Cheers To The UK!

Jessica Valdez

Psychology major
University of Birmingham, England

My name is Jessica Valdez and I am a Psychology major who studied at the University of Birmingham in England this past fall semester. My absolute favorite part about my time abroad in England was the travel opportunities it provided me. In the span of three and a half months, I was able to travel to two different countries (Germany and the Czech Republic), got to visit three of the four regions of the UK (England, Scotland, and Wales), and made multiple day trips to different cities within England. For instance, I got to see the Stonehenge, took quidditch lessons at the same spot as Harry Potter, and spent a day in Liverpool, the home of the Beatles.

But perhaps my most favorite part of all my travels were the interesting and kind people that I met. On one occasion, I made friends with an elderly woman who was in a tour group with me in London. At the time I was feeling beyond homesick, but she was so kind and positive to me; despite the fact that her phone was recently stolen while she was in Barcelona. Feeling so grateful for her kindness to me, I made sure she got to her hotel safely by traveling with her on the subway and in return, she bought me dinner. Though I only knew her for a short period of time, she reminded me the importance of showing kindness to one another because we all need a little help sometimes.