Before I was ever even accepted into Ohio State, I knew that I wanted to study abroad someday. Growing up, I was lucky enough to have parents who prioritized travel. They always made sure my siblings and I understood how important it was to see other parts of the world — especially since we grew up in a very, very small town. But, traveling with your family is one thing. Moving to another country with people you’ve never met before is an entirely different feat. Studying abroad is a daunting experience to commit to, but I can confidently say that it was the best, most valuable time of my life. Here is a rundown of how my program worked, highlights of my trip, and advice to help you on your own study abroad in the future.
My program
Ohio State offers so many different study abroad programs. Of course, there are the traditional semester-long ones, but OSU’s programs vary in length and the time of the year that students can go. This makes it possible to study abroad if, for instance, you can’t be away from campus for a whole semester in order to graduate on time, you want a more affordable option, or you’re nervous about missing friends and family if you’re gone for too long.
When I first asked my advisor about study abroad programs in the English department, she told me about English 4450: Reading & Walking Literary London. It’s an English Literature course taught by OSU professors in the city of London. For the month of May, students explore all that London has to offer while reading literature that is inspired by or is set in the places they visit.
I arrived in London on May 4 (This was the most confusing day of my life. The time change was awkward and I was insanely jet-lagged.) and left on May 31. Me, 16 other OSU students across all campuses, and our two professors all lived in the borough of Hoxton in north-east London. On Tuesdays through Thursdays, our schedule was typically a walking tour or visit of some sort in the mornings, and then we would have class afterwards. We had a classroom reserved in the AES Learning Center, which was a short bus ride from our flat. Sometimes though, we would just conduct class in the place we toured. For example, we had class at a park in the East End, Greenwich Park, and at Hampstead Heath.
Our grade in the class was mostly determined by our participation in the program, but we did have other assignments, too. The majority of our homework was to do the readings that went along with the places we were going to visit, but we also had a few small presentations. The first presentation we were assigned was on an object of our choosing in the British Museum. The second two were group projects — one on an assigned museum and the other on a painting in the Tate Britain. Although that might sound like a lot, there was lots of communication between the professors and other students, so the pressure was low.
Initially, our final project was supposed to be choosing a manuscript from the British Library to research and present, but once we got our library cards, our professors were informed that the library’s archives were still mostly inaccessible due to a hack a few years ago. So, after talking to a few other students and realizing that many of us were keeping journals about the trip, they decided to make it our final. We all wrote in journals — with the freedom to structure them however we wanted — and turned them in on the last day. Because I am a creative writer, I decided to write poetry inspired by the places I visited and the experiences I had, along with journal entries and lists of my favorite museums, food, plays, etc.
During three of the weeks, our group went on excursions outside of London. First, we took the train to Stratford-Upon-Avon — the birthplace of Shakespeare — and saw his play Titus Andronicous. In the second week, we spent a whole day in Oxford, where we toured the Bodlein Library, walked the university’s campus, went punting, and then hung out at The Bear, a pub that was founded in 1242, until the last train left for London around 11 p.m. Our last excursion was to Bath, the city of the Roman Baths and Jane Austen. There, we took a tour of the baths, had a traditional high tea, and explored the city.
Even though our class did spend a majority of the trip as a group, this program also gave us the opportunity to grow more independent. For most of the month, our Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays were completely open. We had the freedom to go and see whatever we wanted. Those days were some of the best days of my life. I looked at a map of London and figured out the best route to seeing as many sights as I could — and I went completely on my own.
Favorite experiences
I loved London so much that now, I would like to live there someday. There was so much to see and do — even after a whole month, I still didn’t get to do everything I wanted. One part of the city felt like a different world compared to another. There is truly something for everyone in London.
My favorite place in the whole city was Hampstead and Hampstead Heath. The first time I visited it, I was by myself. I walked to the top of the Heath, sat in the grass, and took in the most beautiful view I had ever seen. As the people around me soaked up every ray of sunlight that was trying to peek through the clouds and children flew red and yellow kites above my head, “Clean” by Taylor Swift started playing in my AirPods and I cried. I walked through the rest of the park, windowshopped in town, visited the popular pub, The Holly Bush, and ate the best gelato of my life at Oddono’s.
The next time I visited Hampstead, our professors took us there as a group, but the third time, I went with three other girls during the afternoon of our last day. We had gotten tickets to go swimming at Kenwood Ladies’ Pond — a women’s only open air natural swimming pond. The water was freezing, but it felt like we were somewhere straight out of a Disney princess film. Afterward, we went to the meadow nearby to dry off and found out it was a topless meadow — YOLO! We stuffed ourselves with fish and chips and more gelato before going home to pack.
A close second to Hampstead would have to be Greenwich. The first time I visited, we took a river boat from Westminster pier that went past the London Eye and under the Tower Bridge. We got off the boat and went on a walking tour that took us up to the lookout point at Greenwich Park — another one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen. We walked through the National Maritime Museum, then had class in the park. I instantly fell in love with Greenwich and knew I needed more time there, so I went back on my own one weekend. I bought jewelry at the vintage market, explored the Queen’s House art gallery, had the best gnocchi ever from the Greenwich Market, walked further into Greenwich Park, and sat right next to the Thames at Trafalgar Tavern. The most memorable thing I did that day, though, was visit the painted hall. I walked in and my breath was immediately taken away. I stayed in there for who knows how long, just staring at the ceiling. That was one of the many other times I cried in public during my trip.
I could write about all of my favorite places and recommendations for pages and pages and pages. The best play we saw was Romeo and Juliet as a western inside Shakespeare’s Globe. My favorite museum was the National Gallery. My favorite spot to write was Gramndegrees, a cafe right down the street from my flat. (On one of our last days, the barista asked if I wanted to sign up for a loyalty card because I was there so often. I explained how I was studying abroad and would be leaving soon, so he gave me my matcha for free.) My favorite market was Camden Market, but the chocolate-covered strawberries from Borough Market do live up to the hype. My favorite park was Regent’s Park–I need to go back and run there someday.
Friendships
As embarrassing as it is to admit, the one thing I was most scared about when I decided to participate in this program was not the fact that I would be living in a new country at all — it was that I would be living in a new country with new people. Prior to landing at Heathrow Airport, I had barely even had a text message conversation with the people I would be spending every day with for the next month. Little did I know, I was about to meet some of my best friends in the whole world.
It’s easy to become close to someone when you’re both navigating the scariest, most exciting experience of your life up until that point. From skipping down the brick streets of Oxford, to watching the classics in each others’ flats, to encouraging questionable spending decisions, and to accidentally getting in a fight with the owner of Sylvia Plath’s house– I couldn’t have asked for a better group to spend my May with. When I think of London, yes, I think of the colorful houses in Notting Hill and the ding of the bell when riding the bus, but I also think about Emily’s newspapers on the way to our tours, Nicole’s obsession with Cuthbert, and how everyone on the trip simultaneously made incredibly perceptive comments about the literature we were reading and also made me laugh so hard I couldn’t breathe.
If I would’ve let my fear of meeting new people stop me from going to London, I would’ve missed out on meeting some pretty incredible people. If you’re hesitant about going abroad because you’re scared you’ll be alone, I promise you won’t end your trip alone.
Embrace the new
Moving to a new country is going to be uncomfortable sometimes, but if you stick to what’s comfortable, you’ll miss out on the rest of the world.
In London, they use pounds instead of dollars. They travel on the tube while I drive a car. No matter where you go, you’ll run into aspects of other cultures that are different from what you’re used to. But that doesn’t make it wrong, it’s still just different. When we travel to new places and throw ourselves into new ways of life, we start to better understand each other and appreciate all that this world has to offer.
My Maymester in London was the best experience of my life. If you’ve ever considered studying abroad, don’t hesitate. Do everything you can to get wherever you want to go.