Week 11 Impressions by Hannah Noll-Willensky

As much as I love living in London, it can sometimes feel a little too close to home. The culture here is different, but not that different than what I’m used to. English is spoken everywhere and America and Britain’s pop cultures are very intertwined. Though there are key differences (namely the terrifying driving habits), the transition into living here was an easy one. There are times that I forget that I’m not in America.

That is why I want to talk about my experiences outside of the UK during this program, which have definitely been some of the highlights of my time in Europe. I have to say that before coming here I was not expecting to travel outside of England, thinking it would be too expensive or that I wouldn’t have the time. But in reality, travel here is much more affordable than in the states, mostly because of airlines like ryanair and easyjet. So, for Spring break my roommates and I decided to travel to Portugal. Best decision EVER.

We had such a good time, probably mostly due to the amazing hostel we stayed in. The weather was beautiful, we made friends with locals, and met people from all over the world. Though we liked the city we went to, it was really the people we had met that made the trip as good as it was. By the end of our time there we had met people from Australia, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, America, Ireland, Sweden, and New Zealand. Not bad for a 4 day trip. And as a result, we were invited to visit our new friends where they were from.

A few days after getting back to London, we went to Brighton to vist our friend Elin, orignally from Sweden. Then 3 weeks later, we travelled to Marseille, France to visit some friends that we met at our hostel in Portugal. I can’t tell you what a different perspective you get on a new place when you are with people from that area. With that in mind, I have compiled a list of key lessons I’ve learned about travelling around continental Europe as a guide for future students abroad:

1. It is always a good idea to learn some words in the national language, a few I’ve found helpful—“What?”, “Thank you”, and “Stop staring at me like that, you creeper.”
2. Don’t trust a man who introduces his male friends as his mother and his grandma. This should immediately strike you as suspicious.
3. Sometimes flight attendants say “this is standard procedure when flying in the hours of darkness.”
4. Always leave two hours early for an international flight, or you will miss your flight.
5. Make sure you have a stash of emergency money in case you do miss your flight. Otherwise you will get very hungry.
6. Don’t spend all of your time visitng tourist attractions. This gets boring and you will feel like you didn’t get a real taste of the culture at the end of the trip.
7. Try talking to locals, this can be very confusing, but always entertaining.
8. Seeing weird street entertainers is a guarantee, no matter where you are. If you happen to be in Marseille, I would suggest keeping an eye out for the man painted white, and balancing a cat on each arm while feeding them fancyfeast. BIZARRE.
9. Get a map of the city you are in. Being lost is never fun.
10. If you are friendly, polite, and make at least some effor to speak the language, most people will respond in the same way and be very willing to help you wherever you are.