Submitted by Megan Zant on the 2014 winter session study abroad program in London, England sponsored by the Department of History…
Our final week in London has been bittersweet. We have spent this week soaking in all that London has to offer and have had many great activities planned for us. This week we visited the National Portrait Gallery, Greenwich, the British Library, and Buckingham Palace. Even with all of those incredible events, the highlight of this week for me was our farewell lunch. Throughout the week, we had been reading the novel, Brick Lane, by Monica Ali, and discussing its content. We learned about the Indian presence and culture in an area of London dubbed Brick Lane. After studying this topic of social issues and cultural differences all week, we were excited to learn that our farewell lunch would be at an Indian restaurant at the end of Brick Lane. I have never actually eaten Indian food before and was very excited to try something new with the advice and guidance from my peers and professor. We sampled various dishes of delicious Indian food and ate until we couldn’t possibly eat anymore. The class and myself were all excited to be eating in a location which we had studied and to make the connection between our classwork and our experiences in London. This was an exciting way to conclude our program as it summed up my experience in London. I am so lucky to be able to say that I spent this past month learning about the culture and history of London, which I have grown to love so much and do not wish to leave!