Submitted by Sheila Ward on the 2013 fall semester program in London, England…
This past week I was extremely busy! Last weekend we went to see Stonehenge and Bath. I enjoyed Bath more than I enjoyed Stonehenge which surprised me a little. Bath is a city northwest of London which is home to the famous Roman Baths. The best part of Bath for me was roaming through the winding streets and exploring all the cute little shops.
During the week, I went on two field trips as part of two of my classes. One was to the Tate Britain and the other was to the Globe Theatre. I really like that CAPA incorporates these field trips with our classes. We pretty much discuss a topic in class and then the next week we go out and explore that topic either in a museum or a historical location.
I am also starting to receive assignments from most of my classes which is a bit of a rude awakening. I feel like I have been on vacation for the past two and a half weeks. It will definitely be tough to get school work done while wanting to explore London at the same time, but I have seen a lot of London in the short time I’ve been here so hopefully it won’t be too difficult.
Yesterday, I went with a couple of friends to Brighton which is a seaside town in the UK. I particularly liked this trip not just for the location and the city itself, but because we got to meet people outside our program. I met two girls from the United States studying at different universities in London. It was crazy to hear how their experience was so different from my own so far. Classes haven’t start for British universities yet so they’ve had to explore the city either by themselves or with the few international students at their schools. I personally don’t think I would be able to do that. Living in a foreign country is one thing, but not knowing a single person when you arrive is scary to me. I really enjoyed hanging out with them though and hopefully we will see each other again while we’re in London.
