After having an unforgettable semester in London, I believe, for the most part, that my original thoughts have not been significantly changed. Prior to my departure. I stated that I had a more open-minded perspective, which I still believe to be true. It helped me toward the beginning of my internship when I was getting to know my coworkers. It let me see their perspectives more easily on certain things like London lifestyles, politics, day to day engagement with others, etc. I mentioned my Colombian background and still believe it was part of the reason for it and was an advantage for London. My familiarity with commuting and having a job while I was at Rollins was also a big help during my time in London. It was a great advantage for me as it did not feel as though it was something new but rather continuing a familiar workload (just without the pay).
One thing I do believe that I did not take into account was the identities of my classmates in the program. This would’ve been difficult as I did not know who would be in the program, however I do believe there were certain advantages for my classmates. Many of the them, or at least the majority of who I was commonly exposed to, where from the Northern areas of the US. Most had a different perspectives as they were raised differently and had more travel experience than myself. They had been in countries where they have not spoken the language, which was something that I had never been exposed to. This brought a challenge for me when I experienced it. A good majority of the people also were older than I was, meaning they had more of a determined mindset of what they want to accomplish during the semester and their careers. This is something that hit me, since technically speaking I am at the same level as them graduating a year early. They have the advantage of having more time to prepare and have set what they want to achieve.
Another thing that I feel was a disadvantage for me compared to some of the people I meet was the negative side of the commuter identity. I had never lived outside of an environment where it was essentially me doing everything I need such as laundry, cooking, grocery shopping, etc. It was challenging at first since I had to factor in those things into my time management, while also learning what is the London of a Publix, Target, Walmart, etc. I believe despite its challenges, I did well in adapting to those things and learned many new things along the way.