Author: rleon@rollins.edu

I have reached the dreaded moment I knew was to come. The overwhelming sadness of not being in London anymore. By the end of the semester I felt ready to come home, but now that I am home and I’ve seen my family and gotten back to my “normal” life I am flooded by a…

Exams have been completed, presentations have been given, final papers have been turned it, the last day of internship has been wrapped up and my final hours log has been signed. I’m done. I am officially done with my semester abroad and will be heading home in less than two days. It feels surreal to…

Being abroad is one of the weirdest sensations I’ve ever experienced. I feel as though I’ve been in London for years, yet at the same time it feels like just yesterday I was landing in Heathrow and moving into my flat. After hours of reflection trying to put all those feelings into words I’ve found…

For the past few weeks I’ve been in a funk, feeling homesick and bored with my weekday routine. I needed a weekend getaway, so I went to Rome, as one does. Two of my friends, Alexia and Taylor, are studying abroad in the American University of Rome, so my roommate Ana and I packed our…

Arriving in Prague after an early morning flight we dropped our bags off at the hostel and joined the group for a walking tour of the city. I was digging for my wallet to buy some traditional Czech food, when I realized it was gone. Without me noticing, someone slipped their hand in my purse…

As I sit in my desk at work my mind is filled with thoughts and anticipation about tomorrows early morning departure to my fall break adventure. Though I should probably start referring to it as autumn break after a colleague jokingly scolded me for using “Americanisms” but that’s a tale for a different day. We…

It’s official, I’ve been in London for over a month, and to say time has flown by is the understatement of the year. Days and weeks pass by seamlessly as I juggle between classes, work, travelling, and exploring London. Getting into a routine has undoubtedly helped me adapt to my new life in one of…

My friend Ana and I decided to go to South Kensington for dinner, since it is only two tube stops away from our house. After dinner we were walking around when we spotted Niall Horan from the boy band One Direction. There was no crowd or commotion around him, which is what I would’ve expected,…

We got to our flat, jet lagged and exhausted only to realize we had to carry two 50 pounds suitcases and one carry on each up five flights of stairs. It was a struggle, but we made it, and began to unpack and settle into our new home. My best friend and me live in…

I can’t believe I am about to start my semester-long journey to London. It is not exaggeration to say I’ve been waiting for this moment since high school, when I first became fascinated by London, even though I’ve never had the chance to visit. I am overcome by many different emotions, many similar to the…