By Alexandra Salerno
Advisory Editor
I’m embarrassed to admit I can’t imagine a time when students studied abroad with only paper maps, travel books and snail mail for company.
During my five-minute walk from my house to the bus stop, I check my iPhone’s London CityMapper app for live bus updates. The gloriously British red double decker I take to school each day is due at my stop in eight minutes.
Next, I check my Oyster Card balance on my Transport For London app, and it tells me I have enough money for the rest of the week’s bus rides. Oyster Cards are designed to make public transportation cheaper for Londoners. It simultaneously gives me the thrill of feeling like a local each time I use it for travel.
Once I board my bus, my iPhone buzzes to alert me to a new Snapchat message. I open the video to watch a friend from home (a Bonnie who will remain nameless) belt out a rousing chorus of Jennifer Hudson’s “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going.” I don’t question why he is singing Dreamgirls to me at 4 a.m. EST because I love receiving snippets from home. Speaking of home, I have a Skype date with my sister later tonight.
Oh, the perks of studying abroad in 2013.
Back home, there are only two distinctly Bonaventure bus routes for students – the early evening bus to Olean’s Wal-Mart plaza shopping mecca or the late-night bus loop for Allegany’s party scene. As a Kingston University student, I live just a 20-minute train ride from central London and the shops, pubs and sights that go with it. Bus stops are everywhere, as public transportation is not just a way of life for Londoners, but for the entire country as well.
Luckily, there are no confusing paper maps or schedules to read if I want to head to the British seaside or take a day trip to Wales. Instead, every plane, train and automobile is ready for me at the touch of a button. Online journey planners can map out my bus and train routes online and even recalculate if I miss a connection. I follow my most-traveled London Underground lines on Twitter to find out when they are delayed.
Technological advancements are useful for spontaneous outings and London trips, but it’s the ability to stay connected with friends and family from home that keeps me sane. I’m able to video message, Skype, SnapChat, iMessage and WatsApp my friends and family back in Pennsylvania and Bonaventure. These apps and programs allow me to not only have the closest thing to real-life conversations with my loved ones, but also involve them in what is rapidly become my new normal life. There’s no such thing as half a year without inside jokes and funny stories, because we’re able to talk pretty much whenever and wherever we want.
Being plugged in virtually 24/7 seems like it could possibly ruin the adventure of a study abroad experience, but I’m living proof that is certainly not the case. As my days here fly by faster than a London cabbie driving down Oxford Street, I’m hoping to soak up every possible minute of my time here.
For one semester, I’ve traded in crisp evenings on the Allegheny River Trail for sunset walks along the Thames, and I’m lucky enough to have the rest of London at my fingertips.
