Submitted by Zachary Davis on the 2016 winter session program in London, England sponsored by the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice…
The idea of going away to a foreign country for an entire month to study abroad is scary. As a freshman and sophomore I was always too overwhelmed with the idea of being away for that long to actually get the courage to sign up. What do you do for an entire month? What if the other students on the program do not like you? What is it going to be like being 100% responsible and independent? What if I do not like the country I am going to? All of these questions entered my mind, but over the years I have learned that most of the experiences that you have the most fun and remember the most are those in which you are outside of your comfort zone.
That is exactly what this first week in London has been. I had never flown on a plane before and to just get on a plane and fly six hours across the Atlantic was nerve-racking. From the very start of this program, back at the Philadelphia International Airport, I have been doing things for the first time. I took my first plane ride, had my first international travel and took my first study abroad session. I could not be happier with how this first week has been. Seeing London for the first time is just stunning and there is so much history within and around the city that it is hard to take it all in. I have made friends with everyone on this program, tried new foods and learned a new culture.
There has been “culture shock” as some people call it, but for me I enjoy the culture here in some parts more than American culture. The first things you realize when you come to England is that everything here is small. The cars, hotel rooms, trashcans, meals and even the people are a lot smaller than we are used to back home. The only things that I have found larger than in the United States are bath towels (oddly enough) and the Tube (their subway). You also come to find out almost instantly that everyone here is so polite. Citizens here are also more introverted, reserved and quieter. For example, when you ride the Tube it is easy to point out the tourists (Americans) because they are the only ones who are talking. Even in public settings where the British do speak to each other, they speak much quieter than Americans do. Also, being a criminal justice major and in this criminal justice study abroad, the policing here is much different since it focuses more on public order and not arresting individuals. We saw this first hand when we were on our way home one night. On our way home, a male and female were in a domestic dispute in the street over a taxi. They both appeared to be intoxicated. Then they moved to the sidewalk and were pushing, yelling and arguing. The male then appeared to turn to run away into the street, tripped and was struck by an oncoming car (only moving ~5mph). The girl fled and then returned once the paramedics and police arrived. She was pushing the cops, swearing at them and yelling in their faces and they did nothing, but just try and calm her down so she could go home. In America, the girl would have been arrested and charged. The male also at one point got up and tried running away, but the cops just brought him back and sent him to the hospital. This was really eye opening to us as Americans since neither of these two individuals were arrested.
Overall, this first week in London has been a blast and I cannot wait to see what the next three weeks have in store for our group and myself. I cannot believe how much fun it actually is to be studying abroad, and I only regret not signing up freshman or sophomore year and waiting until I am a junior to go on my first study abroad. I would highly recommend anybody on the fence about it or considering studying abroad to stop thinking about it and just act because you will not regret it.
