Pre-Departure Thoughts
I absolutely cannot wait for my semester in London to begin!
My departure date just continues to get closer and closer, and the anticipation continues to build. Just today I received an email confirming that my visa has been issued and that I should receive it in the mail by Monday at the latest.
As my first post of what I expect to be an unforgettable adventure, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on some of my reasons for wanting to go abroad and some of my pre-departure expectations and desires.
Why go abroad?
I love being at Rice and I love everything about Rice! But I have always dreamed about going abroad, and it was a difficult decision to leave Rice for an entire semester. Essentially it means leaving my home away from home, which includes leaving my friends and of course, Alex. It was a tough decision, but in the end I realized that this is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. I would never be able to participate in this "Global Urban Lab" again, nor have the generous financial support of Rice that will allow me to study, live, and work in London.
Besides, I feel that my education as a political science major would not be complete without an experience abroad. We truly live in a globalized world today, and so it is not enough to simply learn about my own country's government, laws, and policies. The world today is extremely linked, and everything the US does has an impact somewhere in the rest of the world.
Why London?
Why not a more "exotic" country like India or Morocco? Well I think London will be just as adventurous and exciting, plus I will have the extra support of my Rice classmates and professors. One of the reasons why I chose to apply for the Global Urban Lab (besides the great academic opportunity of course) is the fact that I will be among a group of Rice friends. Unfortunately, I do not think I'm adventurous enough to live abroad entirely by myself without knowing anyone nearby. But this program will assure that I always have someone I know in case I have issues.
Plus, I definitely want this opportunity to study politics and policy in particular. With other programs I would have focused on a language, or I would have taken classes that wouldn't have counted as direct Rice credit. But this will essentially be like taking Rice classes while in London. I will receive direct credit from Rice for my classes.
Overall, I feel that when it comes to studying abroad, the Global Urban Lab was the best choice and the best opportunity for me. I look forward to my departure date...but there is still a lot to do until then :)
