Mary's Study Abroad Blog

Exploring London…

It’s officially been one week since I’ve been in London. Although its been one week, I’ve already had many great experiences just exploring and trying to get to know the area.

I’ve been out to the Harrow campus of Westminster University which is the University I am attended this semester. The Harrow campus is located in a place that is more local rather than touristy. Their are neighborhoods and local coffee shops and restaurants. It is cool to not only see the city of London but get a taste of what it is like to be a local here. A couple of my classes are located at the Harrow campus and I am looking forward to spending more time in the area and seeing the local lifestyle.

I live in Shoreditch, which is a very busy party of London.There is always a ton of people and an endless variety of things to do. There are plenty of restaurants, pubs, markets and much more. Here in Shoreditch, it is a much busier lifestyle than out in Harrow.

I think I am really going to enjoy having a taste of both the local lifestyle in Harrow and the busier more touristy lifestyle in Shoreditch. I cannot wait to keep exploring London through the course of the semester and have many amazing experiences.

Arriving in London

I arrived in London this past Saturday January 11, 2020. These first few days have been filled with new experiences, people, places, emotions and many other things.

One thing I was nervous about when coming into Study Abroad was transportation in London because I have always had a car to get me places. The second day I was there I was expected to meet my program for orientation in Central London which is about a 20-30 minute tube ride away from where I am living. I was super nervous and afraid I wasn’t going to make it but I ended up getting there with plenty of time and to my surprise even got off on the right stop. It was a simple thing but I felt really accomplished. It helped me gain a sense of confidence for the rest of my experience.

Coincidentally, later that night i was riding the tube home and ended up getting off at the wrong station. After a little worrier and maybe even some tears I eventually made it back safely to Harrow Hall, where I will be living for the next semester.

I just find it ironic how in the same day I had two completely different experiences with the tube. I would like to think this is somewhat foreshadowing of the study abroad experience. That i’m going to have good and bad experiences, but ultimately what matters is that I learn to enjoy the good experiences the most I can, and learn lessons from the bad experiences so I can grow as an indvidual.

I’m super excited for the rest of my study abroad experiences and i’m ready to face the challenges and bad experiences that come a long with it.

Upcoming Abroad Experience- The excitement and the challenges

Studying abroad is an experience that few get to experience and I am grateful that I get the chance to have this opportunity and study abroad in London, England for a semester. During this experience, I am most excited to have the chance to live completely on my own without my current family and friends. I am excited for this because I am a person who likes things simple, and I don’t often step out of my comfort zone. I believe this experience will allow me to do just that. Every decision I make will be on my own and I will have to do things I wouldn’t normally do. I will have to learn how to navigate the city of London, manage my spending, and meet new people. All of these things scare me but I think it is important for me to do, to grow as an individual. Although I am scared to do all those things, I couldn’t be more excited because I know it will better me as a person. Now that being said, I am definitely aware of the challenges I will face while studying abroad. One in particular, is managing my money. I have never been bad with money but it is a whole other thing while studying abroad. In order to overcome this challenge, I will have to be extra cautious with my spending and make sure to keep track of what I spend. Despite the challenges, I couldn’t be more excited to have the opportunity to study abroad in London and grow as an individual.

My First Blog Post

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
What topics do you think you’ll write about?
Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.