This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Take a Semester Abroad

Next semester I will be traveling to London to study and intern. Here are some of the things I am looking forward to about next semester, and why you should take the same opportunity I am taking at your college.

As much as I love Boston University, the thought of studying in another country has always sounded thrilling to me. I have always known that I wanted to spend a semester in college abroad. Fortunately, BU has one of the best study abroad programs available to college students. BU offers programs in a wide variety of countries, and also in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles. Since I am studying advertising, I felt it would be best to study in a big, major city. After a long debate between Australia and Europe, I finally decided London was the way to go. 

While I am abroad in London for four months, I will take two classes in British marketing and advertising. I will also work as an intern at a PR firm for four weeks. Through interviews and questionnaires, I was able to articulate what type of internship I was looking for. I was then provided with the name of the firm interested in hiring me for those four weeks. I can't wait to work as an intern and learn about how British PR differs from that in the United States.

In addition to studying and working, I look forward to learning all about the culture in England. I am excited for the nightlife and shopping, as well as the food and surrounding parts of England. I plan on traveling outside of London to explore England. I also plan on voyaging to other countries in Europe, including Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Ireland and Greece. I can't wait to tour these countries and experience such a wide variety of cultures in such a small period of time. This is definitely a benefit of choosing to study abroad in Europe.

Find out what's happening in Half Hollow Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

When I thought about going to Australia, I thought about the warm weather and the cute koalas. But then I realized that I would not be able to experience over 10 different cultures in four months if I chose to study abroad there. However, I'm sure wherever I would have gone would have been a great experience, as long as I was open to trying new things.

I know that when I am in London, I want to make the most of my time there by immersing myself in the culture. I plan on exploring the city and learning the subway system ("The Tube"), visiting beautiful Buckingham Palace numerous times, going to many different museums, and maybe even going cliff diving in Wales!

Find out what's happening in Half Hollow Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

I may chicken out on that last one; however, I plan on documenting my trip with a blog, but I will keep readers updated on Dix Hills Patch, as well.

I leave on January 8th and will stay in Europe until early May.

Stay tuned to hear about my time abroad. If you have any recommendations please let me know!

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?