A time I felt fully immersed in the culture of the U.K. was when I was commuting back home from my internship and felt very in tune to the rhythm of the people around me. It was during the election so I wasn’t coming from Westminster but from the constituency office near the neighborhood where I lived. I was walking from the office to the bus stop which was a block or two away and I felt completely comfortable where I was. As I waited at the bus stop, I watched as other commuters and students waited as this was also a part of their daily routine. I realized that their everyday life had also become mine as I assimilated very well to the lifestyle in London. On the bus ride home, I got off and walked through Shepard’s Bush market looking through the stalls and weaving through the people shopping in the street. Coming from a suburb I thought this would be daunting and that I never would be used to it. In the U.S. we have weekend farmers markets and highway traffic jams so I didn’t think that I would see these observations as part of my daily routine that I fully embraced.
It felt good to feel so comfortable in a place that wasn’t my home. I felt adaptable and that there wasn’t much that could phase me anymore since I had to totally assimilate to a different way of life. While London may not seem so different from the U.S. there were so many small cultural differences that I needed to pick up on. Once I did, I felt incredible and that my dreams of living abroad in my career could be fulfilled. I think that this final cultural immersion was the best one to bookend my final study abroad experience. I’ve been abroad three times through Rollins programs and each time I felt immersed. However, the previous two have been for shorter periods of time. Being in a country for three months and making conscious efforts to try things and ask questions helped me to get the full experience. It was something that really changed my college experience and stay with me forever.