Many of us have heard or even have had the pleasure to study abroad while attending the University, but for sophomore Charlotte Carne, the University is her new home away from home this semester.
Carne is a theater and acting major at Regents College located in London, England. There are many differences in the program there than there are here, according to Carne. One being that study abroad is not mandatory for students here, but it is at Regents. There is also special emphasis placed on how to apply for study abroad programs and the options for one’s desired major.
There are a number of choices given and each must be listed in order of preference. “For the course I am currently studying at Regents College a study abroad semester is mandatory,” said Carne. “If we don’t go then we fail the course. Therefore, the study abroad office goes through how we should prepare for our study abroad period very thoroughly before we go. The acting and global theatre class has six schools in different locations to choose from.”
She explains that her options included three universities located in the United States as well as universities in Chile, Prague or Australia. She was given a breakdown of the departments connected to her field of study. From there she applied in order of her top choice to last. “The choice to come to Monmouth was pretty easy for me,” said Carne. “The course content for the theatre department was, in my opinion, far superior to the other choices, and I believe I made the right decision. Had I gone to Prague, I would have just been there for the culture, but here I have not only a brand new culture to explore but a solid academic base to explore within.”
Likewise, the post-secondary education system at universities in England are somewhat different from those here in the U.S. “Post-secondary education in England is very different both academically and leisurely,” said Carne. “Academically, the courses work differently. At an English university you would pick a course to study, which I suppose would equate to a major, however, say you chose, like I did, an acting and global theatre course; you would only have classes on your course topic, there are no general education classes and you don’t pick minors. You can choose to take two courses merged which would be like double majoring but that’s as similar as it gets.”
She also added, “The university experience is still very different to me because as an acting student I am in classes nine to five, five days a week whereas any other course, such as business, your class schedule would be very split up like it is here, doing only so many hours a week. It is also abnormal for someone to go to their local university. Usually in England if you go to university you leave home; it’s a right of passage.”
Social activity and leisure in England is a completely different world as well. This comes down to England’s lower drinking age for leisure. Here one would go to the cinema, go shopping or sit and watch a film in the evening. In London one normally has to travel from where you live to your university. “For leisure we’d go to the pub for a pub quiz or we have a chain of pubs called Weatherspoons that has great offers on food,” said Carne. “We’d go out for a cheap meal and a pint before heading home, because, of course, in London nobody drives. We rarely go to the cinema. As a student in England you only go to the cinema when there’s an offer on. The ability to stop at the pub on your way back to the tube (subway) station for a social chat completely changes the dynamics of leisure in England.”
As with many other study abroad students, the experience of living with different people and learning about the world proves to be one of the most important lessons Carne notes that her learning has never ended and in fact expanded.
“Everything I’m learning while I’m here is valuable and I am nowhere near done learning yet,” said Carne. “I believe the small things I’m learning that will really add up are the differences in culture, the way we speak and the acceptable behaviors which are completely different from those in England.”
The University’s number of athletes is of high interest to her. She said, “Athletes play such a huge part at this school whereas back home I wouldn’t be able to point out a single person on any type of sports team. The experiences I’m gaining while being here are all valuable and worth exploring. However, if there is one very valuable thing I’d really, really like to learn it would be how to use the coins here. I’ve been taught a thousand times and I just can’t seem to get it!”
Living with a roommate is another experience that she is enjoying and will be valuable even though she has shared a dorm briefly with her sister in the past. With nothing but pop culture to build her expectations on, Carne was a little anxious about not getting along with her roommate. While she and her roommate do not go out or socialize together, she found that they work very well living together.
Carne discovered, however, that the dorm arrangements are not optimal for getting work done. She added that having friends just across the hall can make for a difficult study period.
In Carne’s term here, she is involved in numerous activities, despite the fact that her course load encourages minimum involvement.
“I had a great interest to really get involved in the extracurricular organizations available at the school when I got here, so I kept my ear to the ground for groups I really wanted to be a part of,” said Carne. “I’m now a member of Boom Roasted, the student theatre group. Carne has a very busy semester planned with a performance in the play “Almost Maine” on April 12 and 13. “Another organization that caught my interest more than enough to join is the MU Glee club.”
Carne has been making the most of her time here as a MU Hawk, where she will take many valuable lessons home with her, as well as many new friends.
IMAGE TAKEN from en.wikipedia.org
