I engaged most meaningfully with the local community through my internship with Rix Inclusive Research through my time at the Dialogue Express Cafe and Airthrie Homes. All of the baristas at Dialogue are deaf or hard of hearing, but I was able to interact a bit with them using some beginner British Sign Language, writing notes, or just pantomiming; and no words were necessary to communicate our discomfort during the heatwave! Later on in my internship, I was also able to connect with some locals at Airthrie, a group living facility for adults with learning disabilities. I was there with my fellow interns to chat about health technology like FitBits and exercising, but we’d also get off topic and talk about our favorite spots in London, compare elements of the UK to our experience in the U.S., and discuss one resident’s upcoming birthday party. Otherwise, just being out and about helped to steep me in the local culture, whether this was at cafes, pubs, or just as a fellow commuter on the tube.

I only took one academic class abroad since I did the study + internship program, but I really enjoyed it. I took Writing the City: London with seven other students, which was great because I feel we all really got to know each other through our writing and during our class field trips around London. We explored Covent Garden and read a passage aloud about what it was like hundreds of years ago, looked out at the Thames as we read about the time it iced over, and had a great little goodbye picnic in Kensington Gardens eating scones and reading an excerpt from Peter Pan. The assignments encouraged us to take inspiration from the city in lots of different ways, and it helped me be creative in my writing and dive a little deeper into my experience abroad. I would also consider some of my classmates to be the closest friends I made in London, and I hope to keep in touch with them!