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Tag: Hannah Radner

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Me (far left) with some of the LSE Women's Rugby Club Second team!

Before my program started, before I arrived in the UK, and in fact throughout the summer and the latter half of the spring semester, my major concern was most definitely making new friends. Looking back on it, since Kindergarten and up through the end of 12th grade, it wasn't that difficult as I went to public school. Part of a giant school system, I went to one of eight elementary schools, one of three middle schools, and everyone ended up at the same high school, so most people were not completely new. While friend groups shrunk, grew, evolved and changed over time, our friends were relatively built in for us already as we had a limited pool to choose from.
Come freshman year, making friends was a slightly more daunting task. The walls fell down and suddenly my student body was four times as large. I spent much of freshman year spending time with my roommates and neighbors. The group of lovely people who would eventually become my core friend group at GWU would not have been easy to find had I not shared a long-time mutual friend with one of them, but that's a story for another day. In short, in my life, I have never had to make a huge effort to make friends. I have never started off completely on my own, traveling to a new place, where I would be living for a full academic year, knowing that every friend I make this year is someone I did not know before.
I mentioned in an earlier post that I had joined the LSE Women's Rugby Club. This was completely new and strange territory to me. My parents thought I was joking when I told them at first. This is because I have never legitimately played any team sports, contact sports, or just...sports in general. I played soccer at the YMCA when i was four and I did gymnastics for about four years, but since the sixth grade, I was a theatre kid. After graduation, I let that go too, and my last two years at GWU have been characterised by floating from student org to student org; I hadn't yet found anything I really, truly liked doing, aside from French Club and Alternative Breaks, neither of which I can do abroad.
If you're studying abroad for a whole year, it may not seem like that much at first, but it's a lot. It's a whole 25% of your college career, assuming you follow the traditional 4-year path as I intend to do, and when you get back, you're in your last year and real life is staring you right in the face. You've just established a presence on campus, solidified your friend group, gotten deeply involved in whatever you do, fallen in and out of love 20 times, and then you leave it all back in the USA for a whole year. When you arrive, it feels like freshman year all over again. I had orientation week, complete with presentations, outings, events, and the freshers' fair, which is their student orgs fair.
I'm not quite sure when I made the decision to join rugby, but it happened at some point during the freshers' fair when they handed out cookies as bribes. But in all seriousness, they emphasized that no experience was needed (great, I have none!), it's so much fun (I like fun!), and I'll fall in love with the sport and the girls (something new and exciting!).
Study Abroad a time for self-exploration as well as self-establishment and personal growth. That is why it exists; not simply for growth in the classroom but outside. LSE has a myriad of fun societies to join, many of which do not exist at GWU, and I was originally hoping to join one of those, just to make the experience even more 'out there.' I certainly was not expecting to join a sports team. However, as I felt I was welcomed with open arms into the women's rugby club before I even joined, how could I possibly say no?
The WRFC has provided me with several important things, the first being a somewhat regular exercise regimen. The second is a regular social fixture; every Wednesday, all the sports teams have some sort of event at the student center, followed by a mass exodus to a club in Leicester Square. The third is my new ambition to push myself physically, which comes hand-in-hand with the team mentality that a team is only as strong as its weakest member; experience or not, I don't want to be that weakest member. Perhaps the most important thing rugby has given me, and will continue to give me throughout my time here, is the sense that I am firmly a part of something. During freshman and sophomore years, as I explored my interests but didn't dive wholeheartedly into much of anything, whenever people asked what I did outside class or what organisations I was a part of, I hemmed and hawed until my answer was sort of "oh, you know, a little bit of this, a little bit of that." Now, when someone asks me what I do outside class, I can confidently say I play rugby, whether or not I play well. An even better part of this is that rugby is something I can potentially bring back with me. Attention, GW Women's Rugby, if you want a new player next year: I'm in.

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By Hannah Radner

It is weekends like these that make me so glad I chose the program I chose and that remind me why study abroad is so special. I am lucky enough to be a part of a program, the LSE General Course, that organizes more or less weekly excursions to places around the UK and Europe. I only signed up for one, this past weekend, which was a weekend in the Scottish Highlands.

Anyone who knew me at all in high school knows that I am a little obsessed with Scotland and it carries some of my most cherished memories, as my first ever trip outside the United States was to Edinburgh. I spent ten days there with members of my high school drama company, exploring the wonders of the city during its Fringe Festival as well as performing in it. We all had the most incredible time and since then, Edinburgh and Scotland have held a very special place in my heart.

At first, it might not sound that appealing when I say we spent the majority of the weekend on a coach bus, but for this I am quite grateful. We saw so much on Saturday; the beauty of the scenery is not to be believed, especially in autumn when everything is different shades of red, orange, yellow and green. We first stopped at Stirling Castle, a place I remembered well from my last visit. I was happy to reclaim my throne in the throne room. We continued up through Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, and I am pretty sure we saw the Hogwarts Express because obviously there is only one steam train in the entire United Kingdom and it is definitely the Hogwarts Express. We stepped outside for two minutes at a scenic overlook in Glen Coe; it would have been longer but it was raining fairly heavily and to say the wind was gusty would be an extreme understatement. We then went to a place called the Clansman Centre, where we watched a rugged old Scottish man (proudly of clan Robertson) speak of how utterly disgusting and brutal life in the Highlands was hundreds of years ago as well as demonstrate how to properly pleat and put on a kilt. We then drove up the entire length of Loch Ness. Fun facts about Loch Ness: It contains more fresh water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined, Nessie has not been sighted since early 2013, and there is a monetary prize of a million pounds for someone who can provide concrete proof of a legitimate sighting (i.e. a good photograph). For anyone who doesn't know how much the exchange rate hurts us Americans over here, that's about 1.6 million dollars. Needless to say, we were somewhat disappointed we didn't see her.

We stayed Saturday night at a hostel in Inverness. If that sounds familiar to you, it's probably because you had to read Macbeth for school at some point, because Inverness is where (spoiler alert) King Duncan was murdered. I'm actually a big fan of Macbeth so I was busy geeking out just being there. Our tour guide recommended a pub called Hootenanny's to us, and I must say the Hootenanny's experience was my favorite night I have had abroad so far. It had live music and a lively crowd, and being the strange Americans we stood in the front but didn't know how to move to Scottish folk music until a seemingly random man walked in and showed us how to dance and wouldn't let us stand still. After that, we were not the strange Americans sitting on the floor but the strange Americans who were trying to have a Ceilidh (basically a Scottish dance party) even though we couldn't dance. I have had the chorus of a folk song about Thomas Paine stuck in my head for 24 hours now.
On Sunday we mostly drove so we could make it back to Edinburgh in time to catch our train back to London. We did make three stops: Culloden Battlefield (think Braveheart), Clava Cairns (4000 year old rocks and burial grounds), and the Hermitage, a beautiful wooded walk with waterfalls. I geeked out here too, as the Hermitage was the setting for Birnam Wood in Macbeth and I thought of those great prophecies and multiple smacks to the face all laid out for Macbeth. Well done, Shakespeare.
It truly was the "Americans take over the Ceilidh" night that made it for me. Even as I danced, if you can really call it dancing, I thought to myself how special Scotland is to me and how this is an experience I would have never been able to have without study abroad and indeed without this particular excursion. To think I'd made it all the way back to this place four years later, and made a new, unique memory that makes it that much better. I didn't think it was possible for Scotland to get any cooler, but clearly I was mistaken. I can't wait to go back.

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By Hannah Radner

Having finished two weeks of classes at LSE, I feel I am finally somewhat qualified to write on the subject of academics here. In these last few weeks I have seen elements that both distinguish LSE from GW and make it similar. Because I love lists, here's a new one of my observations:

1. I have only finished two weeks of classes! This is my first observation. The first week, starting on October 6, was all lectures, which are optional and open to the public. My classes (discussion sections) started last week, and many classes for quantitative courses do not start until this week. The 'shopping period' for courses officially ends on October 31, meaning if I was really indecisive I could potentially not know which courses I was taking until the term is nearly half over. Thankfully I am not in that position, and I probably wouldn't recommend LSE to anyone who ever anticipated doing this because...

2. ...We hit the ground running. Not unlike GWU, most of my lectures dove right into the course material, and I've already had my first in-class presentation. Professors tell us when our papers are due throughout the year. Our reading lists are online and we are expected to check them regularly, though never explicitly told what is due next week. This is probably because we have the ability to pick and choose what to read beyond the 3-4 core class readings we have each week, which brings me to my next observation...

3. ...Study is highly independent. We have so much choice in what we read so that everyone can bring something to the discussion; professors want us to read about specific subjects that interest us within the scope of the course so we are more likely to do our best work. As we all know, it's easier to do work when you like what you're doing. As study abroad students, we can take just about any class we want. Regular students must take courses within their specific programme and follow a core track, and have very little wiggle room or opportunity for electives, which they call options. The only proof we show that we've done the reading comes in the form of our participation in class discussions, essays, and come summer term, exams, which determine 100% of our final grade, which is why...

4. ...I will not cram for exams this year. I cannot lie, I do most of my studying in the week leading up to my exams at GWU, and not much sooner. While professors in the US say it doesn't work, our courses only last for the duration of one term, we are doing constant written work to keep us up-to-date, and we have several quizzes and/or tests and/or essays in the course of a term. When push comes to shove, it's often easy to cram and do well at home because we know more than we think come exam time. Here, it is all on us to revise and study throughout the year so we don't fall behind. In summer term, starting at the end of April, there is one final hurrah of holing up in the library and doing nothing else for a few weeks before exams begin. This time, when professors tell us not to cram, I will not only hear them but I will listen because I am secretly terrified.

5. Having a social life is not optional if you want to remain sane. Daylight is the time to read and study, while dusk till dawn is when people frequent pubs, clubs (LSE has one of each in its student center), films, theatre, sport, etc. The possibilities are endless. Study dates and rendez-vous are also acceptable, as one can often find groups of friends studying together in the library. Misery loves company! (Disclaimer: I don't mean school is miserable, just reading like 400 pages at a time can be a downer sometimes. You know what I mean.)

If anyone needs me, I'll be in the library studying for the exams I have in seven months.

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By clairemac93

I am 9 months into my time here in South Africa. For the most part, that means I’ve gotten so used to the things that once shocked me that I don’t even see them anymore. This is just a consequence of living somewhere- and they aren’t all bad. I no longer notice the huge looming mountain tops around town that used to awe me every day. I no longer am taken aback at the beggars following me on my way home from the grocery store, and in fact have had some of my most successful conversations in Afrikaans with them. I no longer notice that the internet is slow, or that races don’t interact much, or how every single house here has a fence or wall around its entire exterior. Surprisingly, as someone who considers themselves relatively tough-skinned when faced with insults to my country, the one thing that to this day has not lost its shock-factor are the feelings of South Africans against America and Americans.

Now, I get it—“it’s all in good fun”. “It’s just a joke”. Trust me, I can take some puns at Americans. In fact, they annoy me a lot too when I’m traveling. They’re unnecessarily loud, especially when they know others are listening. They’re ignorant- a stereotype that is very accurate and which I’ve even noticed in my own lack of knowledge. They travel in huge groups and don’t interact with locals despite having come all the way to [fill in location here]. So yes. I’m not shooting stars and stripes out of my extremities.

However, I am also “proud to be an American” in my own way. I have traveled enough to see the many opportunities that having grown up in the United States has provided me, how many opportunities I was allowed purely because of my citizenship, how much our country has contributed to world history and innovation, and how many amazing cities and states we have. I was offered scholarships for study, to meet people of different upbringings. I never had to worry about receiving schooling, food, shelter, or worry that my politicians weren’t watching out for my general welfare. I ran around my neighborhood as a child, and knew all of my neighbors. And national holidays were, to me, a thing to look forward to and to celebrate having grown up in the States, and still are.

I truly believe that despite what the world way think- that America is culture-less, that that itself is an impossibility. When you meet an American abroad, the entire reason you bond is due to a shared culture—a point of commonality despite whatever differences you may have. I’m not saying it’s the most sophisticated culture—our commonalities might be cereal brands we can only get at home, peanut butter sandwiches, pancakes and our favorite 90’s cartoons, or a common university that you share friends and family at. We bond in going to football games and picking pumpkins at Halloween and sitting down for a meal at Thanksgiving. I think Americans share a lot more in common than they think. And I personally am tired of feeling that I need to be ashamed of my nationality. I am often hit with the phrase, “But Claire, you’re a cool American” or comments on me being the exception to the rule, as if the other 316 million people are innately bad, just by being born in my country.

What’s interesting is that in traveling you tend to run into one of two Americans—regardless of age. There are those who are bazooka-ing you with patriotism and will come to the defense of legitimately any claim against the United States. Then there are those who have picked up on ill feelings towards the US and hate on their country before anyone else does. These both seem like bad options and sort of ingenuine. I think it’s important to strike a balance, with any country, between your pros and cons and to be open to someone else’s respectful opinion. Most importantly, I think it is important to try to speak on behalf of the general population- always remembering that you may be the only American someone ever speaks with and whatever you say may be associated with your country. For example, I have an American friend who likes to rave about how many firearms he and his father own whenever someone approaches him about the issue of gun control in the US. What could have been a productive conversation on media and stereotypes and the diversity of people in the US turns into a game on how intensely someone can fit a stereotype. You can see him getting the shocked reactions he aimed for and you almost witness in their eyes that a stereotype has been solidified forever. Those are chances to act as the middle man- to say what your family does but to also say that plenty of people don’t own firearms and that the reason there aren’t any laws restricting them is due to the NRA’s political influence. This may shed some light on information that foreigners do not know. But many, instead, just tend to shoot to one or the other side of American representation.

Despite always wanting to be a representative of the general public of the States, I’ve run into more than a few snags here in South Africa. I never suspected that anti-american feelings would be worse here than in Germany, but they are. 9 months in and almost daily someone, a professor or fellow student, says something against my country—not to me but in my presence. Most of it is ignorant- assuming were all idiots, we eat fast food 24-7, are all obese, racist, greedy, etc. Rarely do I get approached with a mature argument on political or economic grounds- rather people take easy hits to America’s belly. But sometimes the issues are more serious, such as when I was yelled at for what was going on in Ferguson and told by a South African that “if American can’t even figure out their racial issues, how can they criticize South Africa for theirs?” And I’m not going to lie, it gets old. I can only softly smile and say, “Oh, we're not all like that” or the most common “That’s only in the movies” so many times. I start to wonder why if I insulted a majority Muslim country or an east Asian country I would be considered a bigot or insensitive, yet if I insult the US at every turn its considered socially acceptable. Especially in a country like South Africa, in which I could freely insult blatant inequality differences, racism, lack of education, or any number of other social issues- I don’t. So I find it entertaining at best but insulting at most that South Africans have been so apt to, despite obvious issues of their own, throw so much shade at the United States. Perhaps it is just easier to say, “Hey look over there! Look at how much they’re screwing up!” to distract people from domestic issues.

Essentially, the United States is the country I grew up in, and the one I will go back to. It is a country that, when all is said and done, I am proud to be a part of and proud to represent and which I wish people could experience for themselves to see how diverse it is. I don’t need to be a patriot to respect the amount my country has contributed to who I am and to my values. I suppose it is just difficult to identify with a country whose business is so publically broadcasted, whose movies and music is consumed by the world, and whose political decisions aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, nor mine.

I’m just realizing that solidifying how I feel to be an American abroad is one of my hardest challenges here.

Published on

By Hannah Radner

From the moment I knew I wanted to study in London I have imposed judgment on myself; judgment for choosing a country whose official language is English when I have studied French since the sixth grade. For a while assumed I would go to France to study abroad. Judgment for choosing a capital city not unlike the one I study in at home (they are more similar in nature though vastly different in size). Judgment for choosing a university that, in the grand scheme of things, is not worlds away from GW. There was always a voice in my head that tried to make me doubt myself, telling me that in order to make a study abroad experience worthwhile, I had to make things as difficult for myself as humanly possible and go to a place where I would actually get a healthy dose of culture shock. Obviously it didn't work, because LSE was the only program I applied to and really wanted to do, and now that I am here I am a. glad I went through with it and b. void of regret. As it turns out, while it is a first world city (arguably the most first world city in the history of first world cities), London can still dish out some culture shock in the form of "Things I Take for Granted at Home and No Longer Will" and "Things the USA Should Have But Seemed to Have Gotten Lost in the Shuffle of the American Revolution."

Things I Take for Granted at Home and No Longer Will:
1. Uncomplicated Traffic Patterns. I walk everywhere I need to go within a certain radius. It becomes clear on day one that pedestrians do not have the right of way while walking in the crosswalk. Jaywalking? Don't even think about it. They drive fast enough even in the most congested parts of the city that nothing will save you if you get in the way of a vehicle. This includes cyclists. They often have their own lanes (if not, they have to share with the buses, which I suppose shows that they don't really care about the cyclists' lives either) Wait for the walk signal or die, basically.

2. Clean Air. I'm not talking about the city pollution levels. I'm talking about cigarette smoke. This year abroad is going to take a chunk out of my lifespan because of all the secondhand smoke. Everyone does it. Take a random sample of Londoners in any area and I'd say at least 80% of them are smoking or will probably light up in the next five minutes. I will only ever tolerate (barely) the smoking culture here.

3. Easy Public Transport. Boston's system is easy, especially for me: I get on at Riverside and I take the D line into Park Street, Government Center or Haymarket. Then I stay put or walk where I need to go, as nothing is really that far away. Boston is small. DC's system is even easier. 5 lines, clearly mapped out, I know where I need to go. If you really put your mind to it and you have enough time, patience and energy, really anything in DC is walking distance. London is a behemoth. The Tube map, though not necessarily difficult to understand, reflects how expansive the city is. There are a lot of buses that go to a lot of different places and only run at certain times and then you have your night buses and buses with 24-hour service and some only come every 20-30 minutes. How am I getting home? Do I take this bus or that bus? The tube? Do I have enough cash for a cab? Does London have a Cash Cab? Whatever happened to that show? Whatever happened to that guy? Was that my bus that just went by?? UGH.

Things the USA Should Have But Seemed to Have Gotten Lost in the Shuffle of the American Revolution:
1. Real Honest-to-God Bicycle Lanes that keep Cyclists in Check. If I had a dollar for every time I have almost been hit by a cyclist who doesn't obey traffic laws in DC, I'd have enough money to buy myself a nice bike and use it the right way.

2. Food Compost. I'm a hippie and I think composting is great. At least in LSE buildings, they have multiple separate waste receptacles: brown for food scraps (yay compost!! feed the worms! make new dirt!), green for mixed recycling (with a separate little thing in which you may pour out your liquids), and black for general non-recyclable, non-compostable waste. My kitchen came with three recycling bins, one general trash bin, and a little caddy for food waste.

3. WiFi Everywhere. It is difficult to go somewhere London and not find a place that has some sort of free WiFi. I am on the O2 cellular network, so I have access to all O2 hotspots. There is a network called The Cloud, which is not great for surfing the web but useful when trying to get in contact with friends. My campus has eduroam, a fact I was delighted to learn because I can log into the secure network using my GW info - yes, it's here, and it works. It is near impossible to find free, functional WiFi in DC. Thank goodness we have it here so I can write my blog posts beyond the confines of my bedroom if I so chose.

Published on

By Hannah Radner

London is the largest city I have ever experienced, both area- and population-wise. Exponentially bigger than both Boston and DC, it is a daunting task to make it my own. Based off some of the things I have done (or have resolved to do) since I got here a week and a half ago, I compiled a short list of things I can do to make a big city feel a little bit smaller and a lot more familiar.

1. Take public transportation. In my last post, I discussed the joy of walking. There is also joy in not walking, especially when nearly every place to which you need or want to go in London is rather far. I have taken the Tube (Subway, Metro, T, whatever you call it) a few times, but even more joyful is the bus. Buses in London go everywhere. The perks of taking the bus include a low price and sights of the city you would not otherwise get taking the Tube. In addition, all the buses are double decker; that is not a myth, that is real, and it is great. To ride the bus, you need an Oyster Card. To ride the Tube you really really want an Oyster card, as a one-way trip is around £4.70. I have abandoned all thoughts of the exchange rate, so you can do that math on your own. It is not fun, but the Oyster Card makes it bearable. The Tube is arguably the fastest form of transport, for it does not encounter traffic like the bus will. New York may be gridlocked, but at least it is a grid; in the wise words of my tenth grade history teacher, London (like Boston) looks like "spaghetti threw up on your window" when seen from above.

2. Do familiar things! Being in a new city is weird. I have attempted to make it less weird by doing fun things that I would do at school in DC. London is a great city for music lovers, as I am. I love small concerts by small bands in small places whether or not I've heard of them. Luckily for me, one of my favorite bands from the states has just done a two-night stint at a hole in the wall near Hyde Park, so of course I was there for it. I look forward to exploring different venues on weekends and finding new things to listen to. In addition to music, London's theatre scene is unparalleled. I live in the theatre district, not far from the Phoenix Theatre where I saw my first (and only, so far) West End show over four years ago, across the street from where Memphis is playing and down the block from War Horse, Matilda, and Miss Saigon. I love going to shows, so hopefully I will be able to avail myself of the West End's offerings very soon.

3. Do unfamiliar things! I have one shot at this "study abroad" thing, so I may as well make the best of it. I am not an athletic person. I have no endurance. I have a low pain threshold. I am often shy with new people. So, naturally, I am joining LSE's Girls Rugby team. It is not something I was expecting to do, but this is a great year to try new things, push the envelope, and go out of my comfort zone, and I am accomplishing all three by joining a sports team. I look forward to this new experience.

4. Find a favorite place to eat. I have not done this yet. I will probably not be able to answer that "where is your favorite place to eat?" question for quite some time. At this moment, I love the 'My Old Dutch Pancake House' across the street from my dorm. For anyone who has never had a dutch pancake, they are really just very large pancakes. This place makes them like crepes, both sweet and savory, and they are about 20 inches in diameter. Think Crepeaway on steroids, but also with whipped cream or ice cream on top, but also waffles and poffertjes. It really makes one wonder, in true Leslie Knope fashion, why would anyone eat anything besides breakfast food??

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