Queen Mary University of London History student, Charlotte, used Turing Scheme funding to make the most out of a year abroad at George Washington University in Washington D.C.

When I was accepted to study abroad at George Washington University, I didn’t fully realise that I would be there during an election year. It was only when I arrived at GW and saw the number of events related to politics, that it really set in as a fact. I got a first-hand taste of political culture on an American college campus by attending a viewing of the presidential debate that was held during a meeting of the George Washington University’s College Democrats. The atmosphere was so lively I almost forgot it was a presidential debate. Washington D.C of course was the centre of many events during the election. I have fun memories of waiting 3 hours in a line to get into Kamala Harris’ speech, before being unable to, and watching it on the big screen near the Washington Monument with my friends.

American university culture was completely alien to me. George Washington University has a lot of school spirit, and it is a very normal thing to see students wearing university merch. At the beginning of the year particularly, but also throughout the year, there are a lot of school events. One of my favourites was a Halloween event on the Mount Vernon campus, the other GW campus accessible by bus, where there was free food, games, and pumpkin painting. The big emphasis on sports in general at GW led me to discover a love for a sport that I never considered – ice hockey. After attending a university ice hockey game on a Saturday in November I became a supporter of the Washington Capitals!

As a history major, I immediately looked for the places to visit and things to do in Washington D.C especially related to history. As the capital city, Washington D.C has an abundance of things for a history lover to do. I made it my mission whilst being here to visit every Smithsonian Museum over the course of the year. I can wholeheartedly say that every single one of them is worth it – from the African American History and Culture Museum to the Postal Museum. The things I learned in these museums supplemented the classes I took. I loved being at George Washington University because it gave me the opportunity to learn about parts of American history that I would never be able to learn at any other time, like the Native American History, or the Modern US Immigration classes I took. The style of learning, at least for history, is similar to Queen Mary. Though in my experience, George Washington University gives more assignments, which are usually easier, so there are more opportunities to get a better grade. GW also has a lot of history right next-door, with the White House and the Lincoln Memorial both only a short walk away. Visiting the Lincoln Memorial at night became one of my favourite things to do throughout the year.

Washington D.C also gave me an opportunity to further explore my love of reading. Throughout the year I spent in D.C, one of my favourite activities to do in my downtime would be to go to the flagship store of Politics and Prose in the Van Ness neighbourhood, a large store with three branches known for their author events. But closer to Foggy Bottom, I found several other stores, particularly concentrated in Dupont Circle. Kramers is an independent bookstore there, always very crowded, with small but carefully curated sections on each genre. I loved to browse in these bookstores on afternoons where I did not have much work to do.

Beyond my experience with D.C, I also visited several other cities and smaller towns in the East Coast and beyond – from Williamsburg, Virginia, to satisfy my love of history and exploring – to Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and even Ann Arbor, Michigan, where a friend of mine studies. The Turing Scheme was extremely important in making these trips possible by giving me the money for flights or train tickets. These trips were also so important to me because some were smaller cities that I probably will never see again. I got to learn so much about regional history through visiting places like the Chicago and Detroit history museums. Despite visiting so many cool cities, Washington D.C still stands out as my personal favourite. Each time after returning from one of my trips, I would reach Foggy Bottom with the comforting feeling of being home again.

The year I spent at George Washington University was unforgettable in many ways. I learned so much and discovered so many new things through studying abroad. I highly, highly recommend George Washington University and Washington D.C as a great place to study in, whether you are a history lover or not!