Kaitlin Lokowich: Birmingham, England

Kaitlin Lokowich 
Birmingham, England

What's your major? 
My majors are Communication and Writing Studies 

Where are you studying abroad? 
Birmingham, England 

How long will you be abroad? 
I will be here for 9 months. 

How did you choose the program you went on? 
I saw flyers in the halls for the program with meeting times, and I never actually went to the meetings. I just assumed that it wasn’t in the cards for me. But one day I had a friend convince me to just fill out an application and here I am typing this from England. 

What type of courses are you taking? 
I am taking mostly general classes, Astronomy, Drawing 1, a literature class, the program is very diverse in terms of classes. 

What your favorite memory from your study abroad experience? 
I don’t think that I can chose. I have only been here for two months and have already had so many great memories. I guess I’ll have to wait and see at the end of my year here. 

What would you say to someone considering studying abroad? 
DO IT. It is incredible, you’ll never regret studying abroad. It seems daunting and scary, but the people you meet and the things you see will stay with you forever. 

Outside of class what do you enjoy most? 
I’d have to say exploring the city of Birmingham itself. It’s a big place. 

What is your favorite local landmark? 
The Bullring, it’s a giant outdoor shopping area with coffee shops, stores, and a market. 

What are your living accommodations? 
I live in University of Birmingham flats (apartments) with four other girls. We all have our own rooms and share a common kitchen/living room. 

What were questions you were commonly asked by local residents? 
I don’t really get asked a lot of questions, other than random people asking where I’m from, they can tell. Although I have been mistaken for Canadian. The only thing that happens a lot is people repeating what you say because it sounds so different to them. And vice versa, there is always something to be said about the difference in accents. Most Brits I’ve met think that the American accent is really interesting, and cute, for some reason. We speak the same language but there are so many differences in slang, and pronunciation.  It takes awhile to really get used to it, but I hardly notice the accent anymore.