In my preparations for coming abroad, I made list upon list of clothing items, toiletries, technology, and other things I might need while in Rome. I stressed over everything I would need and wouldn’t need, trying to minimize what I was bringing while still packing enough. While I’m grateful I spent so much time focused on prepping my packing, there are a few things I wish I would’ve researched prior to leaving.

One of the things that worried me the most about coming abroad was friendships. After being asked about location and time span, the next thing people would ask me about studying abroad was “Are you going with anyone you know?” or “Who else is going from your school?”. In contrast to many people, I came here completely 100% alone. Coming from a small, rural school that doesn’t centralize around its study abroad program meant that few people studied abroad alongside me and nobody else from my school studied abroad in London with me.

Studying abroad in a new place with an unfamiliar language is challenging in and of itself. Adding to that inherent challenge is my life-threatening peanut allergy. In the United States, it is common to see food labeled as “peanut free” or “free from the top 8 major allergens”. However, based on my experiences in Europe, there seems to be less awareness of serious allergies. It has been a struggle to find restaurants that are peanut free which makes eating out somewhat stressful.