Editor’s note: Maria Caceres is a journalism student at Central Connecticut State University and a freelance reporter for The Bristol Edition. She is studying abroad in Hatfield, England, and thought it might be interesting to report on her experiences as a student in England, where she is taking journalism classes along with philosophy and literature and traveling around Europe whenever she can.
By Maria Caceres
Hello from England, I arrived on Sept. 17 where my mom and I spent three days on my campus to set up my room, three days in London to travel and three days in Rome to see the Colosseum. My semester doesn’t start until Sept. 30, but we decided to come and travel around the area before school starts.
I noticed that London doesn’t look like the pictures we’re used to seeing where everything looks like a city and the buildings are as tall as they are in New York. In reality, everything I saw from the plane and taxi ride seemed like farmland and countryside.
Once I went into the City of London to see Buckingham Palace and the Big Ben the sights became more city-like and the buildings looked more modern with some of the historic appeal to them.
It felt like I was still back home, the culture-shock people talk about hadn’t hit me until I started talking to more people in the area. Everyone was so helpful to give us tips like how we need to pre-plan transportation before Sundays because busses, trains, taxis and Ubers are either closed or run less.
I rode the bus, took the subway and went on several trains to get from place to place. The process was very easy, people will even tell you it’s cheaper to scan your debit or credit card at the turn stall rather than paying a ticket beforehand.
I felt safer on the streets of London at night than I did around where I live. I even plan on going back by myself since it’s only a 20-minute train ride to get to King’s Cross Station, the one where Harry Potter famously went through Platform Nine and ¾.
This semester seems like it’s going to be really fun, I’ve done my registration process, and the workers made jokes to keep the environment light and funny. I look forward to talking about what else I find out and learn about.
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