Dianne - England - Fall 2008

Hi! My name is Dianne, and I am studying at Royal Holloway for the autumn term. I am having a great time here! Royal Holloway is located in Egham, which is about a 40 minute train ride from central London. I love this location because I am living in a suburb, but London is very accessible. I often will take a day trip into London, and there is always so much to do in London! Something that I really appreciated was when I first got here, and I didn't know my way around very well, people were always more than willing to help with directions. It's nice that even in a big city, people can be so friendly and helpful. I was a bit relieved when I got here because I thought it would be a lot harder for me to adjust to the culture than it actually was. The biggest difference I've noticed is how the classes are taught here. You are expected to do a lot more independent work than what I am used to in the states. For all my classes, my grade is determined by one or two essays that are due at the end of term. So it's very important to think ahead and not leave everything until the last minute. Another great thing about being here is how easy it is to travel to not only different parts of England, but to other countries as well. I've already been to Belgium, and I am planning trips to Germany, Ireland, and Scotland. Upon my first week of arriving, I was able to see lots of London, and I also went to Windsor, Oxford, and Salisbury. It is amazing to be able to see so many new and interesting places! I hope you're getting excited about studying abroad because I can already say that this is one of the best decisions I've ever made!

Scott - EC Alumnus - Fulbrighter in Germany 2008-09

Hey everyone! My name is Scott Morris, and I graduated from EC last Spring. In Fall 2006 I spent one semester in Salzburg, Austria with Bowling Green State University's program, and I have been in Hannover, Germany since the 5th of September. I will be here for a year teaching English on a Fulbright Scholarship at the German version of a college-prep high school. I just wanted to let you know that as someone who has been through preparations of preparing for a semester (and now a year) abroad, the culture shock upon arrival as well as return home I would be glad to answer any questions that you may have. You can also contact me on Facebook or email
(adairace7@gmail.com) if you are interested in post-graduate study abroad opportunities.
I will let you know a little of what my program is about. My offical job title is "English Teaching Assistant", and there are 125 of us in Germany. There is one other Assistant in Hannover, and the others are spread all throughout the country. My job is Monday-Thursday, and I have 16 teaching hours a week. That equates to 12 actual hours at the school a week. I work with about 6 different English teachers, and I do anything from teach a 45 minute lesson by myself to leading conversation to correcting pronunciation and grammar. It really depends on what school you're at and which teachers you work with. I work with grades 6-13 (yes, Germany has an extra year of High School), and the teachers and students are glad to have a native speaker helping out. Some of the reactions I have received are astonishment to shock. It is really interesting. One of the most common questions I get asked is, "Have you ever seen a celebrity" or "Have you met Zac Effron"? They are definitely infatuated with American pop culture.
The nice part is that I don't have to do any grading or administer any tests.
For anyone interested in the program specifically, there are programs in over 100 countries through Fulbright, and you can either teach English or do a research grant. Fulbright pays for your round trip plane travel, health insurance and a monthly stipend. Once again feel free to ask any questions that you may have, because I will be happy to give you as much advice as possible!

The picture that I attached is of the New City Hall.

Anna - England - Fall 2008

Hi everyone! I've been in London for 3 weeks now, and as much as I am still adjusting to everything, it is so amazing here! I love the city so much!!! There is so much to do and see, and everything is so beautiful.
It's crazy to see some of the buildings and know they have been standing for hundreds of years.
I came through the IFSA Butler program so the first few days were the IFSA orientation. It definitely helped to adjust to the city and the shock of actually being here. We had a few lectures, but they took us out to dinner a few nights and the theatre, and it was just a great way to meet other American students who were in the same situation as me, not knowing anyone! After the IFSA orientation I came to school where I moved into my flat, had international student orientation and a lot of free time to explore and start doing some tourist sightseeing. So far I have been to the London Eye, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abby, Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, the British Museum, Shakespeare Globe Theatre and much more. I have also seen a lot of plays and musicals already already in the West End (like Broadway) and around the city. I just can't get over how much stuff there is to do. The tube (underground transportation like the El) is so easy to use, a lot easier than the El I think. There are two stations within 5 minutes from my campus so I can pretty much get anywhere in the city really easily. My campus is in the East end of London, which means it is out of the very touristy part of the city. It was nice to stay in central London during orientation, but I think it'll give me a better overall experience of the culture and lifestyle being outside the tourist area and grocery shopping and eating with real Londoners.
My flat is awesome! It is so nice, I have my own room and bathroom and then share a kitchen with 9 other people. The campus is quite small for such a large University, but there are buildings everywhere, and they are in the process of building 2 more right now. Since it's in the city they don't have any room to expand out, so they just keep building on the property they have so some of the buildings are very close together. They use to have a mall like Elmhurst, but that is not covered with buildings.
Classes started last week, they are going to be very different than at home. There is a lot of work and reading and not a lot of class time. I only have a class one day a week for 1-2hours and that's it. It is definitely going to be a hard to adjust my study habits to doing more work independently.
Most of the people I have met have been so nice. One of the first night's I was here I was in Notting Hill with some people and we were looking at a map trying to find something and these two women just walked up to us and asked if we needed help. Everyone I have asked for directions has been really helpful and all the British students I have met have been so interested in why I was here and American culture and things like that.
I am having a ton of fun, but it has and still is an adjustment to not being at EC and having that same routine. Each week keeps getting easier and I know there is just so much more that I have to look forward to...
even though the conversion rate is killing my bank account ;). If you have any questions about London or anything, I'll try to answer as soon as I can. Cheers! Anna