London: The Best Decision I Ever Made Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I would have given the program 3 stars if I were simply reviewing for one professor in particular, but as a whole I think the program is very good. It did a lot of work for us in terms of finding a host family, filling out paperwork, giving us money, getting us registered, and other things like that. I would have been lost without all of the help that Sara Levine had to offer us.

On-site administration of your program

Sara was great at getting us all the help we needed. I never had to find her during a crisis so I don't know about her availability but whenever I had a question she was there to answer it. The program size was very good, 30+ was a big number but we all got along and it brought a lot of us closer. My expectations were beyond met. I think that there will be girls who review how horrible they think the program was but I honestly, for its minor faults, would have been lost without it. I never would have even considered coming to London if not for the program, and if I did, I wouldnt have the faintest idea what I was doing or how to get around or how to do any of the things we learned during orientations.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The eldest son of our host parents had moved out, so that gave an extra bedroom for a second student. My roommate and I were content to live together but ended up in separate rooms, which were conveniently in their own wing of the house. We had our bedroom doors and a hall door to block out the noise of everyone shouting at each other and thundering up and down the stairs every morning. We were given two sets of sheets and a duvet, which were laundered for us along with the provided towels. Unlike the rest of our classmates, we were not allowed to use the washing machine, so we had to bring our laundry to the laundry room in Connaught Hall. We were given permission to cook as long as we cleaned our dishes and pots. Our host parents were very nice and welcoming, and my host mother quite enjoyed sitting in the kitchen with us just talking. Our host father was quiet and between me, my roommate, and him, it was a cloud of awkward so we didnt get to speak to him much. I can't say it was a completely English homelife experience because she is Scottish and he is Cyprian. Crouch End, where we stayed, was full of shops and bars and pubs, and had several buses going through it. We had a bus stop two blocks from our house. It was on a very busy street and it was very nerve racking having to cross it every day, sometimes twice a day. Not much night life, if any. We could either take a 24-hour bus that had a stop in Tavistock Square (where the school is) that would take around 45 minutes depending on traffic, or a 20 minute bus that would take us to finsbury park tube station where we could take one of two tube lines from 10-15 minutes and then a five minute walk to the building. It was a bit of a commute, but not as long as to work.

Don't listen to what people say about English food being dull. I had so many great things to eat in London. my host parents were very good cooks, and the food was great for the first month (they repeated the same things a lot so it got boring). For dining I would recommend The Rocket pub near Euston Station, The King's Head in Crouch End, PRET A MANGER, PRET A MANGER, PRET A MANGER, and PRET A MANGER. Also, near school there is a little grocery called Portland Food and Wine that had some pretty quick pastries and sandwiches and things. They also carried crispy M+Ms which are discontinued in America so they got my support a lot just based on that alone.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I give four stars instead of five because of the racism I received during the first few weeks. A waiter/waitress or anyone on the street would be perfectly nice and cordial until you opened your mouth and spoke back in an American accent. I've never seen a smile fade faster. It was a struggle, because for a long time we were too afraid to go to pubs, so we would settle for McDonalds or Burger King or Pizza hut, simply because they were familiar and we could eat in peace. I would NEVER talk on the tube or the bus. It progressed to a point where I was exhausted trying to hide myself that I just said screw it and was the outgoing American sparkle and people were nice to me after that. The last week we were in London we made a lot of friends with random strangers (who were mostly drunk) because WE were the foreigners. Of the school sanctioned trips, I LOVED Budapest. I loved everywhere we went with school actually. That was the best part of the shakespeare course was being able to go to Stratford-Upon-Avon. The only thing I have to say about the trips were that they were run by Sara and the Architecture professor, and so he took it upon himself to take us to everywhere he found architecturally exciting and taught us about architecture, which most of us had no interest in at all, and it felt like we were forced into an extensive field trip for his class. Especially when he made his class talk to us about things while we were on the trip, for a grade. My favorite thing to do in London (besides eat at Pret a Manger) was to go to westminster to see Big Ben and the Eye and the Thames. I loved people watching as well. I really liked going to different places just to see the sights. I also loved going to Marble Arch because that is where Primark is. Primark is Walmart/Charlotte Russe/Kohls on STEROIDS. It is all so cheap, so nice, so awesome, so cute, that I wanted to buy everything. it was a problem. I bought 8 pairs of shoes...among other things.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Any city is going to be scary. I came with experience of New York City so I was more well off than those students from the south who have no awareness of the people around them and no sense of danger. There is a possibility for an attack or disaster at any moment. With CCTV (closed circuit television) the city is being monitored at all times for burgling, mugging, murder, anything. They are in every tube car, every tube hallway, elevator, bus, everywhere. They add a sense of comfort that at least SOMEONE will know what happened to you when you're riding in an empty tube car with one other person and he is a shady looking guy with a big coat and keeps side glancing you and licking his lips. Safety advice would be to never have money on your body, always have it in a purse. Never put money in the outside pocket of your backpack. Try to wear a purse or backpack that can not be easily snatched from you as someone runs by you / rides a bike by you. Try to have a purse or bag with straps that can not be easily cut by someone looking to steal your stuff. Also, there was a problem last semester with devices being put into ATMs that would prevent your card from coming back out, and once you left to go tell an authority, whoever put it in would steal your card, and your PIN, and therefore, your life. If you are going to take out cash, have a friend stand with you, and do NOT let ANYONE see you enter your PIN.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

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