The best summer of my life so far Past Review
By Megan H (Wine and Viticulture, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo) for
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo: London - London Study Summer Program
I don't know what I want to do with my life but I now know that someday I will move to London. I have fallen in love with the city and I'm never going to forget it. There is so much in the world and London is a major center of culture and has such a rich life that I just haven't been able to find anywhere else. Thank you for putting on this program, it really has forced me to stop and think about what I want to do with my life and where I want to end up.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
While I thoroughly enjoyed the subject matter of all three courses, I felt like the course load was a bit overwhelming at times. The good thing was that the teachers all communicated pretty effectively with each other to ensure that any overload of due assignments was moved slightly to comply with our busy schedule. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The people at FIE were always friendly and willing to help out if we had any problems. They know the city and are willing to give recommendations for anything you could want. The classroom was a little cramped for 46 students but hey, it's London, space is limited. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I felt like the flat was well kept, the clean sheets every week were lovely. I felt very safe walking around the area either alone, in a group, night or day. The half mile walk from the tube station kept foot traffic around us to a minimum. We were very close to shopping and grocery stores. Right across the street from Hyde Park. It was a fantastic location in my opinion. |
| * Food: |
There's nothing really special about British food but I never had any problems finding something I liked on the menu. If you're craving a good hamburger, go to Byron. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I got to travel to Dublin, Paris, Oxford, Stratford, Bath and Stonehenge during my time there, as well as spend a lot of time exploring London. Our field trip to Brick Lane was most memorable because the area is so different from Kensington and the amazing food we had there with Mr. Makey made it stand out. I made some great friends and the best thing is that they're all going to be back at Cal Poly when fall quarter starts. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| 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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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | As a student from the College of Agriculture, I had a few hesitations at first because I knew this was a program that definitely wouldn't be full of other students from my college. Once I got the list of students going, I didn't know a single other person. I think that this is the reason I had such a great time though. It forced me to just jump in with no reservations about who I was going to hang out with and I knew there weren't going to be any people with previous expectations of me. Sure many of the students from the College of Liberal Arts knew each other prior to the trip but most everyone was just like me, in London to learn, make friends and have a fantastic summer. This really has been the best summer of my life so far and to anyone considering the program, I'd say just go for it, you will not regret a single thing. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
History of London |
| Course Department: | Hum 319 |
| Instructor: | John Makey |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This was my favorite course of the three. Mr. Makey is incredibly knowledgeable of almost every singly aspect of the history of the city he works and lives in. The fact that he enjoys teaching and the subject so much makes it pretty impossible to not love this class. The field trips every week really adhere to Cal Poly's "Learn By Doing" motto and by the end of the program I felt like I was a part of the city, not only was I able to get myself around without a map but I also knew a little bit of the history of anywhere I went. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
