Study Abroad: London

The year 2016 has some pretty exciting things in store for me, but what I am most excited for is traveling outside of the United States for the first time. Towards the end of November I was accepted to study abroad for a semester in London. Then there was the hard part-getting my mom to agree to let me go. I don’t know how I did it but both of my parents were able to financially work it out, allowing me to attend the trip which I am so very grateful for (thank you mom and dad, xoxo). The program includes a week long of classes on campus and then over three weeks spent touring London and other cities in England, including Stonehenge. 

There are several things that I need to accomplish before leaving. This will be my first time officially traveling outside of US territory (Puerto Rico doesn’t count), meaning that I finally have to obtain a passport. Taking care of legal documentation is first and far-most important and then comes the fun part which is buying new carry on luggage for the plane as well as shopping for my new London wardrobe. 

I will be taking 2 courses in a span of 4 weeks which will be extremely challenging and information packed. These courses count for 6 credits of my Liberal Arts core curriculum requirements so it fit extremely well into my graduation plan. To ensure that we don’t  spend the entire duration of the journey studying and reading course materials, my instructor has promised that we will do all course work either the week before we depart for London or once we have returned to the states. This was one thing that I was cautious of before signing up for the program, I didn’t want to be locked up with a textbook when I could be exploring the city. 

The most nerve-racking part of this experience for me is the fact that i do not know anyone else who is also involved in the program. Our first official meeting for the program will be in the beginning of February. I am excited to meet and get to know everyone on this trip. 

I plan on updating this blog throughout this experience from start to finish and I hope that I will be able to look back on my writing and remember the details of the places I saw, the things I did and the people I met. 

xoxo,

Mallory