Los Angeles, Calif. — Upon arriving in the United States after nine full weeks spent absorbing British culture and studying at Cambridge University’s Pembroke and Downing Colleges, my first jolt of Los Angeles was hearing a Spanish-accented loudspeaker announcement to all the newly arrived travelers at LAX. As integral to Los Angeles life as the pub is to British life, a Latino presence was utterly lacking during my extended stay in the United Kingdom. Conversely, I developed a greater appreciation for the British public transportation system after remembering how disjointed Los Angeles is in comparison. There is very little need for a car in Cambridge, especially considering that gas costs more than twice as much in the U.K. as the prices we Californians are just now beginning to let change our consumption habits.

While studying abroad, we American students quickly realized that British citizens, as in everywhere else around the world, hold a vastly different set of customs and priorities than those of Americans. Aside from differences in American and British culture, even the language is different. When I heard that the British TAs were going to give some UCI students “torches” to carry late at night back to their rooms on a far part of Downing College, comical images of students carrying fiery torches reminiscent of an Indiana Jones movie immediately sprung into my head – not of tiny black flashlights. Also, I began to exercise care when ordering the meat, potato and cheese filled pastries known as “pasties,” trying not to pronounce the word in a manner suggesting a product for which one would definitely not come to a bakery.

Studying abroad at Cambridge University in England was one of the best decisions I have ever made, as was choosing to participate in Cambridge 1 and Cambridge 2 for a total of nine weeks of studying and travel. Although I have not yet begun my third year at UCI, I am sure that I will positively recall the intimate campus and class sizes at Cambridge upon entering my 399-student criminology class at UCI. Still, I will appreciate the great diversity of departments that a public university is more likely to offer. More than anything else, the rewarding experience of studying at Cambridge has given me an invaluable sense of perspective on an international and small-college scale.

[ back to top ]