University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Summer Blog: Rachel Dugan
7/6/2018 2:30:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
Wow. That is the first word that pops into my head when I reflect on the whirlwind that has been the past couple weeks of my study abroad experience in London. In about a month, I have had the chance to tackle this global city along with my teammate Alecia [Petrikis] and fellow students in our program. It has been fun, challenging, educational and most importantly transformational.
Our actual journey to London was anything but smooth. Our first flight was cancelled, which made arrive to our program a day late! We tried to hop on another flight that night, but didn't quite make it on. Our luggage did, though, which caused a bit of a problem when we finally arrived at London airport without our suitcases. Thankfully, we were able to handle the situation and arrived only 24 hours behind schedules (shout out to our moms for keeping us sane during that)!
Once we got our suitcases and settled into our apartment, we were able to start doing some exploring around London. We arrived just in time for the Royal Wedding and traveled over an hour to try to catch a glimpse of the Prince and his bride. The crowds were huge and the atmosphere was exhilarating. It's something I'll never forget!
Some further exploration led us to the iconic South Bank in London, home of sights like Big Ben and the London Eye. Unfortunately, Big Ben was covered in scaffolding and closed for construction! It was a bit of a disappointment, but I guess it's a good excuse to come back and see it in its full beauty! Alecia and I rode the London Eye, a big Ferris wheel that overlooks the whole city. The views were breathtaking!
Amidst all of our sightseeing, we were still able to put some work in! As part of our study abroad program, we took a three-credit class. Ours was called international dimensions of organizational behavior. It looked at the different dynamics of groups and how they work together. This was especially interesting to take abroad, because we were able to learn how workplaces in London differ from what we are used to back home in Pittsburgh.
Apart from this class, I have an internship and am responsible for working 20 hours per week. My specific internship site is at the London Marriott Twickenham Hotel. I'm a human resources intern, but my responsibilities are vast and change just about every day. You could catch me filing papers, working on presentations, sitting in on interviews or just making a nice cup of tea for myself (side note - tea is not very good!). My co-workers are probably my favorite part of the job. I work in an office with managers from London, Venice, Portugal, Greece and Madrid. Everyone has very different backgrounds and different experiences, but they all come together to create a successful team - it's remarkable! The Marriott kitchen cooks lunch for us every day, and I love sitting around the table getting to hear everyone's individual stories.
Even with our busy work schedules, Alecia and I, along with our flat-mates have had time to travel outside of London on the weekends! Our first weekend excursion was to Barcelona, Spain. We spent a lot of time staring at all the amazing architecture and then decided to let ourselves relax on the beautiful sandy beaches. While my four years of high school Spanish was helpful, I think I would need to practice a little more to live there. Thankfully, Alecia downloaded an app so that we could practice!
We also got the opportunity to travel to Paris. While I think I liked the culture and atmosphere better in Barcelona, Paris was undeniably the prettiest place I have been to yet. The views from the Eiffel Tower were worth the wait, especially after climbing nearly 700 steps to get to the top! I hope that Coach Ryan doesn't read this and get any ideas for boot camp!
While in France, we also got to tour the Palace and the Gardens of Versailles. They certainly did not disappoint either!
We also will be visiting Dublin and, after our program ends, Alecia and I are going to explore Scotland, Amsterdam, and Portugal before heading back home to Pittsburgh.
So far, this trip has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had. I can't wait to make the most out of these last few weeks, and come back with some great stories to tell!
Forever hailing in Europe!
Rachel Dugan
Our actual journey to London was anything but smooth. Our first flight was cancelled, which made arrive to our program a day late! We tried to hop on another flight that night, but didn't quite make it on. Our luggage did, though, which caused a bit of a problem when we finally arrived at London airport without our suitcases. Thankfully, we were able to handle the situation and arrived only 24 hours behind schedules (shout out to our moms for keeping us sane during that)!
Once we got our suitcases and settled into our apartment, we were able to start doing some exploring around London. We arrived just in time for the Royal Wedding and traveled over an hour to try to catch a glimpse of the Prince and his bride. The crowds were huge and the atmosphere was exhilarating. It's something I'll never forget!
Some further exploration led us to the iconic South Bank in London, home of sights like Big Ben and the London Eye. Unfortunately, Big Ben was covered in scaffolding and closed for construction! It was a bit of a disappointment, but I guess it's a good excuse to come back and see it in its full beauty! Alecia and I rode the London Eye, a big Ferris wheel that overlooks the whole city. The views were breathtaking!
Amidst all of our sightseeing, we were still able to put some work in! As part of our study abroad program, we took a three-credit class. Ours was called international dimensions of organizational behavior. It looked at the different dynamics of groups and how they work together. This was especially interesting to take abroad, because we were able to learn how workplaces in London differ from what we are used to back home in Pittsburgh.
Apart from this class, I have an internship and am responsible for working 20 hours per week. My specific internship site is at the London Marriott Twickenham Hotel. I'm a human resources intern, but my responsibilities are vast and change just about every day. You could catch me filing papers, working on presentations, sitting in on interviews or just making a nice cup of tea for myself (side note - tea is not very good!). My co-workers are probably my favorite part of the job. I work in an office with managers from London, Venice, Portugal, Greece and Madrid. Everyone has very different backgrounds and different experiences, but they all come together to create a successful team - it's remarkable! The Marriott kitchen cooks lunch for us every day, and I love sitting around the table getting to hear everyone's individual stories.
Even with our busy work schedules, Alecia and I, along with our flat-mates have had time to travel outside of London on the weekends! Our first weekend excursion was to Barcelona, Spain. We spent a lot of time staring at all the amazing architecture and then decided to let ourselves relax on the beautiful sandy beaches. While my four years of high school Spanish was helpful, I think I would need to practice a little more to live there. Thankfully, Alecia downloaded an app so that we could practice!
We also got the opportunity to travel to Paris. While I think I liked the culture and atmosphere better in Barcelona, Paris was undeniably the prettiest place I have been to yet. The views from the Eiffel Tower were worth the wait, especially after climbing nearly 700 steps to get to the top! I hope that Coach Ryan doesn't read this and get any ideas for boot camp!
While in France, we also got to tour the Palace and the Gardens of Versailles. They certainly did not disappoint either!
We also will be visiting Dublin and, after our program ends, Alecia and I are going to explore Scotland, Amsterdam, and Portugal before heading back home to Pittsburgh.
So far, this trip has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had. I can't wait to make the most out of these last few weeks, and come back with some great stories to tell!
Forever hailing in Europe!
Rachel Dugan
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