For ten years
now, The Citadel English Department has run a summer in London program where
cadets can earn core-class and upper-level credit while living in London for
the summer. Working with the non-profit
Foundation for International Education, The Citadel’s Summer in London Program
offers an opportunity to learn literature and history in the place where much
of that subject matter occurred.
Students this semester are enrolled in either English 201, a required
survey of English literature from the middle ages to the early eighteenth
century, or the 400-level Literary Monsters class, which examines the continued
fascination with such monsters as Dracula, Frankenstein’s creature, the League
of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and Shakespeare’s Caliban. All students are also
taking a course entitled Understanding Civilizations: Islam and the West, which
can count as an upper-level History or Political Science course. Below are some
of the students’ initial impressions of their first few days in London.
What
I have really come to admire is the architecture, which fascinates me. I look
down the street and see an amazing blend of old and new architecture from
several centuries. It amazes me that somehow it works seeing Victorian-era
buildings blend into modern 21st-century glass skyscrapers downtown.
This serves to point out the age of Britain and highlight the youth of the US
as seen through architecture; where the US starts at 1700, Britain has that
easily beaten by hundreds of years. Another aspect of London that I have
enjoyed is the vast green space across the city. Compared to US cities such as
Philadelphia or New York that have 1 or 2 large parks, London has several large
and many small ones that add an endearing charm to the city in a Mary
Poppins-esque kind of way. Finally, the last part of my first impression of
London is how huge and how diverse it is. I didn’t realize this until I looked
at a map and saw that 6 major airports support the city, which is comprised of
32 boroughs with close to 300 languages spoken in it daily!
-Lauren Seedor, Sophomore, Political Science major, Lima Company
When I arrived here last week, I had a
general idea what I was in for but I had no idea how much culture I would
experience and how many sights I would see. Before I even got to London, I
spoke with a Jewish woman on my flight who enlightened me about her Hebrew
bible and about Jewish culture as well as Judaism in general. I was fascinated
by this because I learned about Judaism in my World Religions course I took my
senior year of high school and that course was one of the most interesting
courses I’ve ever taken. After I arrived, I experienced how polite the citizens
of central London are when I was trying to navigate my way around and had to
ask them where the location was. While out one night, I met a really nice girl
named Kayla from Camden. She was really interesting to talk to because she had
the same interests as I do, and she explained her area and her experiences in
London. She and I both play the alto saxophone, and her favorite genre of music
is jazz, which is also one of my favorites. I also had fun talking to four
Canadian girls in a pub, because they live near Nova Scotia which is where the
Regimental Band and Pipes of The Citadel play in the Royal Military Tattoo
every three or four years, and I was interested in asking them questions about
what the area is like and how it will be when we go there my senior year.
Meeting so many different people so far has been the most memorable part of my
experience.
-Zach Gorman, Sophomore, Biology major, Band Company
Upon arriving in London, I felt very uneasy.
Almost out of place. Being in an entirely different place was just so weird. I
could barely even understand what people were saying despite speaking the same
language. But one thing I find practical about London is the transportation.
It’s very easy to navigate my way around, something I would not be able to do
back home in Los Angeles. The transportation here is something Europeans
definitely got right. One issue I have with London are the restaurants. The
food here seems overpriced; the quality of the food is usually fair but the
serving sizes are smaller than I am used to. Another issue I found with London
is the crowdedness. I am a bit more used to crowds, being from a major city
myself, but it is far more dense here than back home. But aside from the crowds
and expensive food, I find London to be a great city filled with interesting
history. Well, this place would be a whole lot better if there were free
water.
-Luke
Tiscareno, Sophomore, Mathematics major, Tango Company
