Hi, I’m Erin McCusker, and Wednesday I will be in London. I don’t think it has fully sunken in yet. I’ve only ever been abroad once, a week in Italy, which was really amazing and more than what some people get to see in a lifetime, but there is still so much I want to see and do. I have not really had the opportunity to travel much until now, so I have always been kind of envious of people that have traveled all over the world. Since I don’t have as much experience traveling, it’s a little intimidating, but I’m super grateful that I have this opportunity to see the world. I’m also nervous though and am going to miss my friends and family so much.
The prompt asked me to think about my identity and how it will influence my experience and interactions while abroad. I believe that people who have different identities experience the world differently. People are treated differently based on their gender identity, sexuality, ethnicity, etc., and people from different cultures tend to have different values and ways of handling situations. However, our values, perspectives, and many components of our identities are fluid and can be influenced by being exposed to different cultures, environments, and our interactions with others. One of the main benefits of studying abroad is being pushed to view the world from a different perspective. I am really excited and open to how I experience the world shifting. The U.K. is not drastically different from American culture in comparison to other places, but since London is such an international city, it is a unique mix of a lot of different cultures. This is something I am really looking forward to, especially all the great Indian food!
From what I have heard, I think a lot of communication patterns that are common in London are already quite similar to my own, and in some ways fit my style of communication better than what is typical in America. People in London tend to be more reserved, not engage in small talk with strangers or acquaintances, and place greater importance in privacy and giving people personal space. Some people assume that Londoners are cold because of this, but, as an introvert, this is similar to how I interact, so I do not automatically interpret this behavior as cold or distant, but instead view it as respectful and sincere. In America, people will be extra friendly and talkative with people they do not know and/or even like. It can make it confusing of who genuinely cares about how your day has been and wants to spend time with you, making interactions with a lot of people more shallow. Londoners instead tend to share their warmth, friendliness, and stories for people they want to be close to.
People in London also tend to be more formal in the way they dress in comparison to Americans, which is another thing that I am looking forward to. I am really interested in fashion, so being able to see how culture and art influences differences in fashion not only in London, but in other places in Europe will be really exciting. I might be inspired and end up changing my own personal style a bit. Living in South Florida all my life, trying to find warm clothes for London has already pushed me to experiment with my style. Fortunately, I will be interning at Betty Barclay, a fashion wholesale company, which I’m sure will also help me learn a lot more about the fashion industry.
While people in London tend to value privacy, I have also been informed that it is common to talk about politics there, which makes it a really interesting time to go with everything that is happening in the world. It would be interesting to talk to a British person about Brexit and how they feel the country will be affected by the decision to separate from the European Union. I have strong political opinions on a lot of issues, but I do not know a lot about politics in England, so it would be really interesting to talk about politics with someone from there. In order to prepare, I have been watching BBC News this last week and there is such a significant difference in how they report news versus many American news stations. I find BBC News to be more objective, with the news anchors not trying to push one political ideology, and to be more internationally focused, in contrast to the US, which is much more local and national focused. While I am nervous, and likely going to be lost at times, both physically and metaphorically, I’m looking forward to learning and growing a lot from this experience.