Making friends when studying abroad is considered key to having a good experience. When you land in a new country, completely unknown to you and where you have no bearings it can be very disturbing and make you feel like you should not be there. This is why the first days can seem so daunting … Continue reading Friendship in your study abroad experience – Delphine Martineau
Listen to your body. One step at a time. Slowly slowly, as my Nonna always used to say. But I didn’t go slowly slowly. I was so determined to make this my year that I burnt myself out within the first month. For the last 4 weeks I have seen nothing but doctor’s rooms and … Continue reading Descansa – Tiffany Maria Christopher-Ward
Film and London have long had history. Like New York, LA,Paris and other major cities, hundreds of films have been shot on it’s streets.As a cinephile and aspiring filmmaker, one of my favourite things to do when I go to a major filming location city, is to find areas where they filmed my favourite movies. … Continue reading Putting on the Cinematic London Lens – Carri Case
After travelling to Brazil in 2016 I was hopeful that I’d be able to travel to another Latin American country while studying here in the US - I am chuffed to now be able to scratch off Mexico on my map when I return home! We hadn’t realised until after booking our flights that we … Continue reading A weekend in Mexico City! Katie Bevan
Adjusting to life in a different country can be somewhat hard. Just visiting a foreign place sounds like a lot of money, time, and work for many people. Now, just imagine what it is like to study in a foreign country with a different system of education, cultural values, and money system. It has taken … Continue reading Finding My Footing – Angelina Healy
Ours was an abusive torment that lasted three years. Then, on a Wednesday, my psychiatrist broke the news to me. "I think we can stop your treatment" She said, expecting me to be excited. But I felt lightheaded instead. What was I supposed to do now that Depression and I were broken up? Depression kept … Continue reading Studying abroad, the Anti-Redepressant that I needed all this time?
For my first article, I wanted to address a question that you might ask yourself when you study abroad: what is it going to be like? What should I expect? This might seem like a silly question at first because most people share the same vision of this experience. Of course, you are here to … Continue reading Study abroad : Expectations vs. Reality – Delphine Martineau
I landed in Heathrow airport in London on Sunday, September 16th. In the time span of one month I have traveled to Paris and Amsterdam, while also traveling around the UK. I have to admit that I was nervous when I decided to spend the semester abroad in the UK. The days leading up to … Continue reading My First Month Abroad – Nasser Ghaffar
I've recently started my year studying abroad in New York City (as a part of a four-year politics degree @ Queen Mary University of London) and wanted to vlog my time in the big apple!
They say that going off to college is finding a type of freedom. The freedom away from parents and some rules. It gives a lot of students a new start and the opportunity to reframe their way of thinking. It is a place to find yourself and get away from things that might have tied … Continue reading The freedom of going abroad – Carrie Case
As someone who wants to work in both radio and television, and who has done so from a very young age, being based in New York City is pretty surreal. You just have to wander a few blocks from Times Square and you’re surrounded by countless television studios, taping theatres and queues of eager fans … Continue reading And we’re going live in 3, 2, 1… – Katie Bevan
I always knew that waving goodbye to my parents for nine months at the airport would be hard and as much as I prepared myself for that moment, a spell of tears felt inevitable. I guess those of us that have had an emotional airport encounter are very lucky to be in a position where … Continue reading A bus journey I’ll never forget – Katie Bevan
This is not only an important year for me; being my Year Abroad working for the British Council as an English Language Assistant in Andalusia, Spain: but it is also the year I make everything right. For a long time, I have considered myself a disappointment, a failure, and I have chosen to share my … Continue reading Adapt and Overcome – Tiffany Maria Christopher-Ward
Cliché or not, I have been in love with the idea of Italy since my teenage years. It has so much historical value, impeccable cuisine, and some of the most beautiful sights in the entire world, not to mention arguably the most romantic language of all. When it came to choosing the location of my … Continue reading Getting yourself Abroad -Amber Fisher
I want to start by mentioning that I specifically refer to my stay in China as my stay in Chengdu. China is a vast country with a rich history spanning from the western to eastern borders of China. Chengdu is a large central city within the Sichuan province not far from the Tibetan plateau and … Continue reading My experience in Chengdu – Charlotte Moore
Get to know the Global Opportunities Team and what has inspired us to travel the world and help students to do the same! We also find out why the GO Team love Queen Mary and their top picks to visit in East London. This week we sat down with Director of Summer School, Sophie Dilley … Continue reading Get to know – Sophie Dilley, Director of Summer School
The forthcoming autumn marks four years since I began my undergraduate journey. As I look forward to joining QMUL as an exchange student, I also have great deal to reminisce about. People are often intrigued by the fact that by this time next year, when I will hopefully turn the tassel, I will have studied … Continue reading The Intercontinental Undergraduate – Ashwin Malik
When I found out I would be spending my junior year studying at Queen Mary University in London, I was ecstatic. I’d wanted to visit London for so long, and now I was going to get to live there for a full year. It was kind of a dream come true. After getting accepted though, … Continue reading Study Abroad FAQs – Miriam Jaffe
Four months ago, when I just arrived in London, I was shy, scared to make friends with others, and also anxious about whether I would enjoy my time here. I remember clearly that I wouldn’t even go out of my room as my social anxiety hindered me from meeting with other people. Now, as my … Continue reading Goodbye London, Or: It’s a New Beginning
It was a shock to me when I first knew the fact that men are the minority among those who study abroad, making up only 35% of all study abroad students. I thought more men would study abroad in U.K. for its travel adventures, sports teams, things that are usually related to masculinity, but the … Continue reading Men Learning New Perspectives Abroad – Unique Xue
When I first landed in London, I didn’t know how involved I would get with Queen Mary in general, let alone with their Global Opportunities office. Within the first two months of being in London, I got an email from the Global Opportunities office, asking if anyone currently studying abroad would be interested in getting … Continue reading Reasons to blog while abroad – Miriam Jaffe
Flash back to a year ago. Second year was over, and all I had to look forward to was a short summer and a year in a country that I knew very little about. I’d never lived abroad before and I had absolutely no idea what to expect. Of course I was looking forward to … Continue reading The End – Kyran Penny
Ever since I left London in June of last year, I’ve been longing to go back. I’m sure that‘s a similar experience for many people who study abroad, or really for traveling in general. I always knew that I’d find my way back there someday, but the big question of when was very much up … Continue reading Touching (back) down in London Town – Miriam Jaffe
The 19th of May was an unconscionably warm day ~seriously~ I didn’t just wear a sun hat to get into the wedding spirit, I needed it. I firmly believe that this was a pathetic fallacy, the sun-baked streets reflecting the excitement of the crowds parading outside Windsor. Not only did the wedding produce one of … Continue reading Why you should watch the royal wedding if you haven’t already – Shola Lee
I’ve always been interested in the history of medicine and hospitals. My husband puts up with me starting dinner conversations with things like “did you know we fix cataracts pretty much the same way that ancient Egyptians did?” and “apparently they wouldn’t give women anaesthetics when they started using them in Europe, because they were … Continue reading Exploring Museums – Kelly (Sherrinford) Honegger
As you probably know, STEM students continue to be the minority of those who study abroad in their undergraduate study. Many STEM students either think it is impossible for them to study abroad or feel like it’d be a burden. However, let me assure you, those conceptions are not necessarily true. Myth #1: It Doesn’t … Continue reading 4 Common Myths about STEM Students Studying Abroad – Unique Xue
I’d never considered living in China before (in my naïve brain a vast and homogenous country of pandas and communism, where all my worldly goods are produced), and if not for the scholarship I will briefly write about in this post, I think I would never have had the chance or the means. In my … Continue reading 三天打鱼两天晒网 – Daniel Halford
It can be quite hard to study abroad if you identify as a queer person, because not all countries are open towards queer and trans people. However, London is an amazing city where different kinds of gender expressions and sexual orientations are accepted by the majority of Londoners. As a result, my queer identities have … Continue reading Strengthening my Queer Identities in London – Unique Xue
On my second day in Sweden, during the walking tour around the city, our guide mentioned the celebration of the arrival of spring known as Valborg. When I was researching Uppsala before I arrived, there was a lot of talk about this celebration and how Uppsala is like a hub for people to come to … Continue reading Valborg – Kyran Penny
Rachel Godfrey was awarded the QMUL International Correspondent Scholarship in collaboration with IFSA Study Abroad. Whilst at Queen Mary, Rachel blogged all about diversity and inclusion in study abroad. We sat down with her before she headed back to Wesleyan University, CT, to talk about her experience. Rachel tells us what it’s like to be a student in London, cultural differences, diversity … Continue reading Part 3 – An interview with Rachel Godfrey
While many students are beginning to reflect back on their fall study abroad experiences, I am only halfway through my full year abroad. Sometimes I worry about what I will be missing at home in the spring, and I definitely miss my friends and family back home in the United States, but I think that … Continue reading Why I chose to study a full year in London – Tessa Reading
Rachel Godfrey was awarded the QMUL International Correspondent Scholarship in collaboration with IFSA Study Abroad. Whilst at Queen Mary, Rachel blogged all about diversity and inclusion in study abroad. We sat down with her before she headed back to Wesleyan University, CT, to talk about her experience. Rachel tells us what it’s like to be a student in London, cultural differences, diversity … Continue reading Part 2 – an interview with Rachel Godfrey
Rachel Godfrey was awarded the QMUL International Correspondent Scholarship in collaboration with IFSA Study Abroad. Whilst at Queen Mary, Rachel blogged all about diversity and inclusion in study abroad. We sat down with her before she headed back to Wesleyan University, CT, to talk about her experience. Rachel tells us what it's like to be … Continue reading Part 1 – an interview with Rachel Godfrey Talking Diversity, Culture and Life at Queen Mary
I always knew that I was an introverted person, but I did not know that I have social anxiety until the second year of college. I realized that had felt stressed and anxious in almost all social settings: from a theater rehearsal room, a Friday night party, or the cafeteria resounded with American small talks, … Continue reading Living with Social Anxiety Abroad
In the past couple of weeks, change has been blowin’ in the wind. By that I mean the wind is no longer blisteringly cold, and has become somewhat pleasant. As winter moves into spring, the Swedish population has begun to appear from their homes after many months in what seemed like hibernation. Having never experienced … Continue reading The Changing of the Seasons
In my experience, I have experienced similar difficulties with microaggressions, also known as “casual racism” in London, Like the United States, the UK has its own set of racial tensions that inhabit college campuses and the greater London community. In the conversations that I have had with other students of color, similar sentiments about the development of … Continue reading Discussing Race and Identity – Rachel Godfrey
I’ve finished my second year of QM now and I’m not sure how I feel about it. Well, technically I haven’t finished but I don’t have to come back to campus for classes any more- so in my mind that means I have finished; even though I still have three assignments to go… It’s sad … Continue reading March – Shola Lee
I spent a while thinking about what to write for this blog post, and the only thing that came to my head was something a little depressing. So I read through my previous posts and realised I had never written about what an average day in Uppsala consists of. Bearing in mind that I spend … Continue reading A day in the life of a student in Sweden – Kyran Penny
Alright kiddies, time for some serious life advice: Budget before you study abroad. Budget before you study abroad. BUDGET BEFORE YOU STUDY ABROAD! I have always sucked at budgeting, mostly because I have always been lucky enough to not need to worry about it. I had a paying job from the time I was 13, … Continue reading Budget before you study abroad – Deryn Susman
While there are plenty of stories of Christian students going abroad and strengthening their faith, there are not nearly so many about Jewish students. It was partially this lack of Jewish narratives and partially my strong connection with the Hillel house on my home campus which motivated me to write specifically for Jewish study abroad … Continue reading Jewish Culture in London – Tessa Reading
From the previous post, it is no secret that I am a big fan of food. During the weekend, I left for Manchester with my buddy in search for more tantalizing, mouth-watering experiences. Although the city has a rich industrial heritage, this has not dulled their culinary sense in any way. Neither did the bloody … Continue reading Food Visuals in Manchester – Annabel Shi Min Pang
Last autumn, I almost decided against studying abroad in London; I thought it was too expensive, I wouldn’t be able to work, I didn’t want to leave my boyfriend and friends, I wasn’t sure if it would affect my track to graduation. Quite simply, I was scared. Then my boyfriend asked me the most perfect … Continue reading Can I do solo travel if I have anxiety? – Deryn Susman
I have always felt uncomfortable about the phrase “coming out” because of the inherent implication about there being a “normal” or “standard” sexuality, while others are regarded as “other” or “strange.” This past summer, I had to wrestle with this concept. I spent a lot of time thinking about my own sexuality. After many conversations … Continue reading Coming Out: The Abroad Edition – Rachel Godfrey
“There will never be a place where I can fully belong.” This is what I wrote down on Facebook, right before the plane took off to London, the city where I would stay for the next six months. All kinds of anxieties started to upsurge into my body, and one of them is the fear … Continue reading Embracing Discomfort: Studying the Arts in London as an East Asian – Unique Wenxuan Xue
I would usually write a post about how I’m getting on with lectures and workload at this point in the semester. However, I, like everyone else I know, have been completed distracted by the snow. To be blatantly honest, I’m not sure why I chose now to write about the snow; it was snowing for … Continue reading Snow Day – Shola Lee
When I moved to London in 2014, I was alone with a suitcase and a duvet. By the time I reached the end of the summer term, I was still alone with a suitcase and a duvet. This wasn’t because I hadn’t made any friends, it was because they’d all gleefully abandoned me to travel … Continue reading Summer in the City – Chloe Ratcliffe
Contrary to the title of this post, I won’t try to get into an extensive political discussion about the UK’s decision to leave EU. Rather, I want to address something which has become more apparent as my time abroad has progressed. When one moves to a different country, especially to a university with many other … Continue reading BREXIT – Kyran Penny
Friday, 16th February 2018 Chinese New Year Celebrations Today marks the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year and as per tradition, it is a day to be spent with family and friends. After our simple reunion dinner (picture below) and 守岁 (shou sui: staying up late to increase longevity of our parents) the … Continue reading Chinese New Year Celebrations – Annabel Shi Min Pang
And just like that, first semester was gone. Four amazing months with amazing people in amazing places. I remember the first time I woke up in Sweden thinking to myself ‘what on earth have you gotten yourself into?’ I didn’t know anybody, I didn’t (and still don’t) speak the language and I certainly didn’t feel … Continue reading Semester Two – Kyran Penny
London is a vibrant city teeming with opportunities for creativity. I have my own clothing brand, and so upon arrival to London, getting a hold on what London fashion had to offer was paramount to me. This piece is split into 4 sections.One will focus on the new and exciting brands essential to the character … Continue reading Quick Guide on London Fashion – Jahmir Duran
