Sophia Garrido (England, 2021-22)

The most challenging aspect of studying abroad was getting out of my comfort zone. I have never lived further than one hour away from my family, so moving across the world for an entire year was extremely difficult. I missed my family, my friends, and my dogs so so much! Even not having the little things like my favorite restaurants, my car, or my dad’s cooking… I lived a whole year without ALL of it. It was not easy to adjust I’ll be honest.  Fortunately, however, I made some amazing friends in England who I know will be friends for life. They threw me a going away party and wrote me cards and sang me songs, it was incredible. It's now become the most challenging part about leaving! I even met my very best friend named Callie, she is from Athens and we became inseparable the day we met. We always talk about how we will be in each others weddings one day. It was hard to leave everyone but I am so thankful to have met them and know we’ll stay friends for a very long time. 

The courses differed from those at UCSD in many ways. The class sizes were much smaller, so I was able to really get to know my professors and classmates. I also felt like students were less afraid to share their opinions in my classes, including me. The style of teaching is much more neutral - there is less bias in terms of politics and more room for freedom of thought. I very much liked these aspects of school in England in comparison to school in America. 

To students back home: I most definitely recommend studying abroad for a full year. It took me about three months to really become comfortable living abroad and immerse myself in my new environment. I struggled to make friends at first and couldn’t stop FaceTiming my parents and friends from home. If I had only spent three months (or less) out there, I would have never fully experienced all of the amazing opportunities for growth that I did. Sure, I would have been able to see the main tourist attractions in London, but I would not have had time to travel to the other 7 countries that I did. I would not have made lifelong friends who I will cherish forever, and I would not have grown internally as much as I did from being there for a year. My whole outlook on life has changed since living abroad this year, and I feel as though I would have been selling myself short if I stayed out there for less than that. Being independent and having the opportunity to live in another country is something that not everyone has the chance to do, so if you are considering studying abroad or even slightly interested, here is your sign to JUST DO IT! 

An unforgettable experience would be my time in Model United Nations. We had a three day simulation where everyone represented a different country in the UN. The head delegates assigned me to represent Ukraine, and sure enough the agenda of the simulation was set : “The Situation in Ukraine”. I was fortunate enough to speak on behalf of Ukraine (for the simulation) and work with all the other countries to try and find a resolution. I was awarded as a Distinguished Delegate, which is the second highest award to receive. I worked alongside the delegates for Germany, USA, and Poland, and our team received the award for best working paper. It was incredible! I even wore a blue and yellow ribbon which I made to show solidarity with Ukraine. So many people loved it that I ended up making over 100 blue and yellow ribbons to pass around the school. Although it was a small gesture, it was nice to be able to show support in some way. 

Andrew Kubal (England, 2013-14)

Studying abroad has been an enriching kaleidoscope of experiences from the moment I stepped foot in England. I really enjoyed my first mini excursion to Scotland, which is a must. The food, the bone-biting frigid weather, the rich history, the Scottish accent, everything was unforgettably different for me. Skiing in the French Alps at Les Deux, exploring the German Pergamon and Deutsches Historisches Museum, drinking perfected Belgian beer (rated "best in the world"), intense climbing in Kalymnos, having the opportunity to meet various people of different nationalities, touring English cities such as Oxford, and living through my other numerous adventures exemplify the priceless European experiences I encountered. Even though my journey was filled with wonderful events, there are few moments that I will not miss.

Berlin still has my camera somewhere and I will not be quick to forget this. I’ll never know what happened to it because I believe it was stolen, but it equally could have been misplaced. RyanAir departures at 6AM were by far the most grueling part of all my journeys. They caused many of my sleepless nights between flights. The Pound and the Euro not only had lousy exchange rates, but they urged me to spend wisely, although that doesn’t mean I didn’t pretend at times I was spending dollars. In spite of these inadequacies, my mind isn’t fully aware yet that I am about to leave this amazing school and dynamic city, the latter which I now consider my second home.

I arrived in England with an American mindset. Through time, I grew to appreciate my time with others, a more balanced life-work ethic, and thinking with a sense of modernism wherever I go. We all bring along baggage, preconceptions, personal beliefs, and the full weight of our life experiences when we travel, but whatever baggage one brings to these places abroad, one should keep an open mind to fully experience what the culture has to offer.

Brian Israel (England, 2003-04)

My most shocking revelation while studying abroad was that I was experiencing revelations at all! In the years immediately prior to my year abroad, I had traveled extensively through countries whose radical differences from “home” could be immediately and tangibly felt, seen, heard, smelled, and tasted. It was against this backdrop that I assumed that spending a year in England, studying at University of Bristol Law was a copout – an arrangement of purely academic expedience. This assumption, however, went into the rubbish bin along with many other assumptions shortly after beginning my studies, and new life, in Bristol.

The “differences” I experienced in England were far more nuanced, and required transplanting my life and studying there to detect. Studying constitutional law in a country without a written constitution is representative of the kind of nuanced differences I experienced. In debates in and outside the classroom, I found myself explaining, justifying, and occasionally defending the “American way” of doing things – what I had long taken for granted as common sense seemed exotic to my British classmates. I thus became less “married” to the status quo, the way things have always been done.

Playing [American] football in the UK was another experience whereby nuanced differences that initially offended my American sensibilities served to open my mind. The rules of the game were not different, yet the mindset and approach of players was – something I came to recognize not as more right or wrong than what I grew up with – just different.

Beyond the fond memories, lasting friendships and acquired habits, the most enduring souvenir of my “copout” year abroad is a new way of thinking.

Jennifer Chang (England, 1997-98)

When Ray and Verena told me about their plans to gather at The Land and celebrate Chris’ life, my first thought was “Has it really been ten years?” That means that it’s been nine years since I left UCSD to spend a year in Norwich, England, yet it seems as though only half that time has passed. It was while gathering my thoughts for this communication that I realized that this was most likely due to the fact that I haven’t recently thought about my time abroad; writing this letter has given me the opportunity to reevaluate how the experience affected me.

Living in the United States, I think it can be easy to forget that there are billions of other people whose wants, needs, ideologies and lives are different – but not less important – than ours. I’d like to think that spending a year outside this country increased my interest in other (non-American) points of view. Traveling through Europe was also a confidence-building experience; I came away from it knowing that I could take care of myself. Finally, while it is difficult for me to know whether it was specifically my time abroad or just progressing through my 20’s (probably both) that have contributed to the two points above, one thing I know would never have happened had I not gone to England is the friendships I made there. I wish I could say that I was still in touch with all the students I lived with, but seeing the few with whom I still correspond go on to med school/grad school/theater in London/etc. and keeping them apprised of the changes in my own life has been meaningful.

I never had the opportunity to meet Chris. But as the list of scholarship recipients has grown over the last nine years, I can’t help but think that it’s remarkable how much he has continued to touch people’s lives.