SchoolisHard

Study abroad is a waste of time unless you are living with a family.

If you have never studied abroad, be careful how you respond to OP's.

Grande Antilles

Waw! I think that even it can be a good thing even if you don't live with a family. Yeah it will be nice to stay in a home because you will get closer to the every day culture but if you don't have this option, i don't think that it will be a waste. I studied abroad for two years and stayed in a dormitory. That wasn't a waste at all.

jai6638

Hey Grande Antilles,

Where did you do your study abroad and how was the experience? Where and how did you meet your friends?

ticklemepink

Good god. Obviously you did not do any research. You're just a HS senior, I'm not surprised that you have all these generalizations. And that you're overly disappointed by your UK experience. I personally have never been to UK but hope to visit a good friend there next summer (2009). But I did stop in London for a layover to Berlin. Even though I only spent a total of 4 hours at Heathrow, it only gave me a snapshot of what I could find outside of Heathrow.

I'm going to give you a hint of what's to come- I'm a history major who loves British literature.

Some people don't have a choice except to go to UK (or Australia) if they didn't have any foreign language training in college or have the desire to learn a new language. UK appeals to people for a variety of reasons- we grew up reading British literature, watching soccer, eating fish 'n' chips on Fridays, etc. Because of the UK's long history and major influences, people are so drawn to his 1,000+ years of history- the Monarchy, Shakespeare, Stonehedge, war battles, etc. UK is part of Europe and to experience Europe is incredible for those just starting out. As my brother puts it when he was in Italy at 15, "Europe is SO OLD!!!" It's a surreal feeling to see buildings and cultures that are over 250 years old. America is still so young. I've only been to Spain, Czech Republic, and Germany. As modern Madrid and Berlin were, the architecture transported me way back in time at the height of their Golden Ages.

Are you really that naive to know that Hollywood only selects the very best landscapes for their movies on beautiful days? Everyone knows that when it rains, things appear pretty miserable.

You could've researched this. Congrats on having one month to relax before college. It also seems to me that Californians are pretty sensitive to weather changes because others pointed out, you're used to beautiful, stable weather year-round. I have yet to meet a Californian who truly enjoyed our New England weathers. Let alone Midwest.

I lived in Israel- free healthcare there also. It's part of the system and it's the reason why doctors don't want the US to make healthcare public. Doctors get enough gripe from their own patients. Doctors who are part of national healthcare plans are there because they love helping people, not because of the money. So therefore, there are less doctors out there who are willing to sacrifice for the love of helping others. Figure out the logic. Poverty is everywhere- haven't you been in parts of San Francisco where there are over 500 people lining up for food on Sundays?

Well, the UK was the first to start the Industrial Revolution in early 19th century, before any other country and they certainly got pretty dirty! Think of how much pollution London's accumulated by being ahead of others.

[quote] The schools are run down...private schools are exceptional but who wants to pay double the amount of Stanford for HS?

The teaching is BORING, they teach from the books due to curic. Nothing is learned in detail because you have to take 10 or so classes until 11th grade.
So prepare to be dumber than your american counterparts.[quote]

Again, the effects of a socialized state like Britain who has to spread its pounds everywhere, partly because of the national healthcare. What would you rather have? A good, healthy life and have the skills of a 4th grader or be sick and die young and have a college education?

Why do you think the US usually has the biggest representation in the Olympics? Even in Israel, I had to contend with the lack of sports talk except for soccer. Yes, it was annoying, especially that I don't watch soccer or care for it (football and hockey are my games). Generally, it forces me to find out what the people actually care about and are into (music, outdoors).

London has always been the hub of multiculturalism. Remember how the British Empire spread ALL over the world (except for South America). Because of its tremedous colonial influence, foreigners come to the "Mother Country" for education and employment... and they stay put. You might not think there's anything "British" about the people but in fact, you might have adopted some of their manners! Like your spelling

Apparently, I would judge from your post that you didn't learn enough British history and literature to appreciate the UK, even at its worst.

HighlandMom

^^ Hey ticklemepink (not Elmo, wink) I hope you have a blast on your trip - you seem to have a great attitude and I think you will enjoy the museums, etc. We lived there for 2 1/2 years and *loved* it. PM me if I can help in any way

tarrafna

LondonIsCold:

tehlikeli Ask comments: "I feel sorry for you that you took no positives from your study abroad experience."

I agree with her on this. Your post says much more about your limited horizons and blinkered attitude than it does about London. Perhaps you'll get more out of living in other culture when you've matured somewhat and had more experience. I hope so.

teriwtt

Wow! thanks kathiep for directing me over here. I can only say that my daughter absolutely LOVED her semester abroad in London. With some great pre-planning, she and five other girls lived in a three-bedroom flat in a really, really nice area. Based on her experience over there, she'd move back in a heartbeat if finances would allow it. She said when her plane's wheels hit the runway at JFK, she started crying.

kathiep

Like ticklemepink, My son is also an English major and plans to take all lit and one publishing class in England - how cool is that?

Study abroads (I think) must change how you view the possibility of travel and the smallness of the world. After my daughter did a study abroad in Peru she went on to Kenya, England, a re-visit to Peru and now lives in China. Since she's been in China she has visited Vietnam, Thailand and South Korea. Even though the UK has got to be one of the most expensive abroads out there we didn't even consider not encouraging our son to go. I feel sorry that the young OP wasn't ready to really enjoy her time in England and only saw the negatives.

papengena

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.

athenegoddess

as someone who grew up in the UK, all i can say is that if you hated it that much, both you and the UK would be better off if you didn't go there again. I'm sorry that you didn't have a good time though, and i hope you'll give it a try again when you learn more about the culture and decades of history and regions the UK has to offer.

Student615

I recently spent time in the UK...meant to stay for about two months, ended up sticking around for almost five. I wasn't too interested in going because I felt that it would be too familiar (I was already living elsewhere abroad), but I was hard-pressed to leave and I'd travel back in a heartbeat. OP, the negatives that you cite aren't givens...they represent your individual experience. We're all sorry that it wasn't a better one, but recognize it for what it was: uniquely yours, for better or for worse. If you'd like to present it as anything more, sweeping generalizations may not be the most productive way of going about that.

I think that traveling/living abroad is a valuable thing. Yes, there are ways of really maximizing the experience, but to anyone who has the opportunity to spend time outside of the country, I would never (barring special circumstances, like safety) say "Do it this way (in an 'exotic' country, in a homestay...) or don't bother."

-- A Californian who appreciates aspects of English as well as midwestern American weather

ETA: Depending on your school's study abroad policies, there are likely more options than UK/Australia for English-only speakers. The other obvious ones...Ireland, New Zealand. Also South Africa. Perhaps Singapore. Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Ghana, Egypt, Turkey, Botswana, Nepal, India...I knew students who went to all of these countries on English-only programs or on programs that required one intro course in the local language. Like I said...options vary school to school, but there may be more flexibility than you think! Just FYI.

MelDeV

I had a completely different experience in England when I was a part of my university's study abroad program. Although I was not in London, I was in Nottingham for a year and I have to say that it was one of the best experiences of my life. I was able to travel and I found the people to be incredibly nice and welcoming. I lived with 6 other people from England in a university flat. I became such a great friends with them that I still talk to them to this day. (5 years later!) I found the professors to be great and the university as a whole to be very accomodating and helpful to international students. I would definitely recommend studying abroad and I would also recommend England.

beadrope

what an absolute heap of ****. i suspect it's a bit of a troll.

as for your uk counterparts not matching up to american academic standards - complete nonsense. if anything it's the other way round (my personal view is that both have deeply flawed pre tertiary education systems).

PlattsburghLoser

I haven't been to the UK but have always wanted to visit Surrey, England. Hopefully (assuming I'm not too drowned in debt) I can spend a summer there.

patroclus

Definitely don't study abgroad in england if you cannot get used to rainy/cold weather. If you are from places like California or the South, you might have a hard time adjusting. I am from Seattle and when I stepped out of Heathrow airport, the weather was exactly like where I had left, I felt like I hadn't gone anywhere.