, and serene. It was nice for once to go on a trip and not have to plan anything. I was just able to go with the flow. Plus I got to use Dyeemah’s dryer for my clothes, so that pretty much made the trip worth it just on that note alone. I was in Thessaloniki for 6 days before heading off to London. While I have already been to London before, I needed to go back. I truly mean need, this was far beyond my wants. Having not been overwhelmed with excitement from my prior visit to London, I was determined to return in order to visit the Harry Potter studio tour. During my study abroad adventures I really am trying not to double dip on past trips, London so far being my only exception. My camp friend, Nina, is spending her semester studying in Copenhagen. Nina and I are huge HP fans, having once even been to the Quidditch world cup in NYC. Once we both decided on Europe for our Spring 2015 study abroad destinations, we knew it was fate. We booked our tickets for the attraction months in advanced because it is popular beyond belief, selling out constantly.
Butterbeer with Nina!
The Harry Potter studio tour was beyond what I could have ever imagined. However, I must say just in general, London really was the real MVP of spring break. While our stay in London was brief, it was jam packed. We did a free walking tour, caught up with another camp friend over dinner, spent the day in Camden (which was perfection), and lastly but most essentially left the muggle world behind for bigger and better things.
Nina & I with our camp friend Nicole =)
If you have the chance to visit the Harry Potter studio tour in London I really do recommend it. Being a die hard fan of the books, films, and everything in between, this experience really did provide us with an insight into the intricate details of this world we have learned to love with all of our hearts. Harry Potter is universal, teaching messages including love, determination, friendship, imagination, and so much more. Harry Potter was such a big part of my childhood, it had become a ritual for my mother to read the books to me at night. Seeing the world come to life in front of my own eyes was the cherry on top of my London sundae (or the Cadbury egg McFlurry I had while in London).
Hogwarts!
It is safe to assume that after my spring break I will be leaving Italy, in search for my new study abroad destination aka Hogwarts.
Thanks for reading, until next time keep practicing your spells!
This proud Slytherin is off to her next adventure