Habitable May 22, 2022
By Michael E (Cinema and Politics and Government, University of Hartford) - abroad from 01/15/2022 to 05/21/2022 with
API (Academic Programs International): London - University of Westminster
It helped me learn how to navigate a foreign city.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
You get almost no assignments throughout the whole semester until the very end. That is very stressful. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I love the public transportation. It was extremely simple and very extensive, more so than Copenhagen, Stockholm, Amsterdam, or Paris. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The bathroom was too small. I have been in showers the same size as the entire bathroom. |
| * Food: |
The fish in fish and chips is good, but the chips get kind of soggy quickly. I enjoyed chicken and mushroom flavored Pot Noodle, but they weren't good enough that it makes me want to go back to the UK for them. However, I love Cadbury. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I had difficulty. The clubs tended to have a rule that you could not go in alone. I almost always went out by myself so I couldn't go into any of them. Socialists are more culturally acceptable and it made me uncomfortable. One of my roommates almost always had a local boyfriend in our flat and he once called me a midget. Apparently that's more acceptable in London, but that is something I absolutely do not tolerate and so I kicked him out for a few days. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I never really had any issues that led to me needing to access healthcare. However, I did catch Covid, but I just self-isolated in my room and never needed to go to the hospital. I cannot really give much of rating on this. |
| * Safety: |
I might have felt worried about myself in some locations, but I never actually was in any danger, there was a mall that warned of pick pockets, but I never got pick pocketed. This is in stark contrast to Paris which constantly warns you of pick pockets. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I wish a knew that being called a midget isn't such a big deal in London. I know I have mentioned this so many times before and while it only happened once, it was a big moment for me as it caused conflict with my roommates. |
