Jessica Tierney is a student at the University of California, Riverside and an ISA Featured Blogger. Jessica is currently studying abroad with ISA in Reading, England.
I’m not in England anymore. I’m no longer opening my blinds in the morning to see snow, or taking a train into London, or jetting off for the weekend to other countries. I left all that behind almost two weeks ago. I’m not going to lie…I’ve been missing England so I figured I should talk to my favorite Brit that I met while I was across the pond.
Georgia was the first person I met when I got to the University of Reading and she is one of the kindest people. That first night Georgia, myself, the rest of the Americans, and a couple more Brits sat in the hallway talking about accents and how we call them Band-Aids, but they call them plasters. It was so incredibly easy to integrate into their world because they so easily let us in.
When I messaged Georgia asking about her experience with Reading and just being British, we ended up talking more about how her first year experience changed when “The Americans” (as I dub us) got there. Honestly, how could it not? We’ve grown up in entirely different places. Despite the fact that England has close ties with America, it is not the same place.
It was the best thing growing close with her because I don’t think my experience would have been the same otherwise. I got to learn all about this sport called netball that she plays (it’s like basketball, kind of…) and that she is going to be studying abroad in France and that we both love American TV. Living in England was hands down one of the coolest experiences of my life, but being able to be good friends with Georgia (along with the other Brits in my hall) made it a million times better because I really got a local perspective and friends that extend far beyond studying abroad.
Related articles
- Harry Potter, The Trevi Fountain, and Friends: My Favorite Memories of England (isastudentblog.wordpress.com)
- 3 Ways to Make Your Study Abroad Experience Unique and Amazing (isastudentblog.wordpress.com)
I enjoyed this post and I hope many American students thinking of studying in the UK will read it. Anyone can visit tourist sites and shop. Making British friends is what makes studying in the UK special.