"An American Student in London"
- Preparations...
Seeing that this is a travel blog, and I have done some traveling, I wanted to share my experience as an exchange student in London during the summer between my junior and senior years of college. Now, let me establish that the university I was attending did have a study abroad program, but the locations were not what I wanted, nor were the classes offered, so I decided to go with my own. After a few months of research, I came across the American Institute for Foreign Study. Their all-inclusive package was the one that appealed to me the most, and made sure to offer the most information which was a relief to my mother. I won't bother to go through the process I undertook to get the classes that I was taking approved and accredited with my institution, as it is not relevant to this article, but I will say... be prepared for a lot of paperwork if you're a student who is deciding to go the same route that I did, especially if you're also adding financial aid to the mix!
I budgeted about... $12,000 USD for my entire trip. The program, including tuition, room and board, and airline travel expenses all were about $8,000 give or take a few hundred, so I had about $4, 000 to spend for six weeks on excursions, dining out, a few pints at some local pubs, a Tube pass for at least a month and a few weeks, souvenirs and theatre shows for my first class. I budgeted about $200 USD/week for needs after the Tube pass necessity was out of the way. Depending on the exchange rates while you're there, you might need more or less money depending on what you have to do. For up-to-date info on the exchange rates around the world check out XE.com.
When all the I's were dotted and all the T's were finally crossed, I found myself at the International Terminal at my local international airport (again not important to name names). Outbound from the U.S. to London's Heathrow, I didn't have too much trouble with TSA, just the usual security measures, and viewing of my passport. I was there uber early, though, about three hours' worth, just in case, but it wasn't too bad. About two weeks prior to my trip, I had received my information packet, including the letter that said that I was indeed accepted into the program and that I would be staying at a dormitory, and whatnot. This was very important to keep in my carry-on stuff along with my passport, and you'll see why later. The information packet also included emergency phone numbers (which did come in handy), a travel itinerary, some information about London, and, being an exchange student, safety tips, and information about our traveler's health insurance. This is information you should always keep handy. You'll never know when you might need it.
I was excited that I was going on this trip all by myself outside the country! It was my first time, and I was a bit intimidated, too. Just before I boarded the plane I talked to my mom on the phone -- the first of many phone calls during that trip! She was a little freaked, too. After all, her youngest child was heading off to England alone!
She wished me luck on my trip, asked me to call her when I got there, regardless that it would be 2 AM EST when I arrived at the airport! She wouldn't sleep well until she knew I was safely on the ground and in my dorms. She also asked that I keep in contact with home and send pictures of my adventures. Then.. I boarded the plane, said a quick prayer to God that I wouldn't drown or crash over the Atlantic Ocean, and met the other students that were from my area who were on the same program. After months of preparation I was off to Merrie Olde England!
To prepare for the trip I had a checklist provided by the AIFS, as well as other bits of information from the U.S. State Department and the British Consulate or Embassy. I wanted to familiarize myself with where I was going, both for the sake of safety, and because it was fun! I actually started gathering and packing stuff for my trip about 2 months in advance! I also had my mother make TWO copies of my Passport and my Driver's License. This is very, very important to do, and excellent advice! I did this because I kept a copy at home with my mother, along with any paperwork and travel information she needed, and I kept the originals and the copies with myself for my trip. While in London, I carried around the copy of my passport and my actual license for ID purposes, and I kept my passport in the lock up safe in my dorm room. Hierarchally speaking, my passport (with my social security number and vital citizenship info) was more important to me than my Driver's license (which has a number and some info, but not my SSN).
I also made sure I met the luggage requirements for the airline I was traveling. The two major carriers for the U.S. to U.K. travel are Virgin Atlantic and British Airways. In addition to all that, also had to make sure I had enough medicine and toiletries for six weeks, and I had enough room in my luggage for all of it. I know that stores in England would have what I needed, like shampoo and other hair care products, and pretty much anything major that I needed, but I'm pretty picky about stuff for my hair, and since I was going to a foreign country, then I wanted to make sure I knew what I was using. For the most part, however, if you're staying longer than two weeks, just buy your toiletries over there.
Another piece of good advice that I received was to have at least $200 USD in British pounds sterling (they don't use the Euro) as free money divided among my person and things. It would be useful to have some cash on hand at least at the beginning. Trust me, it was very useful!
Finally, I had to make sure I packed correctly. I wanted to bring back souvenirs for family and friends, and I needed to make sure I'd have some room in my luggage for the t-shirts, shot glasses, and other memorabilia.
Photo of the British Phone Booths courtesy of Mirakel G. Mayoral (latinspaceangel), Morguefile.com
Labels: British, London, passport, student, study abroad, Travel
