One thing that I have always wanted to do was study abroad, so when I went to college, I made it my mission to make it happen. I attended the meetings, looked at the programs and talked to the leaders but there were no programs that I felt like were for me. When I enrolled in Mizzou for graduate school, I began to look again, and saw the multiculturalism program. This program instantly stood out to me because of everything that it stood for. It talked about the journey we would take to experience different cultures in London and Amsterdam, and how we would use these experiences to better understand our personal identities. Right then, I knew that this program was the one for me, so I signed up and before I knew it, was on my way to Europe!

This is an image of our group on the underground tube. This is used daily by the locals of London, and while we were there, we also rode it daily. This form of public transportation is one of the oldest metro systems in the world. This was a very new experience for many of us.

This mural of Jimmy Rogers in Brixton put into perspective how much culture is celebrated and treasured. He was a man who founded the Brixton Topcats basketball team, and passed away in the 2010’s. He was a mentor, and a coach to many young kids in the area. This mural was put up to honor him and everything that he did for the town of Brixton.

The pictures above are of the group trying fish and chips in London, and Indonesian food in Amsterdam. It was great being able to sit back and talk to each other about the cultures that we were in and compare them to our cultures back home.

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Learn more about this blogger’s study abroad program: Multiculturalism and Identity in a Global Context