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My experience thus far in London has been absolutely amazing. I am currently living in the Borough of Westminster, a mere 10 minute walk from Buckingham palace. I am housed in a student dormitory called Goldsmid House, which is fairly new (it opened in 2008) in a single room with my own bathroom. I chose to go abroad to Skidmore in London because of the sheer size of the city itself. I have yet to run out of things to do in this city and don't foresee that happening during my short time here. I chose UCL specifically because of its status as one of the top Univer-sities in the world and the wide array of classes it offered. The Politi-cal Science Department here, unbeknown to me, is normally a grad-uate program, but opens its classes to all UCL students and students studying abroad. This simply means that I am given considerable independence in how I study and learn in this course, although a Brit-ish University education in general is based around independent learning and research. This emphasis on independent learning is very different from our system at Skidmore and will definitely benefit me when I return in the fall.

My classes are on an array of topics that I have yet to see being offered at Skidmore. One notable class, Changing Britain's Constitution, has been particularly enlightening as coming into the class I had little knowledge of how the British Political system worked let alone did I even think of Great Britain as having a Constitution (Hint: they do, but its not codified). The class is also being taught by the foremost expert on the British Constitution Robert Hazell, which makes me savor the class even more.

L IFE abroad has been an incredible experience so far. I'm enjoying studying in Florence and taking advantage of the many travel opportunities on the weekends. This past weekend I spent in Paris for the Fashion Week, which was a real treat and the weekend prior I spent in Rome, with fellow Skidmore stu-dent, Julia Paino '13. I'm living in an apartment in central Flor-ence with 5 other girls, all of which were strangers before but now have become friends. In order to continue my Government studies here in Florence, I am taking a class in conflict and resolution. Unlike Skidmore, the class only meets once a week for 2.5 hours. Nonetheless, it provides an interest-ing perspective to conflict and resolution. Taking this course in Italy is a challenge because we focus on the Italian approach to conflict and resolution along with the Italian history of Colonial-ism. It is a good opportunity to learn about a Western Culture in an environment that is not the US. In addition, I am studying Italian language, Public Presentations, Fashion Marketing and Event Planning

B EING abroad is a trip for sure, and despite some cul-tural adjustments, I'm definitely getting into the groove of the Florentine life!