Sarah Waddell visited Stonehenge on of her many day trips during her stay in London.
Tusculum student Sarah Waddell spent the fall 2011 academic semester studying and experiencing British culture in London.
Waddell, a junior from Cosby, Tenn., who is majoring in digital media, participated in the Missouri-London Program of the Centers for Academic Programs Abroad (CAPA). She joined 19 other students in the fall 2011 program who took classes together and lived in an apartment building in the Little Venice area near Regent’s Canal in northern London. She shared her experiences in a presentation Tuesday that was open to the campus community.
“One of my favorite parts of the program is the people, not just the people in London but also the other people in the program,” she said. “We got to know each other pretty well.” Most of the other participants in the program were from universities in Missouri.
The CAPA program operates in affiliation with Imperial College of the University of London, and the students had full membership rights to use Imperial College facilities and its programs. During the semester, Waddell took four classes just as she would have at Tusculum. Each student in the program was required to take “Understanding Britain Today,” a class about British culture, recent British events and the differences between the British and American culture.
Waddell’s father is British, and she said she has visited England several times so she was more used to the differences than other students in the program. Some of the students in the CAPA program thought that the English were rude, she said, but they are not. The British are more reserved and professional in their demeanor while Americans are more open, she explained.
“Aesthetics” was another of Waddell’s courses, and the students visited galleries and museums often as part of class. She noted that many of the museums and galleries in London do not charge admission.
Related to her major, she took a British broadcasting course, which focused on the BBC. Students were able to visit the BBC studios and learned how English media is different from that in the United States.
The courses that the students could take were limited, and Waddell took a “Philosophy of Sports,” learning about cricket, football (soccer) and rugby. The national rugby championships occurred while she was in this class and she was able to attend. She also attended a sold out Arsenal home soccer game and a Millwall game. The games were a great place to meet people, she said.
Waddell had class three times a week which left her extra time to explore London and other parts of England. Waddell likes to cook and enjoyed the Borough Market. “It was a cool place to go and explore,” she said. “It had everything you could imagine foodwise.”
Camden Market was another place that Waddell enjoyed exploring. The area is known as artsy, and she said she saw a wide variety of people there and enjoyed the shops.
There was a pub at the corner of her street that the students frequented. “Pubs are the social part of British culture,” she said. “There is one on about every street corner. They are not like bars, but a place for people to meet.”
As part of the CAPA program, the students went on a day trip to Bath and Stonehenge. Waddell also took day trips to Oxford and Cambridge to explore those campuses.
Waddell explored London, including some of the most famous sites such as Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster, above, during her semester studying in the English capitol.
Traveling to other places in England is easy, Waddell explained, because buses and trains are readily accessible and fares are inexpensive. Air fares are also inexpensive, she said, adding that she paid the equivalent of $15 for a ticket to Edinburgh, Scotland.
Other students in the program would travel every weekend to places in England or other European countries. Waddell said she would not recommend this approach because those students stayed tired during the week and did not have time to explore London extensively.
For a first time traveler to Europe, Waddell said she would recommend going to London. “There is not a language barrier,” she said, “and the city is such a great mix of old, historic places and the coolest, new modern things going on in fashion and the arts. It has something for everyone.”
The program in which Waddell participated is offered through a partnership between Centers for Academic Programs Abroad and the Private College Consortium for International Study, a partnership of 14 colleges in the Appalachian College Association.
All PCCIS institutions are fully accredited. All courses have been structured so that academic credits earned by students are part of the regular authorized course offerings, which allows students to make normal progress towards their undergraduate degrees while utilizing foreign resources and cross-cultural experiences. Courses are taught by a combination of British and American academics. Dr. John Paulling, professor of mathematics at Tusculum, has taught in London as part of the program.