| I was sort of taken aback by the original post. My daughter spent last Semester in England and absolutely loved it. She went over knowing that she would most likely experience crummy weather..(most of the movies I've ever seen about England happen to show how rainy and dreary it can be, lol,..in fact I usually picture Brits with umbrellas) I went to visit her in April, and was mostly shocked at how well she handled her money, considering how awful the dollar is against the pound!! The trip is what you want it to be, if you ask me. She was fortunate to be in a program that took alot of side trips all over the UK, and during her Spring break, she was able to travel all over Europe. It seems like she didn't miss anywhere!! My week there was rainy....but I didn't care at all. We did all the touristy things together..castles, shopping and eating out..and enjoyed all of it. The people were as nice to us as we were to them. I know that when you are a guest in another country, its wise to try to adapt to that country's customs...I didn't expect them to adapt to mine! I'm a coffee drinker....the coffee there was ick! haha...so I learned to love tea.
My son is in Rome at this moment. He is absolutely loving it! He'll be there for most of the summer..well, actually he'll be in Arezzo, Tuscany. I think its wonderful that he and his sister have this opportunity to live in another country before beginning their lives when they graduate. The nice thing for me is that they are very grateful to be given this opportunity. Neither one took it for granted that they would get to go...but they sure are glad we managed to send them.
I'm sorry your experience in London was so bleak...but, it almost seems as if you had no idea where you were going, and when you got there, you were shocked that its actually a real modern city! Not much different then NYC, if you think about it. Almost everything you said about London could have been said about most of our cities, as well. You have to explore the cities to find the best parts...(that which interests you). If you've ever been to NYC in March or April...well, it can be pretty grim there too..yet its still one of the most exciting places in the world to be...Just like London, Paris, Rome..etc
Most of the time, I do think you get what you expect out of things..or what you put into it. If you want something to be fun and interesting, it will be..because you will find the things that make it so.
As a parent, I would wholeheartedly encourage kids to study abroad if they are given the opportunity. |