As an international student, moving to America in itself was a distinctive and life changing transition that I underwent a mere year and a half ago in the August of 2018. I decided I wanted to make another equally large and very similar transition when I decided I want to study abroad in London for a semester. I’m somebody that loves big cities and all they have to offer, so picking London for my study abroad experience was a no-brainer, especially when paired with CAPA’s amazing internship component.
Perhaps what I look forward to most in London is familiarising myself with how life is in one of the world’s greatest cities, perhaps one that I might one day want to live in. Acclimating to daily life here – travel methods, food, etiquette, social dynamics – is something I wish to have accomplished by the time my study abroad experience is over. I want to have explored enough of the city to know it as I would if I lived here, and to have led a local’s “life in London” for my stay here.
I pride myself on the amount of places I’ve lived in and the amount of cultural empathy and awareness of diversity it has instilled in me. I want to continue growing that empathy and diversity in London, wherein I will be exposed to a host of people from a wide-ranging array of cultures and backgrounds. I want to see how identities interact and exist in large metropolitans, and how they play a role in one’s daily life. I want to be more empathetic, and I think London will provide the apposite foundations for me to do so.