This weekend the international program took the study abroad students to Cambridge. It was only about 2 hours away from London and was well worth the trip. We toured the campus and town all day and had a great time. It was amazing to see one of the oldest universities in Europe and one of the most prestigious. We shopped, ate, and admired all day long. There was a river surrounding the whole town where the college students rowed tourists around in gandola type boats that looked really cool but we all thought it was a bit too cold for water activities. The chapels and libraries were truly breathtaking and it was such an amazing experience.

This was reading week for me so all I did was catch up on reading and essay writing. The classes here are so different but I really like the way they do it here. You only go to each class once a week but for two or three hours, sometimes four. This is so convenient because if I took a week off to travel, I’d only miss each class once. Also, I don’t feel like I am spending all of my time in class. This is nice because I have more time to do the things I like to do here in London. This was especially nice during reading week because I was able to just travel around London and check some sights off my list.

My fifth week here was spent starting my essays. Here, instead of having assignments throughout the term, you just go to lectures and take notes for ten weeks and then the last week you write an essay that makes up 100% of your grade. So there’s a lot of pressure toward the end of the term. This is why I’ve decided to start now! I also visited the science museum and Hyde park. It was actually sunny this weekend which made London so beautiful! It finally felt like home!

This week I went with a group of international students on a tour of the Hampton Court Palace. We had a great time touring the gardens and apartments of the Tudors. It was a lot of fun but I hope to go back in the spring when the gardens are in bloom. Also it would be much more enjoyable when it’s not freezing outside. It was great to go outside of London and see so much history. Next will be a tour of the North of England and York, which should be really cool.
I’m pretty much completely adjusted to the culture and differences here and just settling in.

I’m now in my second week at Roehampton and other than scheduling issues and equivalency questions, I am doing much better. I have settled in quite a bit and am learning to enjoy life here on campus. I was able to visit central London and experience being a tourist in this beautiful city. I have to walk 25 minutes to class which is hugely different from at western Oregon where I’d walk 5 minutes to class. The classes here are much bigger and much more intimidating but I thinknill be alright. Now that I’ve settled, staying here seems much more doable. I’m looking forward to all of the experiences I will have here in the next few months.

I’ve been in London for two days now but it feels like I’ve been here for weeks already. The first day was great! I toured around campus and the roehampton area. I was very excited and happy to be here but I didn’t get much sleep. Then today, I had a really hard time dealing with what I’m assuming was culture shock. It’s probably also because I’m very tired, but I was so overwhelmed when trying to pick out groceries it was unreal. Everything is just so dif

Touring Roehampton

ferent and I don’t recognize brands or what is a good deal or not. So I gave up and went to a cafe to grab a bite to eat. I looked on the menu for anything that sounded familiar. I realized that this was me shutting out the other culture. I used to think that I wouldn’t have culture shock in London because it’s not that different from America, but I was so wrong. It’s completely different in so many ways. And when I realized that, I freaked out a bit. So I called my mom, took a nap, and feel much better. I also feel that I’m paranoid about American stereotypes and being treated poorly but so far it hasn’t been a problem. I think by next week I’ll be settled in much better and be coping with the culture shock well.

Hello, my name is Madelyn Hay and tomorrow I’ll be boarding my flight to London, England. The weeks leading up to my departure have been pretty crazy. One moment, I’m excited and the next I’m crying and wondering why I am doing this. I know that once I get there, that question will be answered and I’ll immediately be glad that I chose to travel abroad but until then, I’ll be somewhere between ecstatic and tearful. I’m mainly nervous about the flight because I’ve never traveled internationally or independently. But both are wonderful experiences that I will be glad to accomplish.  Leaving my hometown of camas, Washington and going in to such a huge city will surely be a bit of a struggle at first but I look forward to this experience as I hope to grow from it and embrace independence.