A Recap of Four Months Abroad
Giovanna Grizotte
I still remember the day I heard about the Civ in London program that would occur in the Spring of 2022. I had always dreamed of studying abroad, which was one of the reasons I picked Providence College. But, despite my excitement about wanting to study abroad, something was holding me back. I had grown accustomed to the PC campus, and my biggest fear was leaving my comfort zone. So, when I finally decided to go to London, I was still worried about missing home, disliking the experience, and a million other things. But, immediately when I landed in London, it felt like a new version of me emerged, and it was not hard at all to adapt.
I will now take you through the highlights of my four months of studying abroad.
January 2022: This is when I arrived in London. I had not set many expectations for my experience since I just wanted to get a feel for it first. When I came, I had not fully grasped that I would be living in another country until April. My first official outing where I got to see the city was on January 20th for our program’s welcome dinner. It was definitely a change of scenery from Providence, and I did not mind it. At first, it did not feel real and felt more like a fairytale. The following day, we had a guided walking tour of the city, and I became even more impressed with London. January was also when I began taking courses at the IES center, which was a little nerve-wracking since I had only ever taken classes at PC.
February 2022: This month I explored many museums for class, including the Imperial War Museum, the British Museum, and Churchill War Rooms. Before London, I had not visited many museums in my life and did not have much interest in them. Although, it was only in London that museums became fascinating to me. It was interesting when the material I had learned in class aligned with what I saw at the museums. The museums brought my class readings to life, and the visuals were so helpful in understanding history. Additionally, in February, I visited Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare’s birthplace) and Bath. They were both such beautiful places, full of history. These two places were very different from London since they were much calmer, but it was great to see other parts of England.
March 2022: Early in March, our program traveled to Greece for a few days. Athens was one of the places I was looking the most forward to visiting. With its outstanding architecture and delicious food, Greece exceeded my expectations. (I still think about Greek food daily.) I also visited Copenhagen, Denmark, with my friends. It was very different from Greece with its more colorful and vibrant architecture. I loved Copenhagen because it stood out to me; it was like nowhere else I’ve ever seen before. The best part about visiting these countries is that each place was unique and although I loved London, traveling across Europe was amazing.
April 2022: April was my final month of studying abroad, and it came so quickly. I began the month traveling to Belfast and Derry in Northern Ireland as it related to our learning of the Troubles. Northern Ireland was serene, and my favorite spot was Giant’s Causeway. When I decided to study abroad, I knew I wanted to go to Paris. But with my busy schedule, I was unsure if I would have time to go. So, on my final day of classes, I went to Paris for a day. Even in a day, I was able to see the beautiful city of Paris that I had only seen in photos, including the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Louvre. They were even better in person. The day after returning from Paris was my last day in London. We had our farewell dinner, and I could not believe it was already time to go home.
I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to study abroad and immerse myself in many cultures. Everyone kept telling me that the experience would be wonderful and I would return as a transformed person. I only believed them after it actually happened to me. I still cannot find the words to express how much London has made me grow, but I am so happy I left my comfort zone and moved to another country. I will miss my daily Tube rides to school, trying different kinds of foods, and traveling to other European countries the most. I don’t think any semester can top my Spring 2022 one.
