My time abroad in London, England has been flying by. It feels like just yesterday we arrived and had our first snake bite at the Union. There is still so much to be seen and experienced within England regardless of being here for 3 months. I am grateful to have the opportunity to spend this time exploring and getting lost in Europe
The weather has become increasingly cold and wet. Throughout the week it has been continuous rain with little lapses of sunshine. I've noticed myself in my room sleeping more, less motivated to go out as the winter season is on its way. Previously living in Seattle I did not notice my lack of motivation as much because I had a car for transportation, but when I am commuting via bus or train, the rain can become a much bigger factor in leaving the University. Regardless of the poor weather conditions many of the students seem to be doing fine as we continue to have school events to keep everyone in good spirits. The school workload is starting to compound as many of my school projects are due around the same time. I find myself socializing a bit less and studying more. I have enjoyed working on my business projects because they are all international based. I am currently working towards a business plan that will lead to a subscription based food service for the University for a business competition. The competition award is upwards of $6500+ with support of local entrepreneurs to help back your business and help with expansion. While I was attending Oktoberfest I had met up my good friend Jeremy. He had been visiting Europe on holiday to backpack around to different countries. After a couple of drinks at the festival, he had offered me the opportunity to travel with him and a couple of buddies to Budapest, Hungary. I was a bit doubtful at first, because I knew nothing about Hungary. Long story short, a lot of pints later my ticket was bought and we were on our way to Budapest the next morning.
We traveled via train for about 7 hours until we finally reached our destination. When we arrived I was amazed by the different architecture throughout the city and the beauty of the old city. One of my favorite things about Budapest were the ruin bars. During my visit, we went to Szimpla Kert which is the mecca of all ruin bars. This bar was built in the old Jewish quarter in the ruins of abandoned buildings and stores. This neighborhood was left to rot after World War II but had been remade into an underground bar area. It was an amazing assortment of different bars that looked like they had gone through a value village and rearranged all the mismatched furniture to organize some seating. Within the ruin courtyard were different bar stands that had their own special quirks which served different types of beverages and food. My favorite bar was the wine bar where they served nice bottles of wine and wine cocktails at a very cheap price ($10 a bottle). It was a fun place to be as huge groups of travelers gathered and mingled throughout the night. Afterwards we attended a SPARTY(spa party) that took place at Szechenyi Spa and Baths. This is one of the largest spa baths in Europe that been built by Roman settlers. The spa was beautiful, old and full of life. Add in the hundreds of party goers, blaring EDM music, and fire performers it turned into a wild night. Budapest quickly became one of my favorite cities in Europe because not only does it have beautiful architecture such as the Buda Castle and Matthias church but a vibrant, rich culture and nightlife. I found Budapest to be one of the cheaper cities in Europe as the conversion rate was $1 to 300 HUF. The food was delicious, cheap and filling. I ran into a bit of flight trouble on my way back from Budapest to London. My internet was painfully slow on my phone causing me to book the flight for the wrong date. After several hours of long confusing talks with the airlines I had a new flight booked for the following Monday which in turn made me miss class. My homeroom teacher was not happy with me to say the least. But the experience and fun I had on this spur of the moment trip to Budapest was irreplaceable. If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t do it any different. I have finally crossed off one of my major bucket list items. It has always been a dream of mine to be able to to attend Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany because it is the worlds largest beer festival. The festival did not disappoint and exceeded my expectations.
I started thinking about this trip when I found out I had gotten into the study abroad program over the summer. I was hesitant on pulling the trigger because I was going to be attending the festival by myself at first. This is a huge social event where you sit at big tables with people you don't know. This can be bit nerve racking when you are in a foreign country and don't speak the language. I had been one week into my courses and wasn't sure if I should leave but I thought to myself "if not now, then never." I went ahead and booked my last minute plane ticket for the next morning and decided to stay in a hostel to get the maximum backpacking experience (also the cheapest option). The hostel room I stayed in housed 12 people dorm room style with bunk beds. The people who were in my room were all traveling from different locations such as Russia, Hungary, Africa, and Japan. The hostel was a fun experience within itself and a great chance to meet people that were also traveling for Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest was one for the books. The festival was filled with local German delicacies and staples. There was over 8 beer tents from different distributors, carnival rides and games to enjoy. I made my way through the tents and met a lot of people that were happy to have me at their tables. It was exciting to be apart of such a big event and meet so many new people. I stayed for a total of three nights, which was more than enough. I consider myself a seasoned beer enthusiast but by the third night of huge steins, chanting, and dancing I was ready to call it a night. One of my favorite highlights from the trip was when I stood on top of a table and chugged a stein as people cheered me on, this was a right of passage and needed to be done. If there is one thing I learned from this trip, it is; that being alone or with friends is always a great adventure. Taking chances on the unexpected can lead you to some of the funnest moments in life. Be ready, and always say YES to new adventures. "It feels good to be lost in the right direction." The classes at Roehampton have been very different from the University of Hawai'i. The classes are only once a week so their is much more independent studying to be done and they expect the readings to be done before class has started. You must be prepared and ready to discuss during class time. This is a great opportunity to improve time management and self starter skills throughout the semester. The three business classes I am enrolled in have real world application and analysis of the current market. For International Business and Emerging Markets class our main project is to choose a country that has an emerging market and then choose an area to analyze. For this class I have chosen to do the Philippines and the cultural understanding behind penetrating the market. For Business Organisations and Environments in a Global Context my main project is to open a national company in Australia and analyze the pros and cons of creating a business in that country. An example would be to open a Burger King in Australia. For Entrepreneurial Opportunity we must assess the different needs around campus and then create a business catering to that need. We have decided to open a food stand/truck because there is a lack of available hot food after 6pm on campus. Throughout the semester we will be creating a video to upload on Youtube that will create this company and asses the market, industry, and competition. I am enjoying these classes because it is teaching me to think on a much more international basis as well as giving my the opportunity to analyze the needs of different areas. It is interesting working with the international students because I get to see what the differences in our perception of importance.
It has been an amazing 2 week start to London. During our welcome week we had freshers week which is 6 days of activities throughout the day and night to help you meet students from around the college and get signed up for different programs throughout the University.
I decided to sign up for the University football team. We had 3 long days of trails as people were cut after each session. I was a bit nervous during the selection process because I hadn’t played or seen the other players from around the campus before. The trails consisted of scrimmaging the other potential players which was a bit brutal because I hadn’t played in about 6 months. On the last day of trails I found out I had made the Uni team. Being a huge football fan I was very excited and stoked to have the ability to say I am playing abroad in England! Definately putting that on my resume in the future. We have practice on Mondays and games on Wednesday’s every week so it will be fun being able to fill up some of time with a sport I really enjoy. Joining clubs and organizations is a good way to put yourself in a new environment where you can test yourself as well as make new life long connections with people from all over the world. I really enjoy that Roehampton has students from all over the world with very different cultures I’ve never experienced before. It’s very apparent during class seminars and talking to other students that they have very different lifestyles depending upon where they grew up. |
AuthorMy name is Micahl Nicolas Ong. I am addicted to traveling the world, meeting new people and getting lost with a snack in hand! I am studying abroad in London England and will be traveling the world for the next 4+ months. Archives
December 2018
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