GREAT Study Abroad Experience! Once in a lifetime opportunity

I signed up for the social program and I'm so glad I did because I got to experience destinations in London that I never would have had the opportunity to if I were to travel alone. I took the Gods & Heroes of Classical Mythology class and I loved it/learned a lot. I liked the length of the summer program, session 1, I thought it was the perfect length for those who may be easily homesick or just want the experience, especially for those who may not necessarily want to live here for an entire semester.

I appreciated the support of the study abroad team and the study abroad intern for leading us to destinations and giving up insider information when we needed it. Although the mattress and the bedding weren't the best (springs digging into you, pillow not supportive, etc), these are easily aided with bringing your own mattress pad/blanket/pillow for a better sleep or purchasing them here.

Food is not provided in this program but taking the 265 bus towards Tolworth, you have easy access to a grocery store/Walmart type store called ASDA which sells everything you could possibly need during your stay here, VERY reasonably priced as well, genuinely great prices. There is also a convenience store called Londis just up the street from campus, maybe a 5 minute walk, where you can get food to get you started the first few days here on campus and you can also purchase your Oyster card there if you didn't pre-purchase it online. The card itself costs 5 pounds, and then whatever money you put onto it is available for transport.

I would recommend purchasing a Travelex card prior to arriving so you have local currency, but keep in mind the conversion rate is painful. Keep in mind if you purchase it in the US you cannot put British Pounds onto your card, such as using notes to add money to your card in England; only American dollars can be added, and you have to add a minimum of $50 American dollars each time you want to transfer money to your Travalex card on the app from your American bank account.

Something exciting that I did during my stay was vlogging my day-to-day experience, which helped me get out of my comfort zone as well as document my experience/allow me to share it with my loved ones and the Youtube community so they could live through me. Now I can rewatch my experience whenever I want & relive the moments forever! Follow my instagram to find the link for my videos in my bio and to learn more about the program! @goddessofthegalaxy