GEO Alumni, GBI: London Spring 2024
This semester, many things were different compared to academic culture at Pitt. I
was taking 4 classes. Each class was only once a week and 3 hours and 15 minutes
long. This is different from Pitt classes where the classes are either 2 or 3 times per
week and shorter class times (either 50 or 75 min per class session). This was a difficult adjustment to make. Although it was a positive difference that I didn’t have many days where I had to go into school, I was not used to sitting in a classroom for 3+ hours. Due to this, I had to try extra hard to focus, take a couple of little breaks here and there, and hope that my professor wouldn’t just lecture the whole time.
On a more positive note, my classes abroad at CEA CAPA London were on the
small side. My classes at Pitt have been substantially bigger- with lecture halls fitting roughly 120 people. Abroad, my classes did not exceed 30 people. Professors knew everyone’s name by the second week, and classmates knew their peers’ names very quickly as well. This was a great way to feel a sense of community every time you walked into the classroom. I made a lot of new friends this way. Additionally, it made it easier to participate and concentrate during the long class. The professors knew each individual on a personal level, which gave many opportunities to ask questions about a topic or an assignment, overall leading to a deeper understanding of the curriculum and a better class grade.
The school was one building, which is different from Pitt where you have to walk
through the campus and take classes in several buildings. This made for a more
condensed and close-knit academic community. I would see the same people every day at the school and when we had time in between classes, everyone would sit in the community space with tables and chairs and couches chatting, working on group projects, or just coexisting. I feel like at Pitt, when I go through my school days it feels like solo-traveling. I listen to music on my walks to class, I get food alone or go back home in between classes. Only after my classes are done for the day at Pitt do I socialize, but a lot of the school day abroad felt social to me – and I really liked this about the academic culture there.
The workload was less abroad than it is at Pitt until finals week. While it was
extremely stressful during finals week this semester to get all my work done in time while having time to pack and mentally prepare to leave, I feel lucky that I wasn’t overloaded with work throughout the entire semester. It gave me a lot of time to adjust to my new surroundings, explore London, socialize, and travel to other countries.
My favorite part about the academic culture abroad was the field studies that were included in our class curriculum. We had many field trips to different parts of London that taught us so much that we wouldn’t have been able to learn and
experience just sitting inside the classroom. I loved when we went to parks or did
sightseeing at famous historical places. We had assignments related to the field studies which was a great way to apply and reflect on what we had learned.
Leave a Reply