Can I move back to London forever now? Past Review

By Sophia L (Hospitality Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst) - abroad from 01/14/0014 to 04/26/0014 with

CEA CAPA Education Abroad: London, England

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

Having never left the country, I can't beleive it was all real. I saw 8 countries while abroad...EIGHT. Yes, my experience was worthwhile. The only thing I'd change for next time is doing more research ahead of time so I could fit in even more.

Review Photos

CEA CAPA Education Abroad: London, England Photo

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	None

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	The educational experience was amazing. I took two courses aside from my Learning Through internships Course, and they both were very informational and fun. In each class, my professors alternated weekly field trips and in-class sessions. Each field trip was either to a museum or on a walking tour, so I got to see what London was all about. Some of the walking tours included: London's Street Art Jack the Ripper Walking Tour South Kensington Walking Tour So as you may be able to see, I really got a better feel for the city and my class time was well-spent outdoors and learning about what a Global City London really is.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	The staff at the CAPA office were VERY helpful. I was nervous about going (really nervous) but once I got there I felt so much better. The CAPA staff did a great job orienting me to the city and I had a lot of questions which could be answered by the front desk receptionist who is always in the center just hanging out helping students with various things.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	My flat was really nice! I lived in Richmond court, which is one of the several living areas that CAPA has in London. I was in a neighborhood, but my building was filled with all CAPA students which made it feel very safe and home-like. I was about 20 minutes away from the CAPA center, and I could either walk or take the tube there.
* Food:	I am a vegetarian, and I found London to have so many delicious options for me to choose from (waaaay more than at home!). The curry is as delicious as they make it sound and with all of the open air markets, me and my friends who like all different types of food could go and enjoy what we really were in the mood for and eat together.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	My internship really helped me integrate into the London culture. I immediately figured out how to use the tube, which can take you basically anywhere you wanted to go. The people that I worked with also gave me tips of places to check out besides the main tourist attractions, and they invited me to a lot of their social events, where I met other people from London. On my walk to work I went right by Big Ben and by the end of my trip, I started saying to myself, "I wish all these tourists would stop taking pictures and keep walking!!"
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?	I did not have any issues while abroad, and I don't know anyone that did. There was a student in a wheelchair on my trip and CAPA was very accomodating to his needs.
* Safety:	London is a big city, so you have to watch out for pick-pocketers and scammers on the streets, but if you have any common sense or have ever been to a big city, you will get used to this very quickly and learn how to be conscious of your belongings. Other than that, London is very safe in my opinion.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes

Finances

* 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)	I got used to cooking my meals during the week, which saved a lot of money. But at first I spent a lot over my budget. Once I adapted to the high exchange rate, I was able to control my spending. London is a very expensive city in general, so I tried to save where I could to allow myself to spend money on things that were more important to me, like visiting other places on the weekends.
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	$150
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	Save your money for the weekends! You will often go to open markets where there's so many food options and little trinkets to buy. They are tempting and I often spent most of my money here. You'll also want to buy your whole entire family souvenirs everywhere you go but keep in mind--does your dad actually want a keychain from every city in Europe? Probably not. SAVE for cool stuff like plane rides and staying in hostels.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	No

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Apartment
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Americans
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Americans
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?	The American students I met Meeting locals through my internship Getting to work and live in a big city
* What could be improved?	Nothing that I can think of
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	I wish I had researched free things to do in London after work and class, that way I could have squeezed in more activities during the week days.

Reasons For Studying Abroad

To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you.	The Outright Urbanite A social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Analyzing & Exploring the Global City
Course Department:
Instructor:	Grainne O'Connell
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	The class involved a lot of papers, but they were easy to write because we had so much information gathered during class on the subjects she would have us write about. The tours were very carefully chosen, and all were super interesting. I met a lot of people in my class because of these tours. We also were given an assignment which involved pairing up with someone else in the class and exploring one specific area of London and creating a presentation about it. I liked this because I learned more about my area (Oxford Circus) and made a new friend, and I also got to hear about all the other areas of London which made me interested in exploring them on my own.
Credit Transfer Issues:	No, but I would suggest talking to advisors on your campus because I has to make sure that the classes I took would be counted for my General Education Requirements

Course Name/Rating:	20th & 21st Century British Art
Course Department:
Instructor:
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	The course was challenging for me because I am not interested in art, however, I beleive this sparked a lit more interest because I was able to learn more about modern and historic art and see it through the viewpoint of an artist. This was interesting when we were comparing pieces. I also had an assignment to compare two pieces of art, and I got to see my classmates' presentations, which were really interesting.
Credit Transfer Issues:	No.