From Seattle to London: Biggest Takeaways

Guest Post by: Miracle Okoli, she is a Global Business Center Study Abroad Scholarship Recipient who participated on the Business Britain Foster Exploration Seminar in Early Fall 2018.

This past summer, I was given the amazing opportunity to travel to the UK through the Business Britain program here at Foster. This was the first time I had traveled outside of the US without my family, and I was excited to take on this challenge and adventure. The program ended up being very memorable, and the lessons from this experience are ones that I will implement in my future travels. Here is some of what I learned:

1.) It’s okay to explore and do things on your own, you don’t always need a buddy

I enjoyed the time I spent with my cohort of Business Britain participants. However, there were times where the things that I wanted to do differed from those in my cohort. In those times I found value in exploring the city on my own and doing things that interested me. An example of me doing this, was during the first full week of the program. I had found out that a famous Nigerian artist (Tiwa Savage) would be performing in London and I was super stoked. At first the idea of going to a concert by myself made me a bit nervous, I am so glad I decided to go because I had an incredible time and it was an experience I will never forget.

2.) Watching a little Netflix never hurt nobody, even when abroad

While in London, I always felt I needed to be out and about exploring the city and taking in everything 24/7. But there were times when I was tired, and I just wanted to rest and not be out and about. In those times I would go to the store get some yum biscuits (what they call cookies in London) and just watched some Netflix movies. While I felt guilty, doing this at the time, looking back on it, if I had never taken those moments to relax and recover, it may have made my study abroad experience a lot more stressful.

3.) Get connected with the people in the countries/cities you’re traveling to, they make your experience all the better

To me, this point was the highlight of my experience in London. While there, I went out to different events around the community and I got to meet people. These were some of my most memorable experiences, and I still keep in touch with some of them. With this, I’ve learned that the best way to really understand a new city, and a new culture is by getting to know the people.

4.) Travel as much as possible

My study abroad to the UK is just the beginning of my many adventures in the future. I’m already planning on visiting more countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. I’m very thankful to have gotten this first opportunity with the help of GBC, and I cannot wait for the many more opportunities I’ll have in the future.