Studying abroad in London was a culture shock in a different way than I had imagined. I spoke the language and looked similar to locals; however, the way I thought about moving through a city couldn't have been more different.
When I arrived at the GEO center in London, they passed out Oyster cards to each participant. Little did I know that this small blue and white card would be my master key to the city. Every bus, train, and tube line was accessible with just a tap.
On these trips, I interacted with people I never would have met by sitting in a car by myself. On our way to an excursion, I helped an older woman sit down next to me on the Jubilee line. After she thanked me, we got to talking. Noticing my accent, her questions revolved around where I was from and why I came to London. When I told her my classmates and I were going to tour Parliament, she laughed, telling me she had never been to the center of UK politics herself. We chatted easily about the recent win by England's national women's football team until my stop arrived.
Every weekend, I took the tube and then the train out to the Greater London area. On one of my longer journeys to Clapham, a man named Tim told me that my Brooks sneakers were decidedly American. After forty minutes, my Notes app was full of weekend trips to nearby English towns.
I quickly felt more accustomed to the local life. My friend Sienna and I discovered our favorite activity: carboot sales. Every Sunday, London residents pulled into a parking lot and popped their trunks (or boots as they call them). Sellers varied from people moving houses, expert vintage resellers, or people hoping to make extra cash. After filling a bag full of pieces that were, at most, five pounds each, Sienna and I made the trek back to our residence hall. On the tube, girls wearing eclectic outfits caught our eye. After complimentary exchanges, we found out they were headed to a music festival just a few stops away.
While I had my fair share of conversations with strangers, some of my favorite memories came from the time I commuted with my classmates. Late-night outs trying to navigate a reduced bus schedule led to delirious conversations as we made it home. A packed train on the way to an Arsenal game brought us closer than ever before. Each ride also made us more confident in exploring. We nominated a group leader for each adventure who was in charge of figuring out which line to get on. Each station was utterly different, but we soon became familiar with which train would be the emptiest. One of our classmates even prided himself on knowing which end the exit would be on. We felt freedom to make mistakes, knowing that if we were lost, at least we were together.
My time in London wouldn't have been complete without riding a tube so hot it felt like a sauna or getting on a bus in the wrong direction. Each journey was a new experience in a city that I will never forget.
Stephanie Jersey
GEO Global Programs Assistant
London 2025