Otter Abroad: International Encounters

This greeting woke me from my uncomfortable airplane slumber leaving me an excited belly full of butterflies. “Ladies and gentlemen welcome to Heathrow International Airport.”

On January 19, 2011 I hugged my parents goodbye and set off for London, England where I would live for the next five months. I grew up with two older siblings and came to California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) with my best friend so, I had never actually done anything on my own before this. I stepped off the plane into a world of culture, completely different from anything I had previously experienced. The busy lifestyle of a Londoner was a foreign concept to this Californian native. However, it was time to put my fears aside and take full advantage of the wonderful opportunity I had worked so hard for.

Three other American girls and I were placed in a beautiful suburban home in the small town of Kingston, located in southwest London. The four of us instantly became best friends and partners in crime, which got us into some trouble, but mostly just made for great memories. From the get go, we immersed ourselves into the British culture the best way we knew how, by hitting the pubs.

Very early on we discovered the local town favorite, The Kings Tun. The Kings Tun was a Saturday night hotspot for young Uni (short for university) students like myself and soon became a weekly tradition for me and my roomies; AKA Saturday nights at the Tun. Across the street from our favorite pub was another infamous spot in town, Oceana Nightclub. Oceana, unlike Planet Gemini, is made up of five stories and offers a plethora of music genres. So, one can only imagine the wild nights that went down there.

While the drinking age is only 18, that was not the only reason I went to England. Living twenty minutes outside of central London was unbelievable! There were countless days spent wandering the streets of Camden Town, passing by Big Ben like it was no big deal and touring some of the most historical sites in the world such as the Tower of London. The amount of history compacted into one city is truly astonishing. But not only did we get to learn the history of England, we got to live through it. Yes, I was in central London for the biggest event of the year, the Royal Wedding. I will not give away too many details now but (stay tuned for future columns), let’s just say I was standing right outside Westminster Abbey on the morning of April 29, 2011.

And if I wasn’t lucky enough to be living in England, I had the chance to visit numerous other remarkable locations during my time. In a five month period I managed to go to Porto and Lisbon, Portugal, Paris and Versailles, France, Galway and Dublin, Ireland, Rome, Venice and Florence, Italy, Madrid and Barcelona, Spain, Edinburgh and Loch Ness, Scotland and Corfu, Greece. (Advice to any future students studying in Europe: Ryanair and Easyjet are your friends!)

So, I was enjoying British pub culture, gallivanting around the spectacular city of London and traveling throughout Europe. But wait, isn’t this program called STUDY abroad? Oh yes, I almost forgot! While living in England I also attended Kingston University. Kingston Uni is far different from our small school here in Monterey, for starters the student population is 25,430 (Kinston University Student Numbers, 2010). The class sizes were also unlike our small campus. I would estimate my classes ranged from 60-100 students. The courses were somewhat difficult but with a little extra effort very doable.

For those that cannot tell already, I am very much for studying abroad. Nothing will ever compare to the time I spent in England however, it is hard to understand how amazing this experience was, and could be for you, when hearing about it from one single person. That is why I have decided to open up this column to all previous and even current study abroad students. We want to hear from our Otter globetrotters, CSUMB world travelers are encouraged to share their craziest stories, most memorable moments and their feelings about studying abroad.