The birds are chirping, the Tube rides are uncramped and despite all of my courses and long internship hours, I still have enough time to explore London – I wish! In reality, you hear the noise of the city before you ever hear the birds, the Tube rides are ten minute sweat sessions – where you are smushed as close as humanly possible to another commuting stranger, and I still have yet to see the thousands of places I want to visit in London.
However, I would not change it for a thing.
Normally, I am hunkered down in Olin Library from the minute I step out of my class to the early hours of the morning, but here in London, I am doing my work in cafes, attending site visits at museums, and truly learning both inside and outside of the classroom. For someone who has always worried about academics, this experience could truly have not come at a better time for me. Being in London forces me to go out of my comfort zone. Only knowing one student before coming to this program forced me to go out, meet new people, and be open to grabbing or visiting a new part of the city together. There is no better bonding experience then sticking a group full of study abroad students in an unknown city with no close friends or connections to depend upon.
On top of the great, new friendships I have made, I have fallen in love with my future choice while in London. With the CAPA London program, I have been placed as a Public Policy Intern with Womankind Worldwide, a women’s rights organisation that works to prevent violence and establish gender equality in their five focus countries: Kenya, Nepal, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, and Uganda. With my major as International Relations, I have constantly bounced around ideas of where I want my career path to go. Do I want to do local government, Capital Hill, non-profit organisations, a think tank, etc? So, thank goodness I found myself studying, living, and most importantly: interning abroad in London. I have quickly learned that London is the hub of human rights organisations. (By the way, organisation is spelled with an “s,” instead of a “z,” like in the U.S.A. – look, I am learning new things everyday in London.) Anyways, my experience at Womankind Worldwide has opened my eyes into seeing how a small women’s rights organisation run by 20 women can have a lasting impact on women’s lives thousands of miles away. Who knew that I would come to realisation that human rights organisations are my calling – and do so in London.
Apart from the internship, making new friends, and taking new courses, I still have yet to explore more of what London has to offer. I want to go where the locals go, eat where the locals eat and live how the locals live. Thanks for the warm welcome, London. Now, get ready for even more!