i could write a thousand posts about my experience studying abroad this past january.
the memories, the travels, the people i met, the things i learned...
i will be separating my travel experience into 3 posts. each will be dedicated to a different city in which i spent time. this post is dedicated to london, my whole heart, and will be the longest post, as the bulk of my january was spent here.
in this post i will brief you on my experience, the highlights of my program, and give you an idea of why i fell in love with london.
so, why london?
my university, the first university in the united states to offer study abroad opportunities, highly encourages all students to go abroad during their college career. there are programs for all sorts of disciplines and majors in loads of different countries.
i’ve had a fascination with london since i was a child. the rain, the romantic gray shades of the city, the street style, the tea, the architecture… london had always been at the very top of my list of places i wanted to travel.
when i came across a theater and english program on my university’s study abroad website, i knew it was the exact program i wanted. not only have i dreamed of london since i was a child, i’ve also always considered myself a bit of a theater girl. i was a theater performer and admirer throughout my childhood and into high school, but did not have time in my college career to incorporate it into my classes.
my program
my theater/english program involved 3 hours of class each day of the trip, monday-thursday. additionally, we attended ten different plays around the city of london, and took a few day trips as a group. there were 26 of us - 23 girls and 3 boys.
during our class time, we would sit around a big circle and discuss/critique the plays we saw as well as the plays we were reading for our coursework. we would complete theater exercises, and learn the basics of the discipline.
i absolutely adored the theater aspect of this trip, i learned to be a lot more critical of musicals and plays, and learn the basics of an underrated discipline. a lot of the concepts and lessons i learned in terms of being an "actor" have been carried along with me in my everyday life.
my program included our housing - we lived in a beautiful hotel in bloomsbury for the 4 week stay. we each shared our rooms with one other individual, and i could not have loved and appreciated my roommate more. our hotel included a continental breakfast with tons of (vegan) options!
each day i would make myself a little oatmeal/superfood bowl with almond milk and muesli and various seeds and toppings along with fruit and bread with jam.
group excursions
as a group and included in our program tuition, we took group trips to different places. these included hampton court and stratford-upon-avon.
as a group we did a lot of work regarding shakespeare, so it was only appropriate that we spend a wonderful and long day in shakespeare's birthplace.
we also went to hamtpon court palace, and i had one of my favorite meals of the entire trip at a tiny little cafe called canela cafe.
i had a simple hummus and veggie bagel sandwich with a side salad and i have to admit, i was missing bagels and hummus more than i even realized before i found this place.
friends
my trip would not have been as fantastic as it was if it weren't for the friends i made along my way.
the sights
above are some photos of my favorite memories and sights in the city. whether abbey road, the top of the shard, the tower bridge, the national gallery art museum, exploring shorditch with friends, notting hill, or buckingham palace, i will always hold these memories dear to me.
the food
i cannot say enough about the food options in london! i was a bit concerned about not having access to a kitchen for four weeks and finding enough healthy and vegan options, but i rarely found myself in a difficult situation with food. the labeling on menus was so helpful and there were even often specific vegan menus or sections at restaurants. below are a few of my favorite meals.
all of these beautiful dishes are at various places in the city.
something i did not expect when i went to london was the amount of incredible indian restaurants. i had never really explored indian cuisine until i went to london, and i found myself craving and eating it multiple times a week.
masala zone restaurants and camden lock market had phenomenal options and i would recommend them to anyone visiting.
final reflections
looking back at these photos and writing this post makes me realize how much i loved and miss london, a part of me will be left there until i return again someday.
i can safely say london is one of my favorite cities in the world. i found everything about it so romantic and gorgeous, and could certainly see myself spending more of my life there in the future. the city is so easy to get around (via underground transit), and there was not a day that i felt bored or had nothing to do.
the only part of london i truly did not like was that i could not stay. after my four weeks were over, in some ways i was very ready to come home to familiarity and my family and friends... but in other ways returning to my regular university schedule and the monotony of delaware made me very sad.
i am beyond grateful for this opportunity to live in a new city and learn so much about myself, traveling, and a new culture. stay tuned for my next 2 posts about my time abroad - amsterdam and paris!
as samuel johnson stated, "when a man is tired of london, he is tired of life."