Silas Avis
Provider: LSE
London, England
2022/23 Year Abroad

One thing that I have had to adjust to is the life of constantly relying on public transportation. If there is one thing I will not miss when I get back to the US is cramming into a packed tube car with a hundred other strangers at rush hour trying to get wherever I need to be. Driving is a luxury that I miss the most and when I get back, I am going on a long drive just because I can. The city makes a strong push to eliminate the use of private vehicles by using the tube and the double decker buses that are a staple of the city, but the streets remain extremely crowded in dense areas nonetheless. Whenever I fly back and have a check bag with me, I will usually use an uber to get where I need to go and those drives always take about 5 times longer than if I were to use public transportation. Between the buses and the tens of thousands of black taxi cabs that fil the streets of London, driving is just not a practical option for getting anywhere until you get out of Central London. For this reason, most London citizens bike to wherever they need to go or simply walk if they do not want to use public transportation. Since the roads are all completely backwards to what I am used to in the US I have not biked anywhere because I still think I will turn into oncoming traffic inadvertently. The emphasis on using bikes instead of cars is also a part of the city’s massive push to drastically reduce carbon emission within the city which most definitely the social issue that I see addressed the most among activists as well as politicians in the UK government. By doing that and switching to all electric vehicles they have actually done a very good job of it as opposed to how it was 100 years ago.

Silas Avis
Provider: LSE
London, England
2022/23 Year Abroad

I never appreciated how different the intensity of sporting events is when you are here versus when you are in the US. I’ve been fortunate enough to attend several matches as well as an NFL game, all which felt extremely different than any sporting event that I have been to back home. I’ve been an Aston Villa fan for several years now despite them just barely avoiding relegation the past few years, but I would never call myself anything more than a casual fan at best. But at the start of the new year my friend and I bought tickets to the Tottenham vs Aston Villa match where Villa surprisingly won 2-0, we didn’t really recognize just how tense the home crowd which we were right in the middle of was going to be. We knew we had to keep the fact we were rooting for the away team in the home section low key, but we didn’t realize that the second we showed any sort of support for the away team, that the Tottenham fans were going to report us to security, and we would be escorted out of the stadium after going up 1-0.

Luckily, we were able to convince the security guards that we were just Americans that were excited to see a good match and that we had no intention of causing an issue by sitting outside of the away fans section. So out of caution to avoid us getting into a fight they relocated us to different seats and told us that we had to root for Tottenham if we wanted to not get kicked out of the stadium. So, after Douglas Luiz sealed the victory in the 73rd minute we simply sat with blank expressions amongst a crowd of infuriated Tottenham fans, it was awesome.

Jake Porter
Provider: LSE
London, England
2022/23 Year Abroad

People dress differently in London. Almost everyone wears business casual or formal attire. London is a fashionable city; however, the cold and windy weather certainly encourages long pants and large coats. I haven’t changed the way I dress other than wearing pants and a jacket more often. People dress the way I expected them to. Attire is like New York City with very few colors being worn.

People in London work diligently while remembering to enjoy life throughout the week. I have significantly more time freedom in London than at Hampden-Sydney. Attendance is taken in classes, but classes are only 2 days a week. The other 3 days are used to stay up to date on lectures, read material for class, and practice and learn the material. It is much easier to get behind and equally easy to catch up with the education system here. For most students at LSE, the only exams that count for a grade are final exams and papers. Being a study abroad student, we receive 2 grades: a class grade and an exam grade.

Another thing I had to acclimate to are distances in London. A 20-minute walk to class or anywhere is considered short. In the U.S., if someone told me I had to walk a mile to them I would laugh then be confused. Now, anytime I meet up with someone that does not live in my hall or come to me, I walk a mile or more. It is also different to me how much a space can change within a mile. London’s architecture and feel can drastically change from simply walking around a corner. Also, a 2-mile taxi ride can take 30 minutes depending on traffic. I have found that walking is the best form of transportation most of the time. Without safety being taken into account, a bike is undeniably the best transportation option for London.

Jake Porter
Provider: LSE
London, England
2022/23 Year Abroad

On my commute to class, I pass two parks, a bunch of hotels, and some of my favorite places to eat. I hear the cars, buses, and birds on my way to class. My walk to class is 20 minutes; and, there is a bus that I can take, but walking is my preferred option. Most students live farther than 20 minutes away by foot and those students often take the Underground. I find the Underground (also known as the tube or subway) to be useful when trying to get across the city quickly, but it is expensive and doesn’t provide much value in my daily life.
In London, first-year students live in single dorms for the most part. After the first year, people will often split an apartment with 1 or 2 friends. I live in a single dorm in a building with about 180 students. Food is served in the dining hall in the dorm twice a day which is an improvement from walking 10 minutes to and from each of the 3 meals a day. However, lunch is not served in my hall, so I will usually either skip lunch or eat out near the university. The food is much better in London than people give it credit for. British food is not particularly good, but it is only one of many options in the city to choose from. I personally like Pret A Mangers “toasties” sandwiches and Greggs chicken. Pret has 317 coffee shops in London and are, without exaggeration, on every corner. Most students go to Pret as opposed to the other coffee shops due to the coffee subscription which I wish we had in the U.S.. Food is more expensive in London, but due to the current exchange rate, food prices are almost equivalent to the U.S..

Elian Toapanta Sanchez
Provider: ISA
Seoul, South Korea
Fall Semester 2022

It’s safe to say that South Korea lives by a mantra: “Work hard, party harder.” Education is paramount to success in the eyes of Koreans and thus, many students work themselves to exhaustion or worse. Life after university isn’t any easier as South Korea is well known for its brutal working hours. Thus, it’s hardly surprising that when they finally do get some well-deserved time off, they use that time to the fullest. The nightlife, especially in Seoul, is one of the most dynamic and intense in the entirety of Asia, and you’ll never be lacking for a place to go, no matter the day of the week.

Hongdae, Seoul’s most famous party district, is situated near Hongik University and thus is popular with the younger, university-aged crowd. Roughly a thirty-minute subway ride from Korea University, its home to shops, restaurants, bars, and clubs galore. Entertainers line the streets, from dance groups to magicians, rock-bands to rappers, the variety is endless but the quality makes them always worth watching, if not for a second.

In my time here, I’ve stuck to a few favorite places, particularly NB2 (Noise Basement) and La Bamba, a Latin-American themed club.

If you’re lucky enough, like I was a couple weeks back, you might even see some celebrities. (more realistically, you’ll notice a huge, tightly packed crowd slowly making its way towards you, with film lights and professional cameras just barely poking out the middle) On a whim, I went out to Hongdae for churros and some light shopping and once I saw the avalanche of people slowly making its way towards me, I managed to find a good vantage point.