Santa Cruz Girl in England

I walked off the plane at Heathrow International Airport in London greeted by large drops of rain. I smiled gently to myself as I realized that I was finally here... I was finally in England and finally in that characteristic rain which distinctively told me I was in the right place.

For over a year now, I have been planning for my study abroad trip to Coventry, England in the United Kingdom. My name is Sierra Norsell and I am currently a third-year English Literature and History of Art and Visual Culture student at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

I knew from my very first introduction to the University of California Education Abroad Program (or more commonly referred to as UCEAP) I wanted to become one of the few courageous students to spend time in a foreign educational system to receive UC credit towards my BA.

The work I've put in this far to finally arrive to the United Kingdom has been somewhat extensive. Before even considering studying abroad, I needed to cover such important tasks like declaring my major/minor, deciding which abroad program suited my interests and financial plan perfectly, and preparing my mind for the long process which takes place between beginning an application to UCEAP and arriving at a host university.

After gathering letters of recommendation, writing my statement of purpose, and filling in many application forms, I officially applied to study in the United Kingdom in the very first week of Winter Quarter 2011 which soon led me to be told a few weeks later that I was accepted to study abroad at the University of Warwick in Coventry, England for the 2011-2012 academic school year. Then, it was just a matter of sorting priorities out and waiting for my most opportune moment to fly to England.

I flew to England on August 3rd and arrived in London on August 4th. Today has marked my first week in the UK and although I feel out of place through my strange use of Californian slang in English conversation and my misunderstanding of their seemingly blunt descriptions of people, places, and things, my trip has proved to be quite informative and exceptionally strange.

I was invited about two months early before the start of my university course to stay with an English family to learn what daily life was like as well as to travel to parts of the UK and Europe. My stay thus far has been eventful and strange. My first weekend in England, I was invited to the birthday party of a local policewoman. The party involved many other English policemen and I was able to ask their opinion of their job and duties as well as whether or not they agreed with the police system in America, particularly in relation to guns.

As one policeman told me, "I wouldn't like to carry a gun on me during my job because that gives the crook I'm fighting against the opportunity to take my gun off of me and use it against my force."

My interaction with the policemen could not have come at a more pivotal time. The day I met them was the day the London riots began to happen after the killing of Mark Duggan, a London man who was shot and killed by London police after a planned arrest under the name of Operation Trident in Tottenham. My police friends were beginning to bring out their riot gear while in between conversations, teaching me a few defensive techniques in hand to hand combat. Thus ended my eventful weekend with the "coppas".

I'm now currently in a more peaceful state in the town of Shrewsbury, where my temporary home for the next two months resides. The weather is windy and cloudy today...a typically unique sight to see in Santa Cruz.

But as I finish my last few statements, it's hard to sum up without rambling the starry eyed American girl I am within this charming culture. To me, there are no chain stores, there are no bad restaurants, there are no slums in the city. It's all brand new for me. Each walk down my little street, I see something different and heartwarming. English towns are so quaint and story-like... All of it is unbelievable. My fairy tale continues...

England is my oyster.