Who are you and where did you study abroad?
My name is Michael Wadsworth and I’m a graduating senior with a major in English and a concentration in nonfiction writing. I spent the Spring of 2018 in London, UK, through Arcadia University’s Study Abroad & Internship Program.
Why did you want to study abroad and how did you decide on a program?
I’ve always loved travelling in any capacity, and chose to come to OWU because of the extensive travel programs and aid. I studied abroad my first year in Tanzania through OWU and wanted to round out my final years here by studying in a major city somewhere in the world. I ultimately chose London as it had the best options in terms of classes I could take for my major and because of the fact that I can only speak English.
Arcadia London Center (Photo credit: Arcadia University)
I don’t remember how I initially found Arcadia, but when I looked into their programs they were highly reviewed and it lined up very well with courses I needed to take. I also liked the structure of the program itself. I was able to do their Internship program, which is the same as a regular study abroad but you’re also working at an internship in your desired field, which, as a junior and soon-to-be senior, felt like hitting two birds with one stone.
What classes did you take while abroad and which was your favorite?
In addition to my internship, I took an Internship cornerstone course, a British Film course, and a Creative Writing class. For my internship, I worked at Lobster Media, a startup for licensing out user-generated content as stock photography, so for my cornerstone research project I explored the role of user-generated content in digital marketing as well as its legality, ethics, and cultural components.
As an English major I feel as though I’m supposed to say that the Creative Writing course was my favorite, but truthfully it was the British Film class, as we got to dissect what makes films from particular countries, well, films from those countries; I was exposed to a great deal of history and cultural knowledge and thus I feel like I gained the most from it.
What was your weekly schedule like?
Honestly, nothing too crazy. In any study abroad program, most of your time will ultimately still be eaten up by school and ‘adult things’ like working, studying, cooking meals, working out, and commuting. I would take longer walking routes and take the buses instead of the tube just to get out as much as I could during the weekdays. Study abroad programs are all about balancing your responsibilities with all of the exciting opportunities around you.
What were the most interesting differences between the culture of the institution where you studied abroad and OWU?
Unfortunately, Arcadia is an American university that has a branch in London that happens to employ British people, meaning that the curriculum and style of teaching was, well, very American–same grading system, lectures, tests, papers, etc. A bit of a let-down, truthfully.
What were your favorite non-class things to do while abroad?
I liked to travel around when time and money permitted. I was able to go to Amsterdam, Paris, York, and Devon, a small town out in the countryside in the Western side of the UK. In London I found myself wandering around looking for coffee shops where I’d write letters, journal, do homework, and simply observe city life around me.
Exmoor National Park in Devon (Photo credit: Michael Wadsworth)
What was most satisfying about your experience and what was most challenging?
The biggest consistent challenge was having to do all of the real life things–classes, cooking, commuting, homework, etc.–and yet be surrounded by so many novel stimuli and interesting things to go see or experience, but be unable to due to time or economic restraints. You want to go experience everything but you still have to do the whole ‘study and work’ thing too!
The most satisfying parts of my experience were, when leaving, how well I knew the city and the experiences I’d had throughout it. About a month in I began to really distance myself from the mass of other Americans studying abroad and started to do things by myself, which led to making more local friends and a number of unique experiences with them, such as going to a concert of an all-women choir singing in tandem with two DJs in a Brutalist-style venue.
Simian Mobile Disco at the Barbican (Photo Credit: The Independent)
Any advice for students who are studying abroad?
Get away from the mass of other Americans you’re studying with on your program. Americans, like any other nationality in a foreign country, stick together to a fault. The money wasted at ‘American’ pubs or clubs or what have you instead of going out to authentic, local places where you can meet actual locals instead of more Americans is, frankly, sickening. I might be a unique case here, but based on experiences of friends going abroad, get the hell away from the people you’re on the program with!!!! Go out and try something/where new and meet actual locals.
You heard it here, folks! Thanks, Michael!