Meeting a Mentor

Having been the first student to meet my mentor and having never been to a true Brit’s home, I was a bit nervous traveling to Laura and Mark’s and unsure of what to expect. However, I quickly felt comfortable after being welcomed into their flat. The apartment was not what I thought a London flat would look like. It was a beautiful, spacious living room full of warm colors and a modern kitchen. I found out that the building was originally a cork warehouse, and they remodeled the place in 1995. The best part definitely was the terrace and roof top view. The Eye was on my left, the Tower of London was straight ahead of me, and Canary Wharf was on my right; it gave me a great perspective on just how windy the Thames really is.
After my tour around the flat, I was able to sit down and learn about the daily lives of Laura and Mark and how they came to live in London. I wondered how an American could be allowed to live in London for so long before being married to a Brit. Laura explained how she was granted an 18 month journalism visa and never ended up leaving. She now does investment journal writing, and her husband works at Bloomberg. It was fascinating to hear of people with real jobs that allow them to travel around Europe and made me hope that I may one day have a job that allows me to travel as well.
As Laura has been in the UK for over fifteen years and Mark has lived in England his whole life, both had great advice for places to visit in London and around Europe. They stressed the importance of traveling to off the map places in order to get a real feel of the culture. They also suggested not visiting the main tourist cities because they have lost a lot of their history and are dominated by Starbucks and McDonalds. This information made me rethink my plans for fall break, and I may now go to some remote towns instead of strictly visiting the typical cities. By doing this I hope to have great conversations with native citizens and unforgettable experiences in the true atmosphere of a country.
One of the most interesting parts of the nights was discussing topics such as politics and the Greek system after dinner. Mark and his Swiss friend were eager to hear who I was going to vote for in the upcoming election, and they had their own strong opinions such as Guiliani having too shaky of a past and Hilary being a much stronger candidate than people think. As the night continued, the conversation moved on to college life. Since there is a strong connection between Bucknell and the Greek system, the topic inevitably was brought up, and Mark wanted to learn more about it. I explained the concepts of fraternities, sororities, housing, dues, and registers, and he was amazed that such a system could legally exist. He attended Cambridge and swore that students never would have agreed to take part in such an establishment. However, I attempted to explain the wide range of fraternities and sororities for all types of people and the various commitment levels of members, but I do understand how ludicrous it may look from an outsiders view.
Looking back on the evening made me realize that I have not spent enough time getting to know the people of London and need to separate from the Bucknell group more often. The experience proved to be one of the best nights I have had so far, and I am extremely happy that Bucknell set up this program. It also made me realize that Americans can establish happy, successful lives in other countries and I am now considering spending more time abroad. Hopefully I can meet up with Laura and Mark again while I am here and learn even more about everyday London life!