Madyson Glesky, Children’s Experiences of War and Trauma Summer 2023
The study abroad experience entitled “Children’s Experiences of War and Trauma,” consists of four weeks, where the first two are at the University of Pittsburgh and the next two are in London, England. As I am more of a homebody and appreciate familiarity, I think the split in two-week timespans were separated perfectly. However, as this was my first time travelling internationally and alone, navigation and the home life in London still required an adjustment outside of my previous level of comfort that contributed to my personal growth.
Before arriving, we were told that we would be staying at the Herbal Hill Gardens buildings in the neighborhood of Farringdon in London. The city is separated into concentric circles, known as zones, and Farringdon was in Zone 1, toward the heart of the city. As previously stated, I have never travelled internationally before, so I was grateful that there was a train that ran from the airport right to the neighborhood’s train station. After walking from the station to our living place multiple times throughout our trip, I knew the two were only separated by two blocks. However, when making this trek the first time, I had made three wrong turns and did not realize the building was right in front of me twice. From this experience, and after that first mishap, I would say my navigational skills improved and I even got pretty familiar with the train system and all the routes that you can take across the zones. Additionally, the app “Citymapper” was a great help. From this experience, I now feel more equipped to travel abroad and independently.
Moreover, while there were some challenges in my time living in London, there were definitely more benefits to outweigh them. In regard to these benefits, our “flat,” referred to in the States as an apartment, thankfully had an elevator, as we were told before that many buildings are old and may not have them. The rooms were very simple and clean, and my bedroom had a very pleasing view, as shown in the attached picture. I lived with a total of three other girls, one being in the same room as me, which became my first time that I had ever lived directly with someone. While this could have been a difficult adjustment, my roommate was very respectful, conscientious, and courteous, which led to this being a much better experience than I previously thought it may have been. Furthermore, another benefit included the fact that there were two bathrooms and a spacious living room for us four, leading to smooth mornings and fun evening times altogether. Lastly, the area was in a very nice neighborhood, with close proximity to a nice grocery store, Tesco, and close distance to the train station to simplify all of our navigational needs. On the other hand, the two main challenges that we faced concerned the lack of air conditioning and ventilation in the flat. After showers, and since this was in the summer, this omittance was not something I would ever choose in a living space but is common in London and throughout many cities in England and Europe. Even with this in mind, this is still the only major challenge I can think of when living in London as much of the trip and experience was generally enjoyable and easy.
Even though there were some complications and challenges with navigation and the living situation, I found the rest of the experiences to be generally easy, pleasant, and attributable to my own personal growth in these firsts and new experiences.
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