Good evening to all of my readers!
As those of you who have been following my blog might know (or what you will learn if you are reading for the first time), I recently left the State of Florida to explore the world by continuing my studies at the Queen Mary University of London. However, studying at a different school in a different country has required me to make some lifestyle changes. But it is because of these changes that I certainly have been able to see things in a different way.
To start with, the size of the university I attend is nothing like any school I have ever attended in terms of size and what they offer. Growing up, I attended a pre-school through 12th grade private school with a student body of about 500, and I graduated with a record setting class of 37. The college I attend in Florida has roughly 2,000 students enrolled. But here in London, I go to school with roughly 10,000 other students. While this means that I must be more proactive with making friends and meeting new people, it also means that there are more student organizations, and more organizations which I would have interested in—plus there are more potential friends to be made! In other words, while I might have gotten involved in an organization on campus back home, I might have done it as a way to meet people and also as a way to gain exposure to a topic I am not terribly familiar with. However, I have found that I have not necessarily been able to further explore topics I am passionate about because the organizations back home do not cover these topics. Yet here in London, I have been given the opportunity to join organizations such as the auto racing society, food club, and travel society which will help me further explore topics I am passionate about.
Not only has the size of the school been an adjustment to make, but also living in a more urban environment has taken some getting used to. For example, real estate is much more expensive here, meaning that stores are quite small by comparison to a standard U.S. store, so one-stop shopping is not really feasible. While this might be a bit of an inconvenience, it certainly has given me the opportunity to explore parts of London which likely are not frequented by tourists or other foreigner; not to mention, I get a ton of exercise!
Speaking of walking, I am accidentally proving that everything is in walking distance! Due to the fact that I had some issues getting a cellphone carrier, I had to navigate the city based on photos of Google Maps which I would take shortly before venturing out in search of famous sights and also school supplies. While Google Maps might be an excellent tool, it falls short in locations such as London which lack consistent street signs. Yet this has also been a positive experience as I have been able to see so much of central London in context instead of seeing portions of it at a time, broken up by trips under the earth.
This is proving to be such a rewarding experience!