As my arrival date to London quickly approaches, I am filled with both excitement and nervousness. I am excited for all of the things that I am currently expecting to gain from my experience, and for which I’m not even sure to expect. I’ve been given a lot of advice from friends, family members, neighbors, coworkers, etc that help depict what I am supposed to expect when traveling to London to study abroad, specifically. However, while I very much appreciate all of this insight, it is often hard to keep track of everything that I should go see, go do, go eat, or not see, not do, etc. My ultimate goal, and what I hope to leave London having gained from this experience, is an opportunity for exploration and exposure to many different cultures (my list for travel is never-ending, I’m not even sure how to narrow it down), the cultivation of steady relationships that will last (including both professional and personal), and a much stronger knowledge base of British politics and government (which I will obtain via my internship at the Liberal Democrat Office of Local Government Association…yay!!!!!). As far as what I’m most nervous for, I’ve been warned about pick-pocketing, I personally have a terrible sense of direction (so I hope that navigating the tube won’t be too far over my head), and I have never before lived with someone I don’t know. However, despite this, I’m very optimistic about everything. Even if I get lost on the tube, am stolen from, and have any sort of roommate struggles, I believe that what I will have gained from this experience in its entirety will be worth more than any of these minor details put together. Furthermore, I am beside myself with excitement thanks to my internship placement. I’m really grateful for the mock interview given by the International Programs staff at Rollins. I had heard through the grapevine that the internship interview experiences some of my friends at Rollins (and new friends in the CAPA program more broadly) had were not very difficult. So, to be honest with you, I wasn’t expecting a very difficult interview. Plot twist, my interview was an hour long—with no “gimme” questions. My now employers were very kind, polite, and respectful—and really did want to test my competence and political background. While this can go on the list of one of the (for sure) many unexpected experiences I will have had while studying abroad, the success of a challenging interview has further reinforced my excitement—because it means that as much as I take this internship position seriously and want to get something out of it, so do my employers.
