Penn Abroad Ambassador Krystal Li

Program:

• PGS: Sacred Stuff: Religious Bodies, Places, and Objects

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• Being proactive about using the most of your time there to check off things on your personal bucket list while being fully present in the class-organized events. A lot of things in Oxford/London close relatively early (4-5 PM) so it took some compromises and planning to ensure I could see all the great things I wanted to see in these cities after the planned activities for the day.  I used online resources, my professor's advice, as well as asking locals when I had the chance.

• Trying to experience the cities as a local by meeting locals. I was able to connect with friends who studied abroad there and those I had met from other Penn Abroad programs like GRIP who then brought their local friends so that we could fully immerse ourselves in the places locals would frequent, a welcome break from the many (albeit wonderful) touristy attractions I was seeing every day.

• Spending my birthday in a whole different country. I celebrated with the people in my PGS class, who I got close with very quickly and had a busy, tour-packed day that I thoroughly enjoyed and made it a birthday like not other.

My Experience Abroad:

After taking a long series of engineering classes and prerequisites, I welcomed variety in the electives I was able to take and went out of my way to find courses that would broaden my horizons. I searched for class that were out of my comfort zone and on topics I had not ever previously explored. This PGS course under the Religion department developed my speaking, writing, and analytical skills, among many others. I was also able to meet people from different schools and departments. By building a foundation in the field of material religion, I was becoming a better rounded student and person as a whole, which I did not anticipate when I first enrolled. Coupled with the travel component, I was able to fully immerse myself in the content of the class by associating these topics and concepts to our immediate surroundings. This class introduced new knowledge and ways of thinking that can be applicable to academia and beyond.

Other Highlights:

• Visiting the Avebury Stones after reading about them in class -- It was much larger than I imagined with beautiful green nature and so many sheep and lambs, which we were able to get pretty close to!

• Experiencing High Tea -- I was able to spend some time in a small town called Ely to sample a full High Tea with finger sandwiches, scones, cakes, and tea which definitely satisfied my sweet tooth.

• Visiting some of the colleges in Oxford -- I was able to visit Christ Church College, Pembroke College, and Magdalen College where I saw the beautiful architecture and college campus spaces while feeling like an Oxford student