Studying in London there were many similarities between where I was studying and where I am from. I will admit it was a bit difficult to understand some of the slang that I heard in London, although I was eventually able to get more of a grasp on it as my program went on. There were also quite a few differences, many of which were quite mundane.

I was surprised, for one, to see how busy the streets (and the pubs and restaurants on the streets) were on Thursday nights compared to other weeknights. They were often just as full as they were on Fridays or Saturdays. I came to find out that this might be because there is a difference in culture surrounding work in the United States and in England as there is a much more distinct separation of professional and personal life, and people are much stricter with these boundaries.

I also knew that London is incredibly diverse and with my housing being in the Whitechapel district (and right off of Brick Lane), I was exposed to a lot of other cultures.

Some of my favorite experiences on the program were going through the various markets in London and seeing what types of things people were selling. Food was a very common good, much of it was from cultures outside of England and the rest of Europe (though I noticed that Dutch Poffertjes were quite common). Thai, Chinese, Argentinian, and Indian foods, were among the cuisines.

The program taught me a lot about the culture of London as a city but some about other cultures as well.

Because this program was my first time going abroad, it was daunting knowing that my first time traveling internationally would be without anyone in my family. This forced me to push myself to come out of my shell a bit. I made great friends as a result.

I am a generally independent person, and while studying abroad did allow me to continue that and learn to survive on my own a bit better, it also required me to become much more comfortable being vulnerable in a group and being more comfortable with myself.

Name: Finn Bilbey
Status: Junior
Majors: Arts and Humanities and English
Hometown: Grand Blanc, Michigan
Program: English Literature in London