Last semester I had the AMAZING opportunity to study abroad in England. It was an incredible experience, filled with many adventures and meeting lots of new people! Before leaving Cheltenham, England, I (along with other ULV students) met second year British student Brad Taylor because he was flying out to study abroad at ULV.
(Brad on one of his amazing trips)
Brad is currently studying abroad here for the spring semester at the University of La Verne and we couldn’t be more excited for him to get a taste of California!
(Brad and younger brother in Austria!)
So without further ado, here is a little more about Brad!
How old are you?:
19
What is your major?:
Business and marketing management (Business administration at La Verne)
Are you taking classes outside of your major here?:
Not currently, but would consider it.
I know England only has single rooms and Uni of Glos didn’t have a food plan. So how do you like the dorm living here and the food plans *hahaha* :
The dorm living here is different, living with a room mate, having set times to eat, and not having your own bathroom all make the college experience here different to the UK. It’s also often a much more social living experience, eating meals with groups of people, having a room mate to chat with even when you’re in your room is nice too. A lot of hardcore academics in the UK will live in their room and only come out to make food, and even then, they’ll eat in their room alone so this makes you be sociable which is nice. I love not having to wash dishes but miss the freedom of being able to cook/eat big meals whenever I want haha.
What is the biggest difference from Uni of Glos to ULV?
The lecture/class structure is probably the biggest difference for me. Professors are more interactive here due to the smaller class sizes. Often my lectures in the UK will have around 200 students, here my max class size is probably about 25 so you have to be more independent studying in the UK where as here it feels like school again which is nice. Also the weathers a little different, it snowed in England last week haha.
Have you tried In-N-Out yet? If so, do you love it as much as we do? haha:
I have, I got taken there within a day of getting here hahaha. I love it, we only have chains like maccy d’s (McDonalds) and KFC in the UK, and obviously In-N-Out is only really a west coast thing so having only been to the east coast of the states before I was excited to try it and I can see why everyone loves it. We’ve just got 5 Guys in the UK but I want an In-N-Out now, I’ll be craving it when I go home haha.
What has been your favorite part about California so far?:
The people have made my experience pretty special already, I’ve been lucky to meet a really good group of friends who I get on well with, they’ve shown me loads of places and helped me out a lot since I’ve been here. Checking out fairfax avenue was also a highlight for me so far because I’m a bit of a sneaker head so seeing some stores that I wouldn’t have been able to see in the UK was nice and also the beach. I’ve been lucky to already see Santa Monica and Huntington beaches and they’re both amazing so that was great. Oh and also the sports, seeing all the stadiums and understanding the hype over college sports too.
Do you go on trips abroad often? If so, what has been the best trip you’ve taken in your life so far?:
Yeah I love to travel and see new places so I try and see as many new places as I can. I love the states and ultimately would love to live out here permenantly some day but theres still loads I want to see in Europe and elsewhere.
(Ski trip in France)
And finally, any advice to people who want to study abroad?:
I mean, I’ve only been here for a month but my advice would be to give it a go for sure. You have to be quite independent, you’ll probably miss home, and the first few weeks are a challenge just acclimatising, finding where you need to be and learning about course requirements etc but so far its been an amazing experience for me, you meet loads of great people, experience a new way of learning, get to experience things you never would when on holiday/vacation and it’s so much fun.
Some pictures Brad has taken from various trips:
Dubai
New York