*Insert sappy title about final thoughts on studying abroad*
By Mahidhar Sai Lakkavaram
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Truth be told, I still can’t come up with a title for this blog. I was going to do something basic, a “my final reflections from my time abroad” or something of the sort. But that didn’t feel right — or like it did justice to what those five months were like.
I’m not going to lie, studying abroad in London for an entire semester (and a little more) terrified me at first. I was moving to a new country all on my own, and I knew absolutely no one there or anything about it. I just had to pack my bags and get on a flight, and figure it all out (meeting people, going around, getting to class, etc.) once I got there.
It was quite difficult at the start, I’ll admit. I felt quite lonely and kept wondering if this was worth all the effort. I had to rearrange my entire schedule, spend so much time meeting with advisors from a million different departments, plan summer classes, leave all my friends at UMass Amherst behind—was it really worth putting in all that time and effort just for me to feel this way?
I can now successfully say that it was, and I’d do it all again in a heartbeat. Yes, there were challenges, but overcoming them is what made the experience even better. I had never moved somewhere completely alone before and “adulting” taught me so many life skills that I wouldn’t have gotten the chance to do before. On top of that, I got to explore an entire country all on my own for five months — without having to take a break from college!
Even taking classes at University College London, which is the university where I studied, helped expand my knowledge on my area of study. As a chemical engineering major, there’s so many different ways to solve these problems we’re given, and while we learn a few techniques in the U.S., other countries have their own methods as well, a majority of which I was able to learn because of this program. I also learned how to use different programming languages like GAMS & gPROMS, which aren’t commonly taught in universities in the U.S.
I basically had a free trial of what student life in London looks like, and I’d totally pay for the full subscription. There was just so much to do — picnics, nightlife, museum visits, galleries, fashion shows — you name it! I made some really good friends, people who I still talk to as I write this blog and whom I’m hoping to meet again some time soon, and I even got to join clubs and get published in a life sciences, and a fashion magazine!
That’s the thing with studying abroad: you can never know what to expect! I had no idea I’d get so close to the people I met, nor did I think that I’d be longing to go back to London so bad now. You just need to have an open mind to whatever happens, which is something that took me a while to develop initially, but helped make the experience so much better in the long run.
So, that’s my two cents on my exchange program in London. Personally, I think it was totally worth it, I got to experience student life in a completely different way and as cheesy as it sounds, I now have so many good memories I can cherish forever. It was by no means easy, and it definitely wasn’t as glamorous as it seems at the start, but once you get over that initial hurdle and start opening up, that’s when the real fun begins.
And now, my return to UMass! I will be coming back with a bit of British slang (bloody hell!), boxes full of British tea, and a million different stories that I can’t wait to annoy everyone with. I most definitely will be that study abroad student, but I promise, I will not fake an accent (that’s stretching it).
I don’t know what’s next, but I do know that I want to try going abroad again in the future. Maybe an internship in another country? Perhaps another exchange program? Who knows where my path will lead, but I do want to settle down for now. After all, UMass Amherst is my real home, and there’s only so much time I have left as a Minuteman.
And with that, I am now officially signing off! I had so much fun writing these blogs and I hope they were helpful to all of you loyal readers. I can’t wait to get back to UMass (I missed Roots WAY too much <3) and experience #1 dining again. See you all in the fall!
Are you planning a study abroad program? Or maybe have another fun idea for a student blog? communications [at] honors [dot] umass [dot] edu (Reach out to us) and we’d love to hear your thoughts!