That was definitely a semester to remember. From being a clueless visitor in London to being able to remember all the stations between Marble Arch and Stratford on the Central Line, I was able to really immerse myself in the daily life of a Londoner. The experiences I had going to different activities and locations around the city, the country, and the continent created a very fulfilling experience for me.
My diverse knowledge of London in part comes from living in the city for almost 4 months only using my dorm for sleep and taking every opportunity to get out and do something with friends in central. One of my electives this last semester was a class called “London: Walking the City”. It is exactly what the name of the class suggests. Every Monday morning my class would get together in some specified location, usually accessible by tube from Mile End station, and take a walking tour of the area. The professor would give us some prerequisite readings that would give us something to look out for when walking the city and to discuss with our peers. The locations chosen every week were usually popular spots like Tower Hill, London Bridge, or Brick Lane. Every week was slightly more educated on London’s rich and diverse history. Now if you take a walk with me around London I would probably name a few random facts about a few random buildings during our conversation.
Studying at a large school like Queen Mary is advantageous in that the student population is very diverse and you meet people with all sorts of backgrounds who come from various parts of the world. It was also interesting to connect with other students from the US who were studying abroad in London and sharing experiences, tips and tricks, or different places to visit when in London.
Commuting around London was quite worrying in the beginning as the tube can sometimes be confusing with trains being canceled or lines on strike on every other day. I learned quickly to deal with this by leaving for any destination with 30 minutes on the clock to spare in addition to my travel time. Otherwise, on unfortunate days I would be sprinting all over the place from station to station. However, after traveling Europe almost every other weekend during my time in London, taking trams and trains to places whose names I couldn’t pronounce quite well, I grew fond of the London Underground. Not only because everything was in English, but I realized the extent and coverage of London’s rail and bus services are very comprehensive.
Overall, my semester in London allowed me to experience London and Europe in a very different way from being a tourist. Living and learning about their culture allowed me to understand the people there much more. It was an extremely rewarding experience and I highly recommend the Queen Mary study abroad program to anyone looking to take a semester abroad.