My experience with FIE

I arrived in Kings Cross where I was scheduled to check in at Nido, our living accommodations while in London. Nido is a very modern building that is less than five years old. Not only were the thirty-three Temple University study abroad participants staying here, but students from all over the world. Despite finding my room to be the size of a shoe box, I was able to overlook the cramped living situation because it forced you to spend more time in the common rooms meeting diverse people from all different cultures.

As for the school part - I was thrilled to find out my that I would have Mondays off because this meant more time to take trips! On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I had classes like Travel Writing, English Broadcast Communications, and the London Olympics. On Thursday and Friday, those who had chosen to participate in an internship (me) would attend their place of work from 9am to 5pm. I was fortunate to be assigned to a beauty, health, and nutrition public relations agency called CCD PR. It was an intimidating experience, my first internship being in a whole new country that had different expectations of office culture, but I adjusted and learned a lot in the process.

Even though the class and work experience were wonderful, it was the traveling I did on the weekends that taught me the most. I took advantage of cheap flights, buses, and trains, traveling to Dublin, Paris, Bath, Rome, Florence, Venice, and a solo trip to Wales. I also stayed once the program was over and went to Amsterdam, Bruges, Brussels, and Berlin. I spent some time solo while in Amsterdam and Bruges where I met an English girl who was traveling the same route as me. It was surprising how much I connected with her. It was extremely refreshing and when we parted ways, I knew she would be a very special part of my experience.