We have four brand spanking new Peer Advisors to help both incoming and outgoing Study Abroad students this academic year! If you’ve got a question for them, pop along to their office hours.
Aitana will be in K0.57 on Friday mornings from 11-1.
Hi, my name is Aitana and I’m one of your Global Mobility Peer Advisors for the 2023/2024 academic year!
I am currently a fourth-year Biomedical Sciences student here at King’s. I just came back from my year abroad at Johns Hopkins University, located in Baltimore, US. For those of you that have never heard of it before (don’t worry, I hadn’t either), Baltimore is a city in between New York City and Washington DC.
Growing up, I moved around every 3 to 5 years (which was, as one would expect, exciting yet incredibly stressful). I had even moved away from my home in Switzerland to attend university here in London. I had however never been so far away from my family and friends; after all, Baltimore is a whole transatlantic journey away. Yes, it was scary and overwhelming at first, but (thankfully) I wasn’t alone! The Peer Advisors at Johns Hopkins helped me through every challenge I encountered, big or small, whether it was advising me on where to go grocery shopping or helping me navigate the university’s complicated system for choosing classes.
Going abroad was one of the best decisions I have ever made; it challenged me in ways I never expected and helped me grow so much as an individual. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity, and hope that you will feel the same about your own study abroad experience.
Now, some tips and tricks about studying in London…
London is an amazing, vibrant city with lots to offer students; I like to think of it as the New York City of Europe! I truly believe that it has something out there for everyone. If you like to go to museums, and exhibitions, you have lots (and most of them are free for students!). You can check out the Natural History Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Tate Modern, and even go to some cool immersive exhibitions like Dopamine Land, Dali cybernetics or the Van Gogh exhibit. If you’re more of a go to a park and paint or read a book kind of person, there are lots of pretty parks around London; Regent’s, St James’, Holland park, Kensington gardens, Hampstead Heath…If you’d rather do all the touristy things people first think of when they think of London, you can do that too! You can check out the London eye, Buckingham Palace, or even go on a guided tour in one of those big, red buses.
While all of this can be incredibly overwhelming, you are not alone! You have us Peer Advisors at your disposal, and you’ll be going through this experience alongside a big group of exchange students that are just as excited and overwhelmed as you are.
I’m very grateful that I get to be a part of your study abroad experience and very excited to meet you all and hear your stories!