My name is Rose Monahan, and I easily become homesick.
Yet, the summer after high school I spent most of my time traveling in and out of the big cities and tiny villages in Switzerland, Italy, and France. Then after my freshman year of college, I found myself sleeping on my sister’s couch for three months in Berkeley, California (just under 3,000 miles from home). Currently, I find myself in London–interning for a member of Parliament (I know, I know… impressive).
How does a homebody like myself find herself so far from home so uncomfortably often? I have estimated that a heaping scoop of opportunity, several cups of parental encouragement, and a pinch of curiosity have been enough to send me on one adventure after another.
So here I am: sitting in a room that resembles an extraordinarily large dorm room within a beautiful white house that stands several stories high in the lovely Notting Hill section of London (just across the Hyde Park). Picking up the Arcadia University study abroad pamphlet at Penn State so many months ago, I couldn’t imagine everything would work out. I couldn’t imagine boarding the flight that would take me to London where not only would the housing be taken care of but I would also be placed in an internship specifically found to fit my interests.
But it did work out; I did board the flight; the internship was waiting.
When I left for London, I still wasn’t quite sure of all the details. When friends asked if I’d have roommates, I didn’t know. (I have two.) When family asked what my job would entail, I generally made up what I imagined it would. (“Oh, you know, filing and answering letters to the member’s constituents.”) A homebody tends not to think too heavily on time that will be spent far from the familiar; I didn’t over analyze what I expected London to be.
Now that I am in London, I know that I couldn’t have imagined this place even if I had wanted to. In the few days since I’ve arrived, I have met the other students in my house, and each have been friendly and excited to be here. I have explored the city on foot, on bus, on boat, and on underground. I have strolled through markets and eaten Ethiopian cuisine. I have completed my first days as an intern for Gordon Marsden, MP. He represents a little seaside town called Blackpool that used to attract millions of visitors every summer in the 1950s but has, unfortunately, seen its heyday as people travel to Europe more and more for “holiday” (already picking up English idioms!).
While it’s nice to be able to provide people with these little details, I still have a lot to learn and discover. After all, this is just the beginning. I still take the tube the wrong direction for at least two stops almost everyday. I’m still learning the basics on Parliament and current events in London and throughout the country. If pushed to tell my parents exactly what I do at my internship, it would be a little confusing. I do a little of everything, I suppose. As I become more adjusted to working for a member of Parliament, I hope to answer the question of what I do a little more satisfactorily.
Settling into my new life for the next seven weeks, I’m more excited than nervous to be here. How many people have these sorts of opportunities? I suppose that is why I keep traveling and continue to find myself so far from the familiar.