Franz Gilbert
London School of Economics
London, England
Spring 2022

Church in Portugal
Finally – a trip to enjoy another country! Portugal!
One of the reasons I was excited to participate in the Study Abroad program at H-SC was the opportunity to go to other European countries. COVID has wreaked havoc on my plans – until this month. Over the past week, I was able to travel to Portugal for a long weekend. The airfare was really low, so I traveled with three new friends. I visited both Porto and Lisbon. I would highly recommend going to Porto. Most travel brochures take pictures of Porto to get people to come to Portugal. The town is cost-friendly, AND it is a beautiful coastal town with almost a southern charm element, that I have yet to find in other parts of Europe.

Spring Break – BUSY – BUSY
Instead of Spring Break, we have something called Reading Week. It is the UK’s equivalent of Spring Break. The break was much needed because the past month has been nothing but papers and numerous projects. In fact, I had to use a vacation day to submit a paper. That doesn’t happen on Spring Break in the States. While the Fall Semester was busy, it was still far milder in terms of the workload than the Spring Semester. This semester is all about putting the knowledge to actual work.


Social Hours
This week I am going to a town called Essex, which is north of London, for the fencing final. Our team has made it to the final and while I am not participating in the final, I am looking forward to getting to spectate the match. There are many world-class fencers on both teams, so it is a treat to be able to watch these matches. In the coming few weeks, however, the workload will decrease, and the social scene is wrapping up given the month of April is considered a study break. In the next week, I have three different black-tie occasions for a wide range of societies and athletic teams I am a part of. This reminds me of the last few weeks of April on campus when fraternities are trying to plan their last-minute black-tie balls. Instead of just having one though, I have three back-to-back. I look forward to being able to write more about these events and keep y’all updated on my exciting London life.

Coming Home – Already?
I don’t how my Sydney brothers are doing this semester back home, but time is flying here! With the demands of LSE, athletics events, and social gatherings – my time here is almost done. I have about a month longer here than Sydney’s semester. I am trying to squeeze in as much as I can!



Until next time…
Franz