My Gateway Experience in Regents Business School London,
England
Spring Semester 2007
By Amy Rowland – Senior at Bond University, Gold Coast,
Australia
I
waved goodbye to the rolling blue waves and sunny doorstop of my
Gold Coast home in Australia. With only a suitcase, plane ticket
and an enrolment in some university far, far away, I set off to for
my study abroad semester in ol’ London town.
That was how my gateway study abroad experience at Regent's
Business School London (RBSL) began. I am an Australian student
from Bond University, and chose to come to RBSL for the 2007 Spring
Semester. I arrived in London in early February; friendless,
homeless and without a responsibility in the world. Two hours of
friend finding, two weeks of home hunting and two months of study
later everything has changed.
People:Being the
only “Aussie” on campus has been a handy excuse for my strange
behaviour, but has also enabled me to have a genuine international
experience. Experiencing the cultural differences has been really
interesting. Bond is relatively international for an Australian
university, but does not compare to the mixture at Regent's
College. I have never met so many people from so many different
countries in my life as here. My inability to speak any language
other than English once seemed perfectly normal to me, but here
makes me somewhat of an oddity!
Study: Classes have been very different as
well. I thought my classes at Bond were small, but with classes of
about 5 students here it just doesn’t compare. I have loved having
the opportunity to ask questions whenever I want, and to contribute
to class discussion anytime. My favourite parts of class though,
have been the random class discussions in which I learnt all sorts
of things about markets in countries I hardly knew existed
before.
Travel: My exchange has allowed me to have many
amazing travel opportunities. Being located on the doorstep of
Europe, cities I’d only ever heard of through second-hand travel
stories were all just a (cheap) plane flight away.
Weather: The
weather has been an intriguing part of my abroad experience. I
remember writing home telling friends and family that spring had
now sprung and my winter woollies were no longer necessary. That
afternoon it snowed!
London: Having
grown up in a small coastal Australian town, whose claim to fame is
a giant sized Big Banana (yes, I am still proud of it), London was
quite an experience for me. Walking around the city centre, I can
really understand why historically London was such an Empire.
England: From its
quaint little towns, pretty countryside, array of accents and
ancient remains, England has provided me with plenty to do. Earlier
in the semester I visited a friends’ house in Kent, to discover
that the retaining wall in the garden was in fact a remnant of an
11th century castle. Further, the extension of the living room was
put on before Australia was even discovered!
I would really like to thank Eric Chan, the Programme manager of
the Gateway study abroad at RBSL, for his continuous assistance
throughout my entire gateway experience. It has been great to have
a friendly face (who has a solution for every problem!) to depend
on when necessary. I would also like to thank Mariona Centellas in
the Careers Office for all her help and encouragement. Finally,
thank you to all the students and staff who made my time here so
special. I have LOVED my time at RBSL!!