Jeanne Marie Pungello is one busy girl. You probably haven’t seen her in awhile because she’s studying abroad in London.
“I’ve always been interested in traveling and the opportunity was just too golden to ignore,” she says on her decision to study abroad.
Since she has been to London, the junior has tried to look at the lesser-known parts of the city. She has seen bigger sights like Big Ben, Parliament and the Eye as well. France and the Netherlands are other countries that Jeanne has visited since studying abroad.
Jeanne’s favorite part about traveling aboard is the independence. “Everyone tells you that going to college is going to be the most freeing experience of your life,” she says. “But I disagree. Your parents can still call you whenever they want, you (generally) have the option of going home for a weekend, and even if you’re a few hours away your family is never really that out of reach. When you study abroad you’re completely cut off.”
The differences between Americans and Europeans that Jeanne has seen are that Europeans are less willing to interact with strangers. “Typically, I think this is why Americans are seen as loud and obnoxious; we’re incredibly willing to accost a stranger for information when we don’t know where we are, and English people are accustomed to not ever talking to strangers.”
“When I first arrived to London I was determined to not be a loud American, and was relatively horrified to find out that my goal was pretty much impossible. If you’re an American you’re going to be louder than an English person, and that’s just a fact. They’re incredibly quiet.”
Also, Britons don’t generally appreciate being called Europeans.
Jeanne’s time abroad will soon come to an end. One of the things she will miss most about her time in London is the friends she has made who are from different parts of America. She also had a lot of opportunities while abroad. It was easier to get a cheap flight to another country.
“The free healthcare’s nice too.”