Q&A with Ezzaty Hasbullah, CAS ’20
By: Cindy Luo, Penn Abroad Leader, CAS ‘20
Ezzaty Hasbullah, a senior from Malaysia studying Health & Societies, spent a year abroad at King’s College London. We sat down with her to discuss her insights, lessons, and helpful tips for London student life.
Can you tell me a little bit more about what you study here at Penn and how you decided to go abroad?
I major in Health & Societies, concentrating in Global Health and minoring in Anthropology. When I was applying to schools, I was applying to both the UK and the US and decided to come to the US after getting all my offers, but inside of me, there is always this question of: what if I went to the UK? Being a Penn student, I get to sort of assuage that curiosity by actually studying abroad, so that’s what I did.
What was it like studying abroad as an international student?
It was interesting. This is always a good conversation starter. It’s like “oh, what are you doing here?” I’m International, but I’m from another university where I’m also international there. Even my Malaysian friends were also very confused at how I was able to do it because in the UK, it’s not common to study abroad. I think it’s a huge privilege to be able to compare different schooling environments. It made me appreciate what we have here in the US and our ability to customize our academic lives–to choose classes based on our interests and to get involved with campus life.
How did you choose between the many different programs offered in the UK?
I chose a program in London because I knew I wanted to be in London. I chose King’s because they have a lot of courses that could count for either my major or minor, so it’s not just for electives. They also have a program there that is specific to global health, which is my interest. After talking to people in HSOC who’ve done it and just doing my own research, I figured that King’s College would be the best choice for me.
How did you end up deciding to stay for a whole year instead of just a semester?
I sort of knew that I wanted to get the whole studying in the UK experience and not just the study abroad experience. I know usually when you study abroad, you go and you have a great time. Fair enough, but I’ve always been curious about what it actually would feel like to live in London, be an actual student there. I figured to meet that goal, it would be better for me to stay there for a whole year than just a semester. It gave me more time to explore but also to really appreciate being a student in a UK University.
Can you describe to me what it was like being a student there, the types of courses you took at King’s College?
I took a lot of courses in anthropology and several courses in global health. Experience wise–it was surprising how little contact hours there were. I had one spring semester where I only had class two days a week. I found myself struggling to find the motivation to do work, because there’s not as many assignments as there is in the US. There’s just a big paper at the end. You submit a final paper, and class is recorded, so there’s not an incentive to go to class. It’s not like they check for participation or check for attendance. After being in the US, I found that to be a bit of a struggle, but it’s a learning experience I appreciate.
How did you add more structure to your days or to your weeks when you were only meeting twice?
That was a lot of self-initiative. I would plan hours in my day to do readings, go over lectures, or just prepare stuff that I know will be for a paper. I either stay at home, or find a library that I can go to study, because if you go to campus, it fills up. And there’s surprisingly not a lot of study spaces in London universities, at least not to the extent I’m used to at Penn. However, there are a lot of libraries that you can access as a King’s student. So they have what’s called the Universities of London, or UL, and Kings is a partner in that, and students at Kings can also access other universities’ libraries that are a part of that network, like UCL, SOAS, etc.
What would you say surprised you most about learning in a new environment?
Getting used to the different structure and the fact that it was very rigid and not at all what I’m used to in the US. I feel like here, people are incentivized to participate. Professors have office hours where students actually come, and they actually tell us to come. We have programs here called “Take Your Professor to Lunch”; the university wants us to form a connection to the faculty. But in the UK, it’s different. This was something I needed to get used to. Also, the fact that a lot of students there don’t live on campus; they live at home, so they just come for class and then they leave. There are not many hanging out spots on campus, so making friends with locals was a bit hard. I feel like at Penn, Penn becomes our life. But when I was at King’s, university was a part of their life. Students have part-time jobs elsewhere, they go back home to the family, and it’s a whole different experience.
How did you integrate yourself into the new environment given this difference or lack of campus life?
I did still try to integrate myself into the campus. I participated in the clubs; I was in the Muslim Student Association, I think they call it Islamic Society. I would participate in their events. I got involved in a volunteering group called KCL SAR: Student Action for Refugees, King’s College London, so we would have volunteering trips every week to this one place to tutor refugee kids. That’s what I did. I also have a lot of Malaysian friends in London who study there for their undergrad. I would hang out with them and go visit them in their different universities as well. I saw how they lived there, and they showed me around.
What would a typical day look like for you in London?
Let’s assume this day does not have a class because that’s the majority of my days. So usually I would wake up, go to the gym and find a library that I plan to study in. I would spend a few hours there, call a friend, grab lunch with a friend–either Malaysian or another study abroad student or another international student, and then come back home and change. If I didn’t go to the gym in the morning, I’d go to the gym later that night, come back home, and chill with my housemates. That’s pretty much it, to be honest. I lived off-campus with some Malaysian friends who sublet a house, so I had two other housemates.
What advice would you give to another student looking to study abroad in London?
Be prepared that you’re bound to spend some amount of money. Living in London is not cheap. It’s so expensive; even going on the tube, it adds up over time. Prepare yourself, either saving up or finding hacks to curb that. Definitely, mentally prepare yourself for that.
What are some essential hacks for London living?
Well, if you want to find a place to study, I’m a huge fan of using the libraries of other places. It’s free to register, and there are a lot of them. You can access them whenever you want. There are books, too, that you can borrow, which is amazing. Also, get a Railcard; you get great discounts on your tube and train tickets–huge hack. Use Monzo if you’re planning to be like me and go there for a year. Monzo is an app-based bank account that makes it really easy to transfer money and keep track of your money without having to go to a proper bank to set up an account. It’s pretty convenient. I also used TransferWise to transfer money from the US to the UK. More hacks: use Citymapper everywhere you go, never pay full price for a plane ticket. Find student discounts–go for the lottery. When you live there, you can do it every day. Also, use Student Beans; you can get huge student discounts for normal retailers.
How was the political atmosphere? Did you learn about politics in the UK?
It’s hard not to because when I was there, there was a huge protest by Extinction Rebellion, an organization that fights for climate change and climate awareness. They literally set up camp in the middle of a bridge that I walked past every day to get to class. The police were there; you can see them at protests happening around the city, so it’s hard not to be aware of what’s happening. When I was there, Brexit was still a big thing. I got to know it, but I wouldn’t say I dove deeply into it.
What was your favorite travel experience, inside or outside of the UK?
My favorite travel experience would be going to Lisbon. Lisbon was beautiful; it’s nice because it’s also cheap, cheaper than London. The food was amazing. Hopping around was beautiful, and I went with my best friend who flew all the way from Los Angeles. She flew to London first, and then we went to Portugal. Lisbon was wonderful; I’d recommend anyone to go there.
What is your favorite day trip from London?
I will have to say Brighton. That’s like the coast where the beaches are–rocky beaches. There’s a pier with a huge theme park. And then there’s fish and chips, and a cute little town by the pier. The rare times when the weather’s nice, it’s a really beautiful place to just walk around the dock.
What’s an important lesson or memory that you take away from your time there?
I remember this one time I went to Winter wonderland. It’s amazing; it’s at Hyde Park and only opens during the winter. It’s like a fair–it’s huge, full of colorful lights, amazing food. Locals go there; everyone just goes there for a good time–it’s free. I remember going with my friends and sort of feeling like, this is nice and sort of realizing that, when I’m at Penn I want more of these memories. At Penn, because it’s so busy, you get swept in the flow of everything. You forget to take time to just hang out with your friends or do something that you don’t normally do in the city, or in some other part of Philadelphia. So that was a great memory and something that I’ve been trying to do more of here. I feel like I’ve explored more of London in a year than I’ve explored Philly in three years. It’s unfortunate.
What did you learn about yourself from your time abroad?
I learned that I was holding myself back, a lot of playing it safe. Because I had the privilege to compare different experiences and I was there for a whole year, I realized, at Penn, I often take specific courses that are not as adventurous or not as hard because I’m scared or whatever. But once that choice is taken away from you or you have less of a choice, like it was the case when I was at King’s, you realize that being a student at Penn, you have a lot of opportunities. It’s all a matter of grabbing them. Even studying abroad is a huge opportunity that we have sitting here that a lot of people in other universities around the world don’t really have or it’s much more limited. Whereas, here we have a separate department devoted to it.
What are some things that you learned about the culture in London, or the UK in general?
I really wanted to get into pub culture but I never got into it because I don’t drink, and it’s weird if you don’t drink to try to get into it. And something most surprising to me as a Muslim from Malaysia, a majority Muslim country, and being in the US, a minority Muslim country, and being in London, where are a lot of Muslims there; seeing the difference in Muslim culture, seeing Muslim culture in London was very eye-opening to me.
How was the Muslim culture there different from how it is here versus in Malaysia?
So in Malaysia I would there’s a lot of cultural components to the religion, to the practice of Islam in Malaysia because it’s been there for a long time. It’s a majority religion. A lot of our cultural celebrations are tied into theology, so sometimes the line between culture and religion is quite blurry. In the US, it’s a minority religion brought in by immigrants. It’s been more, for a lack of a better word, liberal. People dive deep into the faith and what it means to be a Muslim, sometimes detaching it to the more ritualistic acts. Understanding that and also having conversations around other more liberal issues in the US, like feminism, racism, LGBT rights and how that plays into everything–that’s a big conversation here in the US. In London specifically, it’s very conservative Muslims, at least that’s how I felt with the people that I hung out with. I was in a Muslim community there; there are a lot of families there who migrated like a few generations ago and try to instill faith in their children. They do so by using very conservative Muslim teaching, so very strict teachings. It’s an interesting difference. I’m not saying one is better than the other.
I know that you’ve been named a 2020 Rhodes Scholar and that you’ll be returning to the UK. Congratulations. That’s so incredible. How did you prepare for senior fellowships and scholarships while abroad?
I got interested in applying for the Rhodes scholarship when I was a sophomore. I knew I sort of wanted to apply, so I was already talking to CURF, communicating with Dr. Genser who is in charge of Rhodes applications, before I even flew. I told him that I was interested, but I’m going to be abroad. I know a lot of the info sessions are going to be happening during the year, and I’d love to be in the loop. I’d like to be added to the Canvas page for the Rhodes application. I talked to Dr. Genser, asking him how I should prepare and what I should be thinking about. From the conversation, I found out that you should really know who your recommenders are going to be because there are five of them for Rhodes. It’s a lot. Realizing I need a lot of recommenders, I stayed in touch with the people at Penn that I knew I wanted to ask for a recommendation letter from. And also, I’m forming relationships with professors at King’s, who I know would be a good fit. I was very intentional in forming those relationships.
Rapid-Fire Questions
What was the most touristy thing that you did, and was it worth it?
Eiffel Tower, no.
What’s the most essential item that you packed, either from home or from Penn?
Earphones.
What’s the best way to cure homesickness?
Going to a Malaysian restaurant with Malaysian friends.
Most useful slang or local term that you learned?
Not useful, but cool–“init”. They just tack it to the end of sentences like: “this is really cool, init?” Like short for “isn’t it”. It’s hard for them to explain it, but it makes sense when they say it.
What’s your favorite place that you’ve traveled to while abroad?
Second to Lisbon would be Disneyland, Paris.
What are three words you use to describe your study abroad experience?
Unexpected, mesmerizing, and unforgettable.
The Semester Abroad (SA) program offers undergraduate students the opportunity to study in a new global community through extended study for a semester or year. Penn Abroad partners with top institutions around the globe and collaborates with Penn’s undergraduate schools to offer programs for students across academic disciplines.