New York to London...

Notting Hill marketStudy abroad was something that I have been longing to experience throughout my school career. It is a chance for any student to study in a foreign land and to get an experience that not many others are given.

My name is Arwen and I am a junior at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at NYU. This is my first year attending NYU and my first time being exposed to the concept of study abroad. At my previous school in Florida, where I am from, study abroad was not a common thing for students to participate in. Yes, we knew what study abroad was, but it wasn't until I stepped onto the NYU campus that I learned how integral a study abroad program can be to a students education. A majority of the students I had met within my first few days on the New York campus had been through the program and only had wonderful things to say about it. The experiences alone were enough for me to decide that it was an adventure that I needed to take part of.

After attending a few of the study abroad sessions I was able to narrow down my list of places I would be interested in studying at. Here at Gallatin my focus is theatre and literature so it only made sense that I would try to find a program that supplied me with the appropriate courses for my focus. The two programs that seemed likely to benefit me were Italy and England. Both were places in which societies had a beautiful history through the arts of performance and literature and seemed as though they would be helpful for my semester abroad.

In the end, I chose our site in London. England has such a beautiful literary history with authors such as Jane Austen and Emily Bronte, and its theaters in the West End are known to originate some of the most amazing theatre productions ever seen. London seemed as though it was the center of my focus at Gallatin and as though it was the perfect place for me to study.

Another reason to study abroad is the obvious travel opportunities. Yes, if you are living in New York you can easily travel to Canada but is that the same as living in London and taking a weekend trip to Paris? I don't think so! Studying in Europe has its evident advantages that studying in New York simply does not. The accessibility of other countries is enough to make any student want to take a trip across the pond. For now, my travels have stayed relatively close to London. Visiting Greenwich with the Queen Anne of Denmark's house, strolling through the Notting Hill market down Portobello Road, even making the trip to the world famous Harrod's department store. All has been done in the mere week that I have been in London. I hope that my travels soon take me farther than the outer reaches of London but for now it has been a most fulfilling time and I am looking forward to my future here.

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