In summer of 2019 I had the amazing opportunity to study abroad at the University of Roehampton in London, England. While abroad, I took two classes: Media City and Cultural Capital and Magic, Murder, and Mystery. Media City and Cultural Capital gave my peers and I the chance to visit various museums around London and gain insight to the driving forces that shape London culture. I particularly enjoyed this class because it allowed me to visit places that I might not otherwise had thought to visit. Magic, Murder, and Mystery explored British literature and various themes within these pieces of literature. This class was fun because of the variety in literature themes.

          Studying abroad allowed me to further develop skills that I believe will be beneficial in my schooling. The first set of skills I was able to work on was my social skills. The program I studied abroad through, CISAbroad, sent students from all over the United States to study. I knew nobody studying abroad at Roehampton. Because I wanted to experience the city and travel around other parts of Europe with friends, I had to learn to push outside of my comfort zone and talk to people whom I might not initially have things in common with. I met some of the greatest people through study abroad, and although we might not have everything in common, we all bonded over being abroad together.

          A second skill that I really had to work on while abroad was crisis management. When I first arrived, things like taking the wrong Tube line or getting on the wrong train made me panic that I would never be able to find out where I was going. While taking a trip to Paris, my phone was pickpocketed on the Metro. These events forced me to stay calm and rationally think through a solution. I realized that most everything can be solved if I manage to calmly identify a way to work through it.

          I am so grateful to have had the experience of going abroad. I feel as though I can better appreciate other cultures as well as my own after living abroad for 6 weeks. I learned that I'm capable of so much more than I initially thought. I would go abroad again in a heartbeat!

          

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