As the screen came into focus I heard a slightly computerized sounding “Hi there!” and my friend studying abroad in London appeared on the screen. Due to the five-hour time difference and the fact that she’s usually off in a different country on the weekends, it was so nice to finally find a moment to talk. This young jet-setter’s name is Rachel Noah, and The Road Most Knowledgeably Traveled’s audience will get the unique opportunity to get a glimpse of what life is like as a student studying abroad for the semester through this profile piece.
Rachel is a junior at the University of Pittsburgh obtaining a dual degree in marketing and theatre arts with a certificate in non-profit management, with the hopes of working for an agency that does marketing for Broadway shows in the future. She is well on her way, as she worked at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (CLO) this past summer as a public relations, marketing, and special events intern. Her passion for theater arts is one of the reasons she picked London as her choice city to study abroad at, for their theatre district is highly credited as being one of the best world-wide.
At the University of Pittsburgh, many study abroad programs are available, so much so that it can almost become overwhelming to determine which is the best fit. After discussing with former participants and advisors, Rachel decided on a program that would allow her to take a full course load at the University of London, as well as intern for a theater company. This kind of opportunity does not only look fabulous on a resume, but would provide Rachel with once in a lifetime experiences seeing the world from a new light; one full of culture, art, and adventure. However, with such an adventure comes a wave of anxiety. Questions like “What if I don’t like living in London? What if I hate the company I intern for? Can I deal with 14 weeks without being able to come home? What if I have awful roommates?” just to name a few. The “what-ifs” could last forever due to the amount of uncertainty that comes from making a life-altering decision, but alas, there was an acceptance deadline. After a few weeks of back and forth, Rachel put all these questions in the back of her mind and made the plunge. She’d be studying abroad for the whole fall semester, away from her family, friends, boyfriend – her entire life here in Pittsburgh. Two feelings swept over her; one a giant pit in her stomach of nerves and anxiety, but another one, a butterfly of excitement. She knew the bountiful opportunities that laid ahead of her, all the insight, education, and appreciation that could only be fostered when living in a foreign country for an extended period of time.
Rachel out exploring on one of her first days in London
As time reared nearer and nearer to departure to London, the pit of nervousness overcame the excitement. The what-if questions did not stop rattling, and saying goodbye to friends and family was almost too much to handle. As she jumped in her mom’s SUV to leave for the airport, she found her dog in the passenger seat, just begging to be taken along. A wave, no, a tsunami, of emotion lumped at the back of her throat as she brought her dog back inside, knowing that she wouldn’t see him again for another three months. The only question she could focus on was, “Can I actually do this?” Rachel just went through the motions, as robotic as her voice sounded periodically through the Skype call, going through the steps to get on the plane. As the fasten seat belt light turned on in the cabin on the plane, she knew it was too late to turn back now. She was doing this, whether she wanted to or not.
It took Rachel about two weeks to overcome this anxiety and homesickness upon arriving in London. As she is a Pittsburgh native, it’s easy for her to go home or for her parents to come down periodically throughout the school year, so this was the first time where she was truly on her own for an extended period of time. We as college students are still at the age where we can rely on our parents for a lot, but once your 9000 miles away, it’s pretty near impossible to rely on anyone except yourself. Rachel had to figure out a new city, a new school, a new job; basically, a whole new life within a couple days upon arriving in London.
Rachel’s school is a 45-minute tube ride from the apartment her University set her up in. This was something else to get used to, unlike Pitt she couldn’t just walk to class or to the grocery store whenever she needed to. I proceeded to ask her about safety, as she is constantly out and about by herself. After a brief lost connection, she told me she definitely feels safer at Pitt, for riding the Tube alone at night can get a little unnerving. Other than that, Rachel said that she generally feels safe walking around London since there are always other people around.
Rachel and her roommates walking along Abbey Road in London, Beatles Style
Something unique to Rachel’s London program is that she lives with all American exchange students in her apartment building, and her classes are also solely filled with American students. This was something she found to be a bit disappointing, because she’s not really able to interact with British people her age, just the adults at her internship and her professors. This is something important to note if looking to study abroad if this sounds like something you may not want. We then discussed the differences between college courses in America and England, and the first one she said – in a slightly strained tone – was that it is much more writing intensive in London. As a business student here, Rachel takes a lot of classes that are more number oriented, like economics and accounting. Thus, writing at least a few papers a week can be a little stressful, not even to mention working 25 hours a week on top of that. Needless to say, the study abroad experience is no vacation. Another big difference is the scheduled class time each week. Instead of being 50 minutes three days a week, 1 hour and 15 minutes twice a week, or 2.5 hours once a week like it is over here, all of Rachel’s classes just meet once a week for three and a half hours, much to her dismay. “I can’t even sit through a two-hour movie how can I be expected to sit through almost four hours of class!”
Rachel taking a break from class at Kensington Palace
Rachel was taking four classes along with her internship, so her time each week is split between the two. Her official work position is a production intern at the Metta Theater in London, where she works for a sweet, but demanding woman named Poppy. One of the funniest moments in our call was her describing how the British stereotype was true; “they offer me a cup of tea at least a couple times an hour!” Other than drinking tea, on a day-to-day basis Rachel handles the social media for the company, scheduling and running auditions, and editing/updating the company website. She splits her time in the office and working at the different theaters around the city. This way, she gets a backstage look at all the most popular theaters in London, something that she has found to be so cool and rewarding. In addition to working in theaters, she also goes to performances all the time. Apparently, show tickets are incredibly cheap in comparison to tickets over here in America. Just last week, Rachel went to go see Wicked, and she told me it was the best version she’s seen to date. I know when I briefly visited London, or even when I think about popular attractions in London, I don’t personally think of theater. Seeing Rachel’s genuine passion and appreciation for the art that came across so strongly just through my computer was moving, and will certainly inspire me to see a show next time I’m in London.
Once life calmed down and Rachel was able to fall into a routine, she began to explore the city of London, and book trips around Europe. One of her favorite parts about her choice to study abroad in England is the short distance and low cost of traveling around Europe. So far, she’s been to Stonehenge and Bath in England, Scotland, Ireland, Belgium, and Amsterdam, so a pretty successful rap sheet! Rachel has one last excursion planned, a trip to Austria where she’ll be taking part in The Sound of Music Tour in Salzburg. “My favorite place so far is Ireland because it was the most beautiful and the people were genuinely nice to me!” She visited the Cliffs of Moher at sunset, as seen in the picture below, resulting in an all-around magical experience.
Rachel exploring the Cliffs of Moher, Ireland
As great as everything seemed on paper, I wanted to know what Rachel didn’t like, what she struggled with during the 10 weeks that she’s been there so far. Turns out the biggest hardship isn’t homesickness, but dealing with the harsh American stereotypes. The idea of traveling around Europe sounds enlightening and romantic, but when all the locals think you’re rude, obnoxious, and uncultured, that fairy tale picture gets a little tarnished. Rachel described just ordering a cup of coffee at a café can lead to judgmental, condensing tones as soon as she opens her mouth. “I’ve even tried faking a British accent, just to avoid the baristas scornful gaze!” Rachel exasperatedly proclaimed. Apparently, the British people are very obsessed with Trump (not in a good way) and as soon as someone finds out she’s American, they’ll pester her with questions about him and what it’s like living in the U.S. with him as president. She found similar attitudes with the people of Scotland, but not with Ireland, which may be due to the fact that Scotland is part of the UK and Ireland is not, so is therefore less assimilated with English culture. Rachel said her weekend in Ireland was especially enjoyable since she didn’t have to feel ashamed of her background.
Rachel visiting Amsterdam, Netherlands
In terms of advice for students looking to study abroad in the future Rachel says, “Make sure you do your research beforehand – know the city before you even step foot off the plane. Look at what the politics are, figure out what the local’s opinions are of Americans before you get there to mentally prepare. Also try to find someone at your University that participated in the same program to interview in order to make sure it will be the right fit for you.” At under a month left in the program, Rachel reflected on both the amazing experiences and difficult moments to make the definitive statement, “If I had the opportunity to go back in time to the moment where I made my decision to go, I would still choose to accept. It was worth all the hardships for the amount of culture and adventures I was able to experience. What’s a few emotional, homesick nights for three months of living in the same city as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, right?” However, she did further say she probably would have liked a shorter 10-week summer program better, one where she could have either taken classes or done an internship, instead of both. Due to England’s great location to everywhere in Europe, she wishes she would have had more time to get out and explore, rather than being stuck writing papers and working all of the time. The combination of the two was almost too much to handle at times, especially factoring in the 45-minute commute to both work and school.
Rachel meeting some new friends in Ireland
All in all, Rachel undoubtedly recommends that anyone with the ability should study abroad. It is the best way to fully immerse yourself in another country’s culture, as well as the best and cheapest way to explore the world. Since the cost, at least in her program’s case, is the same as tuition and room and board here at Pitt, so the only extra costs are the excursions to other countries and fun activities around London. Rachel has had so many once in a lifetime experiences, all of which she is so grateful for and will never forget. As the conversation neared its end, so was her London journey. She’ll miss the city, but at only thirty days to go, she was getting excited to come home and reunite with the people she loves. We decided to end the interview with a toast, to Pittsburgh and to London, two cities, one that has shaped her life and one that has changed it. Cheers!
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