This week, people at GW began to brace for mid-terms while UCL students tried to figure out how to spend this week of nothing before classes start on Monday.
I really had no idea that UCL classes didn’t begin until the first week of October when I applied to the university last spring. I’m not complaining about it. If I were doing anything close to that, I’m sure everyone back at GW would remove their world’s smallest violins from their tiny cases and play a concerto just for me. I’m grateful for the free time; it makes me feel like summer is breathing its last breath. But deciding what to do with free time is a challenge, and one that I’m sure a lot of American college students can sympathize with. Like a lot of American college students, a dogged pursuit of learning about who you are has led to me being very busy since I was probably 12 years old.
This is really the first time in my life where I don’t have some kind of club, activity, practice, class, internship or job I have to go to every day. It’s jarring to be taken out of that as abruptly as I have. While a lot of college students quickly stumble into adulthood, we build up a culture among young people where one’s busy-ness and even lack of self-care is a telltale sign that you are a Very Serious and Very Motivated young person. So to have a week in London as a study abroad student where I don’t have any responsibilities would surely make anyone in my situation feel anxious, and even a bit guilty.
So what do you do with all this free time? How do you spend it at least somewhat productively? Well, you try to learn in other ways. You learn about the people around you who are from different nations and cultures. You learn how you can form a daily routine here. You also learn how to save money because it’s finally hit that you shouldn’t be spending money like how you would if you were vacationing in London, but rather like you would when you’re actually living in London.
This week I’ve learned how to be a frugal user of London’s public transportation (take the bus, it’s cheaper and you’ll gain a better understanding of how to get around the city), that my humor meshes eerily well with people from Berlin (probably because it’s bone-dry), about issues with voter apathy in other nations under the threat of toxic right-wing populism, and the different paths that many European students take to get to college (many of those who are in a position to take a gap year take them).
My free week was an adjustment and you shouldn’t believe that I felt anywhere near comfortable having one, but I did learn a lot, and that’s why I’m here anyway.
I forgot to mention the four biggest things I learned this week:
1. Idris Elba is just as good looking as we all think he is
2. Riz Ahmed is shorter than we all think he is but just as good looking
3. Daniel Kaluuya is very good looking as well.
4. I used to think that I’d be able able to keep my cool when I saw any celebrity out in the open, but all it took was Idris Elba and Riz Ahmed to absolutely shatter that illusion I had of myself.
To clarify this brag: My friend and I saw Idris Elba and Riz Ahmed hanging out and walking down a busy street on Friday night. She shook Idris Elba’s hand. I did not. Because I was nervous.
Study abroad tip: keep your eyes peeled for celebrities just casually walking down the street on Friday night, I guess.