London Review - KU Honors Program : Reviews (London)

The London Review was a wonderful experience! It was an amazing learning and growing experience! I loved getting to know students and professors, learning about a new culture, and sipping tea in London!

My favorite part of this program was the perfect balance of independently exploring and traveling while also still feeling a sense of Jayhawk community. At the end of each day, it was so fun to meet up with the rest of the group and share our experiences. Being abroad, I had a newfound sense of independence but I also felt a strengthened sense of belonging within the group I was traveling with.

I love that this program allows you to explore London in your own way, allowing you to specialize the trip to your own interests while also connecting you with people in the class who are interested in the same things. You are free to explore while also feeling very supported and secure in the faculty that run the trip.

I loved everything about this program! It was so much fun and I highly recommend it to everyone!

My favorite part of this program was the freedom we had each day to explore London. At first, it was extremely intimidating, but in the end helped me to develop a stronger connection with the city and my fellow travelers. It was so fun when our group came together in the evenings to share our experiences from the day.

I enjoyed the freedom given to all of us to explore on our own without the whole group. It made it so I was able to experience London at my own pace and not a forced pace of someone else.

My favorite part of this program was getting to know the diverse group of students and professors that came on the trip. I think seeing London through the eyes of 30+ different people was very rewarding.

My favorite part of the program is being able to make it your own. You get to do your own research of London and what it has to offer while getting to do it with your friends in your class. Part of the learning experience was of the city and another part was of yourself. Being able to grow as an individual on this study abroad was one of my favorite parts of this program.

I loved the structure of the program! The days were flexible, but there were still frequent check-ins with the professors to help me make sure I was making the most out of the experience.

I loved being able to explore London independently. This was not my first time abroad, but it was my first time exploring on my own. I was able to spend as much time as I wanted at the British Museum.

My favorite part of this program was the freedom it offered. While there were a few group activities (like a walking tour to get us oriented in London, and some group dinners to get together with everyone else on the program and discuss what we had been doing), the majority of the experiences in London were crafted by each individual person. I was able to choose my activities and spend time with different classmates, and I was also able to spend some time alone in the city exploring independently. I loved having the opportunity to fully build my experience and tailor my days to exactly what I wanted to do.

The London Review program gives students the chance to take on London and experience all that it has to offer. Through days of sight-seeing I was able to experience so many different museums and the culture of London. The most rewarding part was getting to do what I wanted with such a great group.

I found figuring out the tube system and wandering around to be the most rewarding parts of being in London. Once we got back, the process of creating the book was challenging but rewarding in its own right, and every time that I was able to help with a part of the book, I felt so proud that I was able to be a part of such an amazing program and project.

I loved the freedom that this program provided. I was able to explore on my own or with a small group of friends, rather than having to travel in packs of 30 everywhere! The best part about this was coming down to breakfast or to a group activity and hearing about what everyone else got up to, and then, coming home to hear more about these experiences in writing! A truly magical testament to the sharing of collective/individual memory and the value of creative exploration.

In the classes prior to the trip I learned a lot about how to research a city and the best ways to navigate on a trip to accomplish as much as possible. While we were there I made some fantastic friends but was also able to discover that I am capable of exploring on my own, finding confidence in my own ability to travel.

I felt the most rewarded by exploring the city and seeing first-hand the differences between the US and the UK in almost every interaction I had. London has also inspired my writing and allowed me to explore new experiences through writing.

Taking the time to go places and try things by myself while abroad was definitely one of the most rewarding parts of the program for me. I also think that finishing the book was a hugely rewarding parts of the experience. Getting to see all of our experiences and collaborations come together was incredible, and getting it done in that quick turn around felt great!

Doing the research before traveling was incredibly rewarding as it gave us all a complete, well-rounded view of the city before we even arrived.

The element of the program that I find most rewarding is that we continue to write and reflect on our experiences in London when we return. I also loved taking peaceful moments to think about what I was going to write about while we were on the trip.

The element I found the most rewarding was the completion of the book. Writing the book took a lot of effort and was frustrating at times but seeing the finished project that we were all proud of made it worth the effort.

I found the final writing project to be very rewarding. For this study abroad, we were to contribute three articles to our class book. We then went on to work together to edit and publish our larger piece.

I found connecting to other tourists and locals the most rewarding. I learned about the healthcare system in the UK through an employee at the V&A workshop that changed my perspective on healthcare in the United States. I connected with a newly retired couple from Australia as they were beginning their four month adventure around England. They helped ease my fears about the wildlife, especially spiders, in Australia and encouraged me to visit someday.

I learned that you should try and do what YOU want to do. London is full of so many different things. Take advantage of all that it has to offer. However, it's also important to take alone time, and try and go to something that is specific to your interests.

I would recommend setting a realistic budget for yourself and sticking to it. I would also strongly recommend bringing comfortable waterproof shoes. Get out of your comfort zone! It's one of the most important parts of growth. Don't be afraid to try things you wouldn't try back home, but also listen to your body. It's only a week trip so don't push yourself too hard.

Going abroad, especially for a shorter amount of time such as a spring break trip, you really get out of the experience what you put into it. It will be exciting to go along with the group and see all of the tourist attractions -- in my case Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, etc., but there is so much value in the more personal excursions and unplanned activities as well.

I learned to overprepare for the actual traveling portions of the journey (always make sure you have all of your important documents and items on you at all times, and in the correct places!) but to be open to new experiences while actually in London. Some of my favorite memories came from places that I hadn't initially planned on going to.

Buying an umbrella in London is essential if you think it's going to rain. You may think you can just power through until you walk into a shop soaking wet.

Sometimes it adds more fun to see some of London's famous sights at night. I went with a group almost every night during the trip to see different places at night, such as the London Eye, Big Ben, and the Tower of London. The city is also incredibly beautiful at night.

I got a lot of insight into the benefits of slowing down and really admiring the world around you. I also learned a lot about problem solving because oftentimes travel doesn't go exactly as planned, and this was the first time I have done it without my family.

The tube and train travel (especially solo) can be daunting, but don’t let that deter you from traveling! I took the train to visit my best friend numerous times throughout the trip and the UK really has their transit system down to a science. That doesn’t mean there won’t be delays or last-minute changes, but that’s real-life!

I think it would be helpful to future students to know that taking notes and reflecting by writing while you are there makes it much easier to write for the book when you get back.

I learned how to better prepare my time in advance to fully engage in my trip and get the most done during it. I have never been great at planning trips or events or anything before so this trip was a wake up call as I needed to have at least some plan each day. I will say though, I was able to adapt really well when I didn't have a plan and just explored instead, but it can be a bit more tedious and pricy depending on what places you find. Overall though, I learned the most in just adapting and scheduling for these trips as I had to be more aware of my plans before going out while still being able to add and explore while out in London.

I learned to keep an open mind about making friends with fellow peers while abroad because being in tight quarters with a group of people almost forces you to learn more about them but in a positive way because I found more similarities between myself and the people I traveled with than if we had only stayed in a classroom together. Navigating a new country with others brings opportunities to explore who you are as a leader, a follower, and as a friend. I jumped into the role of helping others by sharing my resources like an umbrella or pausing our adventures to find stain remover for someone who needed it. You connect with those you would've thought unlikely because changing the setting in which those interactions take place does make a significant difference in the willingness to meet someone new and work together as a team.