CAPA WORLD

Genevieve Rice is an official CAPA blogger for fall 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An English Literature major at Anderson University, she is studying abroad in London this semester.

In this week's post, Genevieve explores London spontaneously and shares her first impressions of the city.

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In the past few days, I have discovered that the best way to get to know a city is simply to get lost in it. Take the back alleys and go down the strange side streets, and then make yourself find your way home through common sense—or with your phone. Over the past week and a half, I have tried many different ways of touring London, but I enjoy getting off the tube and picking a direction, then following my gut reactions to the streets that I am traversing. This method always leads me to find the most fantastic things, from a new favorite coffee shop to a fascinating museum. This is how I spent my weekend as I attempted to orient myself in this sprawling city. We only started classes last Monday, so many of the CAPA students utilized the first four days in London to introduce ourselves to the city. Each day revealed something new about this city that I am calling home for the next three months.

On Friday, I started by exploring a little around the CAPA London center on Cromwell Road. The building is surrounded by museums, cafes, and shops. My first objective was to check out some of the museums.

Christopher Halka is an official CAPA blogger for fall 2018, sharing his story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An Accounting major at Siena College, he is studying abroad in London this semester.

In this week's post, Christopher opens himself up to a new culinary experience in London and falls in love with Indian food.

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When I left for London to study abroad, I had prior knowledge that English people loved Indian Food. My dad would tell me stories about his experience in London during his early twenties and how he practically lived off of it for two years. This was 30 years ago, a time when London may not have really been recognized for its food (according to my dad). Over the past three decades there has been a cultural growth occurring in all parts of the city, in which people from all cultures are utilizing their differences and experiences to open places with varieties of cuisines. Londoners have made such a big turn that people will go as far to even say that London has become the food capital of the modern world.

This chicken masala dish is a favorite.

During the duration of my stay so far, I can truthfully say once again that my study abroad experience has forever changed my opinion on certain topics I once thought differently about. In this case, I am talking about my new favorite recipe—Chicken Masala. Throughout my childhood my parents relayed a common theme of appreciation for all types of culture, and always spent a good amount of time educating us by taking us to museums, encouraging us to try different food offerings, and experiencing what life is like for others.

 Maisie Haney is an official CAPA blogger for fall 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An Art History major at Rollins College, she is studying abroad in London this semester.

In this week's post, Maisie shares several tips on how to start a blog and document your experiences through words, photos, and music.

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You will notice that I have only posted two blog posts thus far, but you will also notice that my posts are what my gran would call “spectacular.” If you want to know a thing or two about how your blog can be equally spectacular, give this little post a read!

Here's what it looks like to arrange and design your own blog
to chronicle your study abroad experiences.

First of all, you are going to want to choose a topic or theme that you feel comfortable writing about—you want to write A LOT, pupils. For school-sponsored or study abroad blogs with a student or parent audience, such as the one I am writing for you now, many of my blog posts will be about the study abroad experience as it relates directly to my location and my interests. I find it important for the topic to stray from vagueness, as posts with a narrower subject are inherently more eye-catching and, frankly, worthwhile. To illustrate, I would rather read a blog post titled “The 80’s Japanese Synth-pop You Need for a Shimmery Summer” than one called “Summer: An Essential Playlist”. Essential is such an overused adjective in the music journalism industry, and I do not shy away from a summer that shimmers.

Ellen Anderson is an official CAPA vlogger for fall 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Child Psychology major at  University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, she is studying abroad in London this semester.

In this week's post, Ellen tells us what it's like to live in Shepherd's Bush and takes us on a tour of her neighborhood in London.

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Thanks, Ellen!

Ellen's journey continues every Wednesday so stay tuned.

Genevieve Rice is an official CAPA blogger for fall 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An English Literature major at Anderson University, she is studying abroad in London this semester.

In this week's post, Genevieve reveals her thoughts and expectations surrounding her fall semester abroad in London, along with the growth she anticipates for herself.

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I always loved plane rides. Growing up, I was always so excited for every trip because of the unique feeling of whizzing through the air at immense speeds. However, as I have grown older, I have learned to like them for a different reason. Airplane rides are a guaranteed time to simply sit in one’s own thoughts and process what is coming and what has been left behind. After a while, I always get bored of the movies or my book, or even of listening to music, so I just sit and think. I ended one of these amazing processing times on my flights to London a few days ago. I thought about what I had left behind this semester, all of the things that I will be missing at my university.

I thought about my family and how they will have changed by the time I come back. I thought about my friends that the fun memories that they will make. I know from experience that life will continue on back home even when I am not there, so when I return, things will be different and so will I. I also thought about how that is not necessarily a bad thing. I know that it is a little early in the semester to be thinking about going back home, but I like to think ahead. This means that I also like to think about the amazing things that I am going to see this semester, too.

Ellen Anderson is an official CAPA vlogger for fall 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Child Psychology major at  University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, she is studying abroad in London this semester.

In this week's post, Ellen shows us around her study abroad accommodations and introduces us to her roommates in London.

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Thanks, Ellen!

Ellen's journey continues every Wednesday so stay tuned.

Christopher Halka is an official CAPA blogger for fall 2018, sharing his story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An Accounting major at Siena College, he is studying abroad in London this semester.

In this week's post, Christopher reveals his first impressions of London and how he stumbled upon the Duke and Duchess of Sussex during a casual stroll.

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I embarked for my semester-long journey on the evening of September 4th. Upon my arrival into Heathrow Airport the next day, I found myself enjoying a cup of tea at Costa Coffee when I was warmly greeted into the United Kingdom by the Heathrow Baggage Claims Staff. They performed a choreographed dance demonstrating proper airport etiquette to ABBA’s Dancing Queen. After enjoying a good laugh from the performance, I instantly started to feel more comfortable amongst my surroundings. I then took the lift down to the Underground platform.

My first experience getting on the tube during the early morning commute felt a lot like I was a sardine stuck inside a tin can. However coming from New York City, I have dealt with this same scenario on many occasions. After getting off at Earl’s Court Station, I was then dealt with the next task of finding my way to my new flat. It was in this moment that I had my first experience of culture shock. 

Kelly is an official CAPA blogger, sharing her story on CAPA World. A Journalism major at University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, she is studying abroad in London.

In this week's post, Kelly talks more about the time she attended and networked at Cosmopolitan's Self-Made Summit in London and the takeaways she noted from the sessions.

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A chance to meet the Cosmopolitan UK team and chat with 400 like-minded people sounded like an event tailor-made to expanding my knowledge, accumulating advice from others, and furthering my career—all while having a good time.

While studying abroad in London, I had the opportunity to attend Cosmopolitan UK’s second Self-Made Summit. I discovered this event while reading the print version of the magazine and immediately knew it was something I had to get involved in. I’m so grateful that I was in London and had the chance to partake in the event.

 Maisie Haney is an official CAPA blogger for fall 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An Art History major at Rollins College, she is studying abroad in London this semester.

In this week's post, Maisie opens up about her background and family connection in England and how this study abroad experience will mark the first time she will be living on her own.

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My mother is a bit of a social butterfly, and genuinely has this affinity towards people and getting to know them. More often than not, she is asked where she is from. Other variations of this question include, “Are you British?” or “Are you from England or Scotland?”. She tells them she is from Newcastle, a part of northern England she has grown up in all her life. When I found myself staying in her childhood bedroom, the walls practically hugging the bed, I was surprised to know I was not in Newcastle, but a village called Middridge in County Durham.

Me with former Newton Aycliff mayor, Lyn Leach
(a resident of Middridge and a friend of gran).

To quickly interject, as I have a lot to say about Middridge and my week’s stay there, my experience has been very different compared to other CAPA students coming into the UK. I had been to Middridge once before, at the age of three when my granddad was very sick. I think it was then that my brother and I became citizens of the UK, and consequently I came to England without a visa and with a fatter wallet (they are quite expensive to apply for!).

Genevieve Rice is an official CAPA blogger for fall 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. An English Literature major at Anderson University, she is studying abroad in London this semester.

In her first post, Genevieve talks about her decision to study abroad in London, her international background and experience, and her expectations for this semester.

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I am what some people may call a travel addict. Growing up, the inside of my suitcase was just as familiar to me as the inside of my closet. This is because I didn’t grow up in a normal home. I grew up in Budapest, Hungary, an ocean away from the USA, where my parents are from. My childhood consisted of traveling to countries all over the world with my parents, so the thought of staying in one place for the entire four years of college terrified me. Living in a small town like Anderson, South Carolina, while enjoyable, is outside of my comfort zone. So, when sophomore year started and I felt that familiar itch right between my shoulder blades, the one that tells me that I either need to see some place new or do something drastic, like chop off my hair and dye it pink (it’s happened before and I really would rather not go back there again, it was not a good look for me), I began checking out my options.

I had considered study abroad before, but it had never seemed like a viable option with the huge price tag and the countless hours of work that goes into it. Then I talked to a friend who had just gotten back from a semester in Uganda. I could see that it had changed her. She didn’t deny that it was a hard road to getting on a plane for a semester abroad, but she also assured me that it was worth it. That night, I emailed our study abroad advisor to set up an appointment for the next week.