“The Sun never sets on the British Empire” ~Unknown
Choosing the UA in Oxford program wasn’t a hard decision because there are several centuries of history on almost every corner that’s still being used today. It fascinates that people are using most of the historic buildings every day than preserving them as museums. My dorm was originally built in the 1400s as a monastery, I’m living in a piece of history.
As an English major and avid reader, this program interested me because I love the classics and would like to see the places these authors lived and what about the area might have inspired them to write something that is considered a classic and still enjoyed today.
At one point for several years, the English had a ruling hand on almost every continent. The colonization of North America, Africa, Asia, and Australia is interesting because the influence on those areas from English intervention was so great and had a profound effect on how multiple countries on those continents today are shaped. It will be great to see the history of a country that may have had the most influence on the rest of the world first hand.
I hope to gain more understanding of cultural differences and similarities, while also gaining a more in-depth look into history to better understand what is being said here. Even though the program is only a month long, I’m excited to start gaining experience in how the rest of the world works with hopes of having more opportunities open to me.
I am super excited to be able to be apart of the UA in Oxford program and am thankful for the help from the UA Education Abroad office!