Settling into London

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Cerys Ramos Davies

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Cerys Ramos Davies

<i>Home Institution</i>: Loyola Marymount University <i>Expected Graduation Year</i>: 2024 <i>Academic Major / Minor</i>: Journalism <i>Destination</i>: London, UK <i>"Hello" in your host country's language</i>: Hello <i>Program Provider</i>: FIE <i>Demographics</i>: Hispanic/Latinx <i>Future Career Goals</i>: My ultimate career goal is to be a music journalist. I grew up with music fanatics as parents. With such early experiences of live music and pop culture, I have developed a passion for all of the conversations and opinions that surround music and music culture. My end goal is to play a role in these kinds of conversations. <i>Top Three Study Abroad Goals</i>: My first goal is to dive head first into the London music scene. I was born and raised in Los Angeles and continue to attend college in the same city. I have only ever been able to fully experience shows and events in LA and I am ready to broaden my music experience by living in London, another music capital of the world; My second goal is to travel and experience as many cities and cultures as possible. I plan to spend my weekends abroad taking as many planes and trains to as many different places. This is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity and I plan to make every second of it memorable; My third goal is to reconnect with my heritage. My father was born and raised in Swansea, Wales. As a young child, we used to spend the summer in Swansea. But as my brother and I grew up and life got busier we stopped making these trips. My father unfortunately passed away from COVID-19 in 2021. I plan to spend my time abroad reconnecting with who he was, working on personal growth, and appreciating my British heritage.

Today, January 11th marks one week since the beginning of my London program with the Foundation of International Education (FIE). Arriving and adjusting to the time change wasn’t as challenging as I had anticipated. As a part of the FIE orientation, my school, LMU, mingled with other schools, attended informational meetings, toured parliament, attended a West End show, and went on a rather rainy cruise on the river Thames. After the rainy cruise, the sun peeked out to show off a beautiful, pink sunset right behind the London Eye. Something that I have quickly learned about London is how rich in culture it really is. I have stopped by a few different museums so far.

In the first week, I went to the Natural History Museum, The British Museum, and my personal favorite so far The Victoria and Albert. The next museum on my list is the Tate modern. The reason I have been able to get to and from all of these different places is because of another thing I have developed a love for, the tube. I lived in Los Angeles my whole life and the city is notorious for having the worst public transportation system. Now living in London, public transportation is my only option. But it has proved to be is so efficient and convenient. My outlook on public transportation has definitely shifted. The look of the city is something that I have embraced with open arms. There is something unique and also breathtaking about the style of the upper levels of the buildings here. When I just look at the tops, I feel like I am in Victorian, old-timey England, but when my eyes reach the bottom of the building, I realize KFC inhabits the lower level. It is such a stark contrast, but that is what I love about it.

My personal mission for studying abroad here, besides traveling to other parts of Europe, is to attend and see as much live music as possible. I made the first stride towards this goal at Piano Works in Farrington. I didn’t know what to expect, but the place had been on every article I looked at prior to choosing my destination. It was a bit of a trek to get to as I originally got on the wrong train. Once rerouting, getting stuck in the rain, and finally getting on the right path, I finally arrived. It wasn’t too packed as it was a Tuesday night, but the live band echoed all the way up to the street. There were two pianists and vocalists, a guitarist, a bassist, and someone on the drums. The whole night the band just played the crowds requests which led to an interesting setlist. Overall, I could see myself going back to Piano Works.