Blog: Studying Abroad and Settling In

Ever wondered about studying abroad and how you might settle in to a new environment? Laura Fay, an American student spending a semester at St Mary’s University, Twickenham blogs about her first few weeks on campus. Studying at St Mary’s University has been nothing short of a wonderful experience so far. Adjusting was easy thanks to the preparation and welcome we received from the study abroad and accommodation staff. The student community is also kind and welcoming, which made moving in exciting and comforting. Some days it seems like life at St Mary’s is completely different from my home at The University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and other days I think it’s nearly the same experience, just in a different country. For example, American college classes usually meet two or three times per week, sometimes four, so only seeing my professors one a week is foreign to me. My school at home doesn’t yet have touch pads to take attendance electronically, and we still need a librarian to check out library books, whereas St Mary’s uses a machine. The term ‘refectory’ was totally new to me, as we call our dining hall the ‘cafeteria’ or, more often, just ‘DeNaples,’ short for the Patrick and Margaret DeNaples Center, so called in honour of some important donors. That’s indicative of American universities, though – generally, they’re full of named buildings in honour of important people in the schools’ histories and generous donors. At the same time, though, the experience of sitting in the cafeteria or the library with friends (American and English alike) feels just like the hours I spend chatting with my friends at home. From weekend plans to how much reading we have to do, the student-to-student dynamic is the same here and there. On the other hand, professors at St Mary’s like to be called by their first names, which is different for us American students, who are used to always saying ‘professor’ and ‘doctor’ before any teacher’s name. The academic vocabulary is also different between the United States and England; for example St Mary’s ‘modules’ would be called classes at Scranton, ‘course’ is the English equivalent of major and the new ‘principal’ at St Mary’s would probably be called the university president in the U.S. Also, oatmeal is called porridge here. About Me: I’m Laura, an American student spending the semester at St Mary’s University. My “home institution” is the University of Scranton, a Catholic, Jesuit school in Northeast Pennsylvania. I study communication and philosophy there, and I hope to pursue a career in journalism. At St Mary’s, I’m taking two philosophy classes, a linguistics class, and a magazine-focused media arts class. You can follow Laura on her blog.