Hi! My name is Lizzie and for the Spring of 2019, I studied abroad at King’s College in London! I’m originally from the Mid-West, but I had always dreamed of visiting London, the city is famous for its double-decker buses, incredible museums, and sites such as Tower Bridge.
Prior to my arrival, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, I had friends who had studied at King’s and loved it, but I couldn’t help but think of unknowns such as what would how would I adjust to navigating the city, finding my classes and of course learning British slang! In reflection, I realize that my nervousness, while normal, was unnecessary; transitioning into life at King’s was rather seamless. When I arrived I was warmly greeted by reception and was able to check into my room. Over the next few days, I went with another study abroad students to Primark and Argos for essentials and quickly began exploring the city. Transit in London is really easy to use and between the bus, tube or walking, you can get just about anywhere you need to. Since King’s is located in the heart of London exploring the city after class became rather typical, from the Waterloo campus you’re within walking distance of the Borough Market for lunch or even the Tate Modern to check out some amazing works of art.
During my time at the Strand Campus, I would often go to Covent Garden for lunch, which is filled with lots of shops,, and cafes. One of my favorite spots was Neal’s Yard, it’s colorful and filled with cozy shops like Neal’s Yard Remedies, St. John’s Bakery, and one of the best places for an oat milk latte, Jacob the Angel (an independent coffee shop with friendly staff and delicious food).
The last major component of my transition into life at King’s was classes. My major is American Culture Studies and I’m minoring in Religious Studies, so I was typically used to small seminar-style classes. For the modules, I took that had accompanying lectures I liked the change in class size as the professors were incredibly engaging and I was continually hearing insights from other peers. I also loved taking classes with students from all over the World, while many of us get that experience at our home universities, as an American, I’m still in the majority back at WashU. The difference in culture and background made taking courses like American Popular Culture exciting and it always made for fun phone calls back home to tell my friends whatever aspect of American Culture we discussed in class.
Overall, I found my transition to being quite easy and London quickly began to feel like home. I’m incredibly grateful for all of the amazing people I’ve met and beautiful things I’ve seen, such as the cityscape (the picture I included); if you go to the top floor of the Tate Modern there’s a walkaround view!