STEP Reflection
Name: Sophie Wong
Type of Project: Education Abroad
Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project
For four weeks in May, I traveled to London where I learned about and engaged with Victorian crime fiction. While attending course lectures, my stay was augmented by excursions around and outside the city; to notable locations in literature and history to relevant modern day sites.
What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project?
Nothing is ever how you imagine it to be, London included. For so long, it was a place that I built in my imagination. It was historic yet a metropolis, a place that is heavily represented in the media yet it was intangible until this opportunity to study abroad. In every way, London surprised me at every turn. The city was full of green; plants growing from windows and doorsteps, with amazing public gardens all over the city. The fast-paced life of a city was met with an equally slow siesta like attitude; cafes of people drinking tea and coffee would spill out onto the sidewalks. What I began to realize was that London is a city of many cultures and ways of life, it is heavily rooted in tradition but is modernized as well.
Visiting and exploring new places is always a reminder to be flexible in your assumptions and visions. By having an open mind you make yourself more open to endless possibilities that these cities hold. This experience not only helped me explore and gain an understanding of a city but reaffirmed my independence and ability to adjust and navigate to new situations. Oftentimes visiting a foreign place can mean having to relearn how to daily things such as public transport, grocery shopping, etc. It makes what we often perceive to bed mundane activities magical and exciting. Traveling and seeing new places is so humbling. I am reminded of how grateful I am to have the opportunity to experience new cultures and expand the world I know. I learn not only how to appreciate another way of life but gain a deeper understanding of my own.
What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you?
One of the most amazing aspects of this trip was getting to work so closely on a specialized subject. London was the place to be to study Victorian crime fiction, it afforded so many opportunities for trips to locations of literary importance and attendance to lectures with individuals writing and researching relevant topics. Not only were we learning through discussions and close study but the trip allowed for individual research with primary source material. Conducting graduate-level research in the British Library Archives was an incredibly rewarding academic achievement that has encouraged me to pursue further research for academic and personal interest.
I would have been at a loss if not for the professors that I was able to work so closely with. They were so passionate about the subject they were teaching and their dedication only helped to encourage my own learning process and abilities. Being able to foster relationships with with faculty is incredibly beneficial to my own engagement during the trip and back on campus. I was also able to grow and connect with the other students on this trip.
We were brought together by common interests, and they became a tremendous support system while studying and abroad. Not only did our shared interests connect us but they became close friends who were just as enthusiastic about exploring the city of London, from the flashy tourist sites to the bakeries that were off the beaten path. We bonded over deciphering the tube map, figuring out the worth of the British coinage while at the register, and all the little things we did each day.
Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life?
The ability to experience any new culture or place is thrilling, there is so much that is unknown that the adventures seem endless. There are so many aspects of this trip in particular that are valuable; the friends I met, the research I conducted, the encouragement from faculty. The list could go on, but studying abroad is an experience like no other. You have to continue working while suddenly adapting to a new place, possibly while fighting jet lag. There’s an aspect to it that is nerve-wracking and stressful but that doesn’t come close to rivaling the sense of achievement and wonder at the beautiful place you are in and the independence you foster. Living in London for a month has not only encouraged me to return in the future, hopefully for prospective jobs, but to continue exploring anywhere that catches my eye because what I really found was that if I am determined I can adapt and find where I belong anywhere.
