MY TRAVELS

LONDON SEMESTER ABROAD

Richmond, The American International University - London, England
January 2017 - May 2017

Throughout my life, I have always enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity traveling presents. While living in Minnesota my whole life, I have traveled to many cities in 10 different states in the US, along with more than 20 cities in eight countries abroad.

In the spring of 2017 I took the biggest jump of my life and decided to study abroad for a semester in London, England. It turned out to be the best decision I made in my life.

When I arrived in London, I did not know anyone going with, nor know where else I was going to travel. Nevertheless, I was able to make friends quickly; today, these are friends I know I will have for the rest of my life.

The school part of studying abroad was interesting and new. I took courses in: Luxury Brand Management, Psychology of Fashion and Luxury Goods, Operations Management, and Business Law. Being in a classroom with students and professors from all areas of the world, it made the class dynamic interesting, having people input their different views and perspectives in on different subject matters allowed me to gain a better understanding of different cultural perspectives. Looking back, I am glad I spent time my first time abroad while in school, as I met many new people, academically learned about the world, and it kept me to grounded while in the sometimes-overwhelming city of London.

During my four-month time abroad, I fell in love with London. I studied through the American Institute for American Studies (AIFS) at Richmond, the American International University in London. My classes and housing were located in the neighborhood of Kensington, allowing me to walk to my favorite London spots such as Hyde Park and Royal Albert Hall, on the daily. Everyday I seemed to learn something new about both the world and myself.

Living in the heart of London was such a great change of pace from my university. Being walking distance to historical locations in London and just a short tube ride to other bustling areas of the city, made every day new, exciting, and interesting. Also, being in London it was easy to travel to other countries. My friends and I took several weekend trips to different European countries such as Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, and Ireland.

Each weekend trip we took was truly eye opening. We saw history come alive, we indulged ourselves in the local culture, and gained a lot of perspective on the world. Seeing and feeling La Segrada Familia in person and not just in a Vistas textbook, gazing out over the colossal Cliffs of Moher, seeing David Beckham in a coffeeshop then chasing him out to his car after to meet him, living with an Italian family for 10 days along with training around the Italian countryside from historic city to historic city, waiting in line three hours to visit Anne Frank’s room and learn as close to first hand as possible, her situation. All the travel my friends and I embarked on was truly astonishing and the lessons learned will be with me for a long time.

By the end of my term abroad, which entailed: travel, schoolwork, friends, getting culturally acclimated, exploring my surrounding world and myself. I am beyond grateful and happy I just went for it and studied abroad and chose London as my location to study abroad. When I returned home, I felt a yearning to do more than the typical study abroad student. I applied and was accepted, out of a competitive applicant pool, as an AIFS Study Abroad Ambassador. The role has been amazing, allowing me to be a beyond credible source in helping and inspiring all things study abroad, as I believe studying abroad is one of the most important parts of a college experience because it gives you the opportunity to push yourself and grow as a person. I believe so much in the goodness of study abroad, that I am going back with AIFS on a January Term in 2018 and am looking forward to learning more and sharing my experience with others.

Spring 2017 // My Semester Abroad (VIDEO)