Royal Holloway

“The most important thing is to enjoy your life—to be happy—it's all that matters.” ― Audrey Hepburn

When I arrived at Royal Holloway in September 2012, I was terribly homesick. Clearly, a month and a half spent at home in Bangladesh was not enough. It felt like I was obliged to leave the comfort of home too soon, and this time I wasn’t even heading to my second home in South Hadley, MA, but to a completely new country and culture. Don’t get me wrong though – I was tremendously excited at the prospect of embarking on Study Abroad, Take 2. I didn’t have second thoughts, I had no misgivings. I just wasn’t as ready yet.

However, my first week at Royal Holloway was so incredibly busy that I soon abandoned my miseries. I came to realize that the British take their “Freshers’ Week” extremely seriously – and by that I don’t mean that they go out of their way to settle in and make themselves at home at their new university. I simply mean that the British believe in party-ing their homesickness/apprehension away. There were events going on all day, every day – informal socials, karaoke nights, live music, dance parties – you name it. As days flew by and lectures commenced, I began to settle in, met some wonderful people and slowly became acclimatized to the fresh environment, dismal British weather as well as the vibrant social environment here – there’s definitely much more to do when you’re living around the city and attending a large co-ed university. My time here has been nothing similar my two years so far at Mount Holyoke – a small, all-women’s liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Let’s just say that although I have had an incredible experience at Royal Holloway, there’s no place like Mount Holyoke, or as we fondly call it – MoHome.  I couldn’t be happier that I took advantage of this cultural experience – this semester has been an incredible, transformative journey for me.

It’s taken a while for me to adjust here, not in terms of settling in but in terms of ‘speaking British’ - such as adapting to saying ‘lift’ instead of ‘elevator’, ‘sofa’ instead of ‘couch’, or ‘lecturer’ instead of ‘professor’. Fish and chips have become my staple diet. The academic workload has not been nearly as demanding as the things we do at Mount Holyoke, which I’m thankful for as it has given me more time to enjoy and immerse myself in this brand new world. I’ve enjoyed myself studying British politics and European foreign policy, minus the intense pressure that leads to sleepless nights and frenzied weekends. Fewer nights have been spent toiling on essays in the library and more out with friends in English pubs or London streets or just in one of the numerous spots to chill around the Royal Holloway campus. Several trips have been made far and wide across the United Kingdom. This has been a good semester. A great one. No regrets!

Founders Building, Royal Holloway - the building I lived in this semester

A typical night at Crosslands Bar, Royal Holloway