Skip to content

Tag: GW England

Published on

By Hannah Radner

After living in London for three months and looking forward to another six, I have learned some very valuable things about money and saving. In preparation for this year, over the last few years I have done my best to be frugal so as to save enough to have a good time abroad. I quickly found out my methods would fall short; I couldn't simply save up and assume I would have enough. I have to make a budget.

It is nearly impossible to stick to a budget in the first few weeks, as you are finding out just how much things cost. I didn't really know how much I would be spending on food until I started to go grocery shopping in my second week here. I now know that I spend, on average, about seventeen pounds a week on groceries, and then some extra when I eat out. It was harder still in the beginning because I didn't have a UK debit card set up yet; being here on a long-term program, I knew it would be useful to set up a bank account, so eventually I did. Before, I would just take cash out of Barclays (Bank of America has a partnership with Barclays so that when you use your B of A card at a Barclays ATM there is no transaction fee) and carry some around with me. In a way that is worse than carrying a debit card, because you see how much cash you have in your wallet and you think, "look at all this cash I have! I have plenty! So I can spend it!" Not true. As we all know, money does not grow on trees, and cash does in fact run out when you spend it. Shocker! Now that I have a debit card, I put a certain amount in my account every time I top up, and I simply aim to use it as little as possible (this is not always easy, but it is a policy that has worked in general so far). My spending has definitely slowed down from the beginning of the year, as I looked at my American bank account and remembered the existence of the exchange rate, which tends to hover around $1.60-$1.70 per pound.

Realising I cannot spend as much as I thought was a wake-up call; it will benefit me because it forces me to reconsider my priorities in the way of entertainment. I don't want to spend money on things I don't want to do because that is a waste; my experience will not be muddled with memories of bad films, bland cuisine and underwhelming travel destinations. Kind of like the word limit we have on essays here, it forces me to keep only what's really important and leave out the fluff. Keeping my priorities in order, I am beginning to think about my budget for 2015; How much will I spend on dining out? Entertainment like plays, movies, and museums? Travel? Where do I really want to go? What is the cheapest way to do it?

Living abroad is forcing me to examine my finances more closely than ever before, which I think is going to prepare me quite well for adulthood. Sure, DC may seem dirt cheap to me compared to here when I return, but that doesn't mean my habits will go away. After nine months of fierce budgeting, I will continue to consider my priorities and save as much as I can. The time for me to start paying off student loans feels like it's approaching faster than it was two years ago in some sort of scary temporal doppler effect, and I anticipate being glad I was able to hone my personal budgeting skills sooner rather than later.

Published on

By Jess Yacovelle

I'm closing in on my last month studying abroad, so I have a pretty good grasp on both London and King's College. Therefore, I thought I'd share the five weirdest things that I've seen in Europe, as told from the point of view of an American.

1) There are plaques everywhere. And I do mean everywhere: on the side of buildings, on benches, even in the middle of the sidewalk. These plaques proclaim certain areas to have historical significance. King's College, for example, has a few located around campus in honor of Virgina Woolf. Various plaques exist in the Green Park area in regards to past monarchs. Where this gets a little weird, however, is when these plaques start to get really, really specific. I understand, for example having a plaque at the home of where the queen used to live, but do we really need one at the hotel in Canterbury where she used to put up her guests for the night? Yes, plaques honoring famous writers are great (especially for me, the English major), but must we put up plaques telling us where these writers used to eat breakfast? London is an incredibly historical city, but sometimes it can be a little too historical.

2) Elevators. Elevators are so weird in the United Kingdom. In the US, you hit either the up or the down bottom, and an elevator going in that direction stops at your floor and picks you up. Simple, right? In London, there is one button for you to press, and the elevator comes to get you in the order that people have called for it. Which means, that if someone in the basement pushes the button before someone on the ground floor, the elevator will bypass the ground floor, go down to the basement, and then come back up to the ground floor. Now, this is simply irritating and only a little strange... Until class lets out and everyone hits the button at the exact same time. I've literally stood on the ground floor for five straight minutes, watching as the elevator passes me down to the basement, up to the third floor, down to the second basement, back up to the fifth floor... How much more inconvenient can you be?

3) Trains. I'm not going to lie, I've lived in London for over two months now, and I still can't figure out the train ticketing system. For trains in London, you can pay with your Oyster card (aka the underground card)... sometimes. It's supposedly cheaper to do so than to buy a physical ticket, but it's never very clear when you're allowed to and when you're not. Obviously, if you're leaving London you can't pay with a London underground card, but what if you're taking a train to the London Gatwick airport? Nope, you need a ticket. But why? No one knows.

4) Cheerleaders at a hockey game. No, I'm not making this up; how could I? It's so bizarre and unheard of from an American standpoint. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I went to a hockey game whilst on a long-weekend in Prague, and I was absolutely stunned to find a platform in the corner of the stands where home-team cheerleaders performed. What were they doing there? Cheerleaders don't belong at a hockey game! Hockey is a sport characterized by speed, skill, and intensity, not pom-poms and frowny faces when the opposing team scores. And oh yes, I didn't make that up; the cheerleaders literally crossed their arms over their chest and frowned when the away team scored. I can think of literally nothing less characteristic of ice hockey as a sport than that display.

5) Abandoned underground stations. I know these exist in the United States too, but it's even stranger to pass by them in London because of the aforementioned history of the city. These stations haven't all been demolished or bricked over. For example, the Strand underground station - which is right next to King's College - is abandoned, but the building that leads down into the station still exists. A sign proclaiming the existence of the Strand Station hangs above the entrance, and only a metal gate separates the brick interior from the rest of the world. These stations don't appear on any maps, but they are everywhere. It almost makes you wonder how many abandoned tunnels are beneath London's surface.

Published on

It's a bit of an understatement that the United States is big on sports. Be it baseball, basketball, or football, almost every American student has been on some sort of athletic team or taken lessons at some point during their childhood. Even more so, in the states, "sports" as a concept has taken on a life of its own: it's a billion dollar industry with multiple TV channels and a slew of weekends over the course of a year dedicated to various sporting endeavors.

So how do sports fit into Europe? More specifically, how do sports fit into the United Kingdom?

The biggest sport - in both Europe and the United Kingdom - is clearly football, or soccer as Americans call it. Each country has a national team, and various cities have their own teams as well. London, for example, has four teams that I know of, and near the end of October I went to one of the games.

I saw the Tottenham Hot Spurs play (and defeat) a Greek team at their home stadium. A friend of mine, who loves European football and actually understood what he was doing, organized the trip and booked field-level seats near the center of the pitch. The stadium - being outdoors - was quite cold, and it even started to rain at one point. However the atmosphere was lively - fans jumping out of their seat and screaming at goals or fouls - and the home team dominated play. Though I didn't know the official rules, it was easy enough to follow the action. My friend ended up explaining the rules to a group of us, but I mostly ignored him and focused on watching the game; I chose to apply NHL rules to the football game instead of struggling to digest my friend's diatribe, and for the most part, it served me well.

Hockey is one sport that England does not have, but the rest of Europe - especially the Slavic countries - loves. For me personally, one of the worst aspects of studying in London was the lack of hockey. Though I'm a Californian, my father instilled in me a love for the Philadelphia Flyers and ice hockey, and it kills me that I'm missing the first half of their season.

So when I traveled to Prague immediately following the football game in October, I made sure to catch a hockey match. The team names were all in Czech, so I have no idea who played who, but I do know that the home team won and it was a fantastic game. Since I'm so much more knowledgeable about hockey than I am about football, I can actually detail some differences between NHL hockey and European hockey.

To begin with, European rinks are slightly larger, their goalies are allowed to play the puck from anywhere behind the net, not just within the trapezoid, and offensive players are not allowed to enter the goalie's crease. Moreso, European hockey includes harsher penalties for players who break the rules.

And what do these rules include? No fighting. That's right, hockey lovers, in European hockey, you aren't allowed to fight or even be too physical. Check too hard? You're ejected from the game. Throw a single punch? You may be suspended for several games. As I witnessed in Prague, this creates a completely altered style of hockey. Instead of being physical, players emphasize their finesse and puck-handling skills. They use more fancy, fast passes and less of a forecheck to take the lead. How do I feel about these changes? Well for one thing, it makes it a little more understandable for me to watch players in the NHL - such as Finish Kimmo Timonen or Jaromir Jagr from the Czech Republic - play games so much less physical than American or Canadian born players. In general, however? I think I prefer American hockey. Though the skill with which these Slavic players handle the puck is awe-inspiring, there is a certain level of physicality I’ve come to expect in hockey, and it doesn’t feel right to watch the game without it.

Overall, Europe lacks some of the American sports - such as basketball and football - and it has some sports that we don’t have, like cricket and rugby. To anyone interested in studying abroad, I highly recommend watching some sort of athletic game in your foreign country; it can be really telling in regards to the culture.

Published on

I've been writing for GW Blog Abroad for nearly three months now, and I think it's about time I confess something: I am physically limited.

Well, kind of. I'm in the grey area of disability: it's not bad enough that I need to declare it on any forms, but it is severe enough that I require surgery and physical therapy. I have scoliosis - a curvature of the spine - and it prevents me from doing certain things (like run or wear corsets) without my lungs being ironically impinged by my rib cage. I can't stand for more than an hour at a time without incurring nerve pain, and my limbs will occasionally go numb for no apparent reason. It's unfortunate, but I don't let my issues impinge upon my ability to participate in life, pain or no pain. 

Essentially, my plight isn't bad enough to require a handicapped sticker on my license plate, but if the US army ever returned to a draft system, I'd be declared unfit for duty.

So how is it that I've been backpacking around Europe for the past three weekends when simply wearing a backpack makes me limp? How have I been staying in hostels, hurrying to catch trains, hiking in Prague? For that matter, how can any student with consistent physical pain partake in the GW study abroad student-rite-of-passage of traveling cheaply? For that matter, how can anyone other than the strongest athlete manage to carry around their belongings from city to city?

Simple. You pay attention. Stepping on mismatched cobblestone and the mile-wide gap of grout in-between causes my vertebrae to grind together, so I actively seek out the smoothest sections of the street. A six hour train ride into Nantes makes my muscles ache and spasm, so I get up and wander the train every hour or so. Carrying my backpack through a crowded airport for the two hours before my flight takes off makes my head light and my sciatic shudder, so I set my bag down (my leg looped though the strap to protect against theft) whenever I can. Most importantly, I always do these things before I have pain, not after or during.

The number one tip I can give is to be preventative by paying attention to both your body and the world around you.

It does you no good to tough it out - keep your pack on your back - until your legs are shaking and you're ready to cry. Any moment you have the chance, set your bag down. Lean against the wall, stretch your body, and pay attention. By giving your body breaks whenever you can, you'll last longer and be able to keep up with more able-bodied people.

My other favorite thing is to spread out my belongings. Obviously, if I'm traveling anywhere long-term I bathe in the luxury of a rolling suitcase. However, for older cities like Prague (in which a paved road is essentially a tourist attraction in and of itself), a rolling suitcase is not a possibility. My trick? I place anything fragile or heavy in my backpack, and then carry a lightweight tote filled with toiletries or clothing. Having a second, easy-to-maneuver bag let's me rearrange how I carry things if my back starts to hurt or things get too heavy for me.

The old adage is "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." It's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a reason, as people like me know. Recovering from a day of intense pain is a harrowing experience, and it can easily kill an entire vacation day. It's better to not put yourself in that position at all. So watch the world around you - pay attention to your body - and cheat. Find the ways of standing, sitting, and backpacking that don't bother your body, and work them into your travel as often as you can. If you stretch and pay attention, there's no reason you can't travel like everyone else.

Published on

By Hannah Radner

Whether or not one celebrates, Christmas time is joyous. Here in London (and, I suppose, everywhere else in the world that isn't America), Thanksgiving does not exist. In the USA we know it's coming on November 1 when Starbucks exchanges the PSL for the Peppermint Mocha and red cups; however, Thanksgiving is just the road block to full on Christmas hysteria. Here, thanks to the absence of Thanksgiving, Christmas starts on November 1, and I am all for it. The only downside to spending the holidays here is missing them at home. This is the first year I didn't see my family for Thanksgiving, which would have been a lot harder to handle had it not been for GW England. That's right, kids, I'm about to make a pitch, so get ready.

I chose a program on GW England because I was only vaguely aware of the resources that would be available to me; I knew we would have some sort of GW advising in London, and I liked knowing that I would have someone to fall back on if I was having any trouble. We do have an advisor here, but this is only the beginning of the benefits of GW England. The advantages of the program were already apparent nearly as soon as I got here, as we GW students at LSE all moved in early so we could go to our GW England orientation events. For starters, my flat mate is also from GW. Second, we got to meet all the other GW students who would be with us at our school and throughout the city. On our first day, we got breakfast at Café in the Crypt, took a walking tour, took a boat cruise down the Thames, had lunch and explored the Tower of London, and then were free to explore the city as we so chose. About a week and a half later, we had the opportunity to see a play at the Globe theatre (yes, the Shakespeare one). Our advisor, Geeta, has taken us out to lunch by school; those of us at LSE were fortunate enough to go to Nando's. One day in early November we took a day trip to the town of Bath where we took a walking tour, had lunch, and explored the Roman Baths and the town itself. That day I ate at Sally Lunn's Historic Eating House, where I stuffed myself full of delicious buns and tea. Our last event of the term is afternoon tea at the National Portrait Gallery, where I intend to stuff myself full of more bread and tea.

Being Americans abroad, perhaps the most meaningful event put on by GW England was our Thanksgiving dinner this past Thursday. Thanksgiving break is often a welcome respite from school. In high school, we had a pep rally and a football game between celebrated rivals. At GW, it is the calm before the finals storm. On Thursday, Thanksgiving did not feel like Thanksgiving because I had a paper due in class that day. I usually have classes from 4-7 on Thursdays, but due to the abundance of American expats at LSE, my professor was very kind and understanding and excused me from my last one so I could be on time for dinner. For this I am thankful (see what I did there?). The LSE runs its own Thanksgiving dinner for General Course students, and my building had a Thanksgiving potluck, but I am glad I chose to do Thanksgiving with GW. It was catered in a function room at a nice hotel, and it was cool to see the majority of GW England students all sitting at the same table. While I wasn't surrounded by family as usual, I was surrounded by friends; it finally felt like Thanksgiving, aside from the fact that I was full after only one plate of food.

The holidays are here. The twenty five days of Christmas are upon us. The festivities are in full operation, from Hyde Park Winter Wonderland to the South Bank Christmas Market to ice skating at Somerset House to the posh Oxford Street department stores having a silent war over who has the best Christmas window displays (I am biased towards John Lewis because of the penguins and the commercial that made me cry). I've had my Thanksgiving, and I have two weeks left until vacation. That's one essay, sixteen class hours, and a few hundred more pages of reading. The reward is sweet: I am going to Spain for a week, and what a relief it will be. This is definitely the most wonderful time of the year.

Published on

By Jess Yacovelle

One of the benefits of studying in the United Kingdom is that nearly everyone speaks English in London. Because of the shared language, being in a new city, in a new country, in a new culture doesn't feel quite so scary. Everything is tinted with a shade of home and familiarity that most foreign countries lack. Yet not everything about London is the same as the United States. In fact, there are some stark cultural differences - both good and bad - between the two areas.

For one thing, as I've previously mentioned, there are no trashcans anywhere in the UK! If you finish a cup of coffee, you could literally be carrying that empty cup for miles. There's probably one "rubbish bin" per five block radius, yet the streets are nearly spotless. They have a fraction of the cigarette butts and gum stains as most American cities do, and the nice areas of London have virtually no bits of trash anywhere. I don't know how they do it, but somehow they keep the streets clean without any trashcans.

Trashcans may not be on every block, but you know what is? Pret a Manger. Literally, it's on every block. It's a European staple that sells coffee, pre-made sandwiches, and baked goods. King's College, where I'm currently studying for the semester, is located directly between two different Pret a Mangers. You can't escape them; it's best to just give in.

The Brits also have no idea where to go. For no apparent reason, they became one of the only European countries to drive on the left. So, logically, you'd think that means they're a lefty country, right? They should walk on the left, stand on the left, move to the left... no. In fact, England can't make up its mind. On all of the escalators, you stand on the right. In some of the tube stations, you walk on the right... unless arbitrary signs tell you to walk on the left. You exit stations on the left, but you walk down the streets on the right. There are no hard and fast rules in regards to which side of the street pedestrians should stick to, and as a result, there are frequent human traffic jams.

Speaking of humans, British people are known to be cold and unfriendly, but this is not true. They have very specific social customs, and they do not like these customs to be broken. For example, they do not talk on the tube, and they glare at anyone who tries to strike up a conversation. The tube is a place of commute, not a place to socialize. Making conversation with strangers on the tube isn't proper.

Speaking of properness, it is considered improper to wear a skirt or dress without a pair of tights. On the first day of classes - back when the sun was shinning and it was 80 degrees outside - I could easily differentiate between the tourists and the natives by who wore tights with their skirts and who was bare-legged. No matter how hot it gets, no one in England has bare legs (unless they're gong to a club); it just isn't done.

Another thing different in regards to apparel is that at bars - pure bars, not sports bars - you must wear heels. I've had friends rejected and told to leave a bar because they were not wearing heels. I think it's because heels show respect for the establishment that you made an effort to dress in a classy manner. Regardless of why you do it, the reality is you need to do it.

These are just some of the differences between the culture of the United States and the culture of the United Kingdom, and as I continue to study abroad in London, I'm sure I'll find more.

Published on

By Hannah Radner

It is week eight of ten in the Michaelmas term at LSE, and I am truly feeling the effects of a direct enrollment program as opposed to a provider program. The LSE General Course, while it is made up of all study abroad students, provides no special accommodation; at times, our status as General Course students puts even more pressure on us, as the formative work we do throughout the term actually factors into our class grade, while for regular LSE students it does not. Aside from this, we are otherwise considered regular LSE students.

This is clearly the week where everyone is stressed. Essays are due, and everyone regrets not starting them several weeks ago. I am no exception; I had a paper due last Friday, the following Sunday, this Friday, and next Friday, on top of a presentation I am currently working on for the class in which I had a paper due on Sunday. It is all hitting me at once, and I am coping because I have to, but this leads me to my number one piece of advice for current and future General Course students: time management is key. Starting as a freshman at GW, we are amazed at how little time we spend in class compared to high school - only a few hours a day? What do I do with all this free time? You soon figure out that free time is not free until you've used up a great deal of it doing work outside the classroom. At LSE, we have even less class time - eight hours per week, total. I have found that what they lack in contact hours, they make up for in reading and essays.

Essays are different here. In my American classes, we had page requirements, standardised prompts, and even requirements for how many sources we should use for our essays. After having written a few here, I have decided that I like the UK system better. Here, there is a maximum word limit which, according to professor discretion, may or may not include footnotes and the bibliography. They do not care which citation system you use, nor do they care how many sources you have, as long as you make an effective argument. I quite appreciate this as it lets me focus much more on the content of my essay rather than trying to find more sources to which I can attribute my facts, just for the sake of having enough sources. I also don't have to worry about meeting a minimum length; as long as I have not gone over the maximum, I am safe. I am sure everyone at some point in the US has known the struggle of having a minimum of fifteen pages assigned - "but what if I have no more to say after ten?" The only struggle now is making your argument as concise as possible.

The other effect of being in the General Course is the fact that I haven't been able to travel as much as I thought I would. This is not necessarily a bad thing; I came here with the goal of feeling like a Londoner and a fully integrated student. I have been on some trips; weekends in Scotland and Ireland and a day trip to Bath have all been fantastic. I enjoy having time to explore London because that is why I am here. Vacations are for traveling; I am going to Spain for a week in December, and it will be a much welcome reward.

I love my program and not a day goes by when I think about how happy I am with my choice. I know at the end of this year, I will be able to say it is the hardest thing I did in college, but it made me a better student and a more well-rounded human being.

Published on

By Jess Yacovelle

I've been living in London now for nearly seven weeks, and by this point I've experienced numerous things to do each and every day. I've compiled my five favorites into the below list; check them out!

1) Find "a place." To me, the number one thing that's helping me get to know and experience London is a restaurant a few friends and I have found: Belushi's. We hang out there a couple nights a week and we interact with other regulars. By relaxing and chatting with locals in a familiar setting, it's easy to learn more about London life.

2) Trafalgar Square. There's always something going on in Trafalgar Square. Whether it's a street dance performance, a food fair, or a special exhibit, Trafalgar Square is a beautiful place to see. The architecture of the statues is also gorgeous and well worth a look.

3) See a theatre show. Comedians and theatre shows are huge in London. There are upwards of twenty shows occurring on any given night. The downside to this cool cultural tidbit is that it's a pretty expensive habit; tickets range in £30-£100! But it's worth it to try and see a show or two a month because London theatre is amazing. As of now, I've seen Shakespeare in Love, Evita, and The Lion King, and I've also seen comedian Jon Richardson live. My wallet is a little annoyed, but they were incredible shows and well worth it.

4) Try every café in sight. I'll be honest, I'm a sucker for coffee. I'm infamous in my family for visiting Stonehenge and taking pictures with a cup of coffee in my hand. So one of my favorite ways to pass the time in London is to experiment and explore various cafés. If I happen to be with a friend, I'll sometimes check out hotel cafés; the coffee is usually more expensive, but it's always delicious!

5) Drink coffee and sit along the Thames. Have I mentioned that I'm a sucker for coffee? Even though the temperature has dropped significantly since I've arrived, the Thames is still a beautiful place to visit, especially if you're on the South Bank. This side of the Thames faces St Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London, and Big Ben. My favorite spot? About a five minute walk up from the famous Globe theatre. It's far enough away from the tourist trap to be peaceful, yet still close to the picturesque view.

6) Camden Market. Camden Market is perhaps the greatest place to visit in all of London; they set up stalls and stalls of fashion, gifts, and ethnic food for you to purchase. Some of the best meals I've consumed in London were from Camden Market; definitely arrange for a visit if you can.

Published on

By Hannah Radner

London is massive. While certainly not the largest city in the world, it is by far the largest city I have ever lived in, dwarfing both Boston and DC. Something is always happening in different parts of the city, and while central London may be a fantastic spot to live if you're into the touristy sights, there are also plenty of other awesome places to go. On a map, it doesn't look that bad. It looks like my dorm is a hop, skip and a jump from the Thames, when in reality it's a good twenty-minute walk. There are markets everywhere - Borough, Smithfield, Portobello Road, and Camden, just to name a few. Brick Lane is the place to get Indian food, and there is a 24-hour bagel establishment as well as a forthcoming cereal café (that's right, a cereal café) in Shoreditch. I could go on and on about how many things there are to do in London (most of the above mentioned I have not even done yet). The problem with wanting to do all these things: They are ridiculously far away from each other, unless you fancy walking for a few hours. Luckily, there is no shortage of transportation in London.
First: getting here. London has six airports: Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Southend and City. There are probably more. City is actually the only airport in London proper. I flew out of there to get to Dublin and it was an absolute pleasure. It was a 30 minute ride on the DLR (to be discussed later); there was one terminal, security was easy, and it appeared very clean and fairly new. I've been told by my trusty unofficial guidebooks (and yelp) to avoid Southend and Luton as they are quite difficult to get to and the experience is a pain. Stansted and Gatwick have trains and buses that go to and from them, more expensive than the tube though much less expensive than a cab. Heathrow is quite far out from the city, though being a huge international airport, not difficult to access. The Piccadilly line on the tube goes straight to the terminals, and one could also take buses, trains, cabs, minicabs, whatever suits your fancy.
Once you are finally here, you now have the pleasure of staring helplessly at a giant tube map on the wall and, once you've figured it out, cramming yourself in the train with the masses to get to your destination. However, the tube may not be the best way. Here is my personal list of transportation in London:

1. Bus. I'm sure I said this in an earlier post, but they are all double decker and it is not a myth. Go upstairs and try and get a seat at the front. The bus is great because a single ride is cheaper than the tube (bus is £1.45 and tube is £2.20 in Zone 1). Truth be told, I have only just discovered the wonders of the bus. I didn't initially allow myself to use it because there are so many buses going to so many places and I was terrified I would get on the wrong one or miss one and have to wait 20 minutes for the next one. A friend of mine introduced me to the Citymapper app about a week and a half ago and it has since changed my life and now I have learnt to use and love the bus, so here is a shameless plug for Citymapper. Take the bus.

2. Tube. It's faster than the bus, but for a ride it's 75 pence more expensive, which adds up after several rides and adds up even more after you think about the murderous exchange rate (RIP my bank account). You most likely will not have a place to sit. You also have to deal with the station's shenanigans, like people who wait until the last minute to pull out their Oyster Card (like a smart trip card), stand on the left on the escalator (DC people understand my pain), strollers, suitcases, body heat, and the maze that leads you to which platform you're looking for. But still, it's much faster than the bus, there are less stops, and you don't have to pay to switch lines (like you have to pay £1.45 again if you get on a different bus).

3. DLR. It is a tube line but it deserves its own bullet point. I took it once, to City Airport, and it is what a public train ought to be; it has big windows and ample seating, ventilation (!!!), and it runs from central to east London, which is cool if you simply want to see a different part of the city. I've heard that, if you're lucky, and if no one is sitting in the front seat, you can "drive the train" and that it's awesome but I don't know what it means and I'm kind of afraid to find out.

4. Cab. This is if you have money to burn, or if you don't and you just don't care, but it's late at night and you just want to go home. It's a good late-night option, if the night bus is somehow inconvenient to you, which it very well may be. It's easier to hail a cab than to wait in the cold for a night bus, and the cab doesn't stop, which is a relief when you just want to go home. Sure, it may cost £10 for a short ride, but it was worth it because I am now in the warmth of my own bed 30 minutes earlier than I would have been had I taken the bus. Who's the real winner here?

5. Bicycle. London has its equivalent of Capital Bikeshare, though they are operated by TfL (Transport for London). I have never ridden a bicycle in London and I do not ever plan to because I don't have a death wish. The cars drive very fast and drivers show no remorse and it's scary enough being a pedestrian; I couldn't imagine sharing a road with them, much less on a bicycle with myself all exposed to the elements and what not. The bikes would likely be a great option for riding through a park (on the paths that allow bikes) or through neighborhoods with less traffic. The other cool thing about the bicycles is that each 'station' has a post with a map of the surrounding area on it, showing walking and biking distance radii. They are everywhere, so it's hard to get lost.

I could go on about all the trains that go in and out of London, like National Rail and Eurostar but that would take ages. Many stations are under construction for a new project due to open in 2018 called CrossRail, a high speed rail system that runs the length of London from East to West. Citymapper, which tells you a myriad of different ways to get home, includes a "jetpack" option, clearly preparing users for the future and/or driving someone somewhere to finally invent a usable jetpack. As I said before, London is huge, but it's quite easily accessible, especially when you open yourself to the wonders of the bus or open your wallet to the wonders of a cab.

Published on

By Jess Yacovelle

One of the biggest struggles in my preparation for my study abroad experience was that there isn't a comprehensive list of all of the things that a GW student needs to accomplish before leaving the country. To help future study abroad students, I've therefore created such a list myself!

1) Update your personal American documents and information. Check your driver's license, credit/debit cards, and passport to make sure they aren't about to expire. You need to renew these before you go abroad.

2) Call your bank before you leave. You need to notify your credit card companies and your personal bank that you'll be out of the country from dates x to y, or else any foreign charges you make will be marked as fraudulent and your accounts will be suspended. Also, try to order some foreign currency from your bank before you leave. The exchange rate will be smaller at your bank than at the airport. In addition, check to see if your bank has a partnership with any overseas banks; if they do, the partner bank will allow you to withdraw cash without charging you a fee.

3) Pick up items you need beforehand! Any special coats, shoes, or umbrellas you should buy in the states. Also buy plug adapters so you can charge your phone, etc during your abroad stay.

4) Let's talk visas! Now each country has different requirements for a visa (and each type of visa has different requirements), so check with the online consult. However generally, you'll need:

-Official bank statements with a minimum balance of x. A reference letter from your bank can also be helpful.

-A round-trip ticket back home at the end of your stay.

-Your passport. Also, it doesn't hurt to bring extra passport photos, as some countries may desire them.

-Your acceptance letter from your host university.

5) Speaking of consults, register at your foreign consulate. Also, don't forget to print out your health insurance card. Make copies of all of your important documents and leave a copy at home with your parents. If you're mugged or you loose your passport you still have the information safe.

6) Phones! Everyone does something different, so how do you know what to do? Here's my advice: if you have a smart phone, bring it with you and keep it on the WiFi setting. Turn off cellular data so you don't accidentally use it, and only use your smart phone when you're connected to WiFi. Then, buy a cheap, pay as you go phone for local calls. If you're a little neurotic, like me, spring for the international data plan just in case of an emergency where you need to call home without WiFi.

7) Handle your business at GW. Make sure you're in good academic standing and you have no outstanding bills. Fill out their emergency forms on Passport, and register for study abroad status.

8) At your host university, register for housing and your classes by the assigned date. Do not be late! You could be penalized for tardiness and miss out on opportunities. Many universities also provide study abroad students with orientation, so make sure to register for that as well.

9) Medications! Talk with your health insurance provider and ask if you can pick up your medication for the duration of your trip. If not, look into alternative solutions.

10) Research where you'll be living. Not just the building, either; research the city and find on a map any place you may need. Do you work out a lot? Find a local or school gym. Are you really into cooking? Find the nearest grocery store. Figure out what you'll need and find it before you arrive.

11) Book your flight to and from your host country!

Unless otherwise indicated, the content and opinions expressed on this web site are those of the author(s). They are not endorsed by and do not necessarily reflect the views of the George Washington University.
Privacy Notice
Viewing Message: 1 of 1.
 Notice

This site uses cookies to offer you a better browsing experience. Visit GW’s Website Privacy Notice to learn more about how GW uses cookies.