Taking on Iceland and Copenhagen

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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.

After returning from Rome, I had a few days of classes in London. I really took the time to get ahead on my studies as I was checking off another item off my bucket list the following weekend. I was headed to Iceland to hopefully catch the northern lights, see the nature, and really experience a cold place. It was a quick turnaround from Rome to Iceland, but it was very much worth it. I was a little nervous for Iceland as I had never been to a place that cold. Growing up in Los Angeles and never having traveled to cold places, I had experienced snow, but never snowfall. It was projected to snow and rain all while there were 30 miles per hour winds. I packed very cautiously for this adventure. As soon as we arrived, I realized I packed well and was layered up enough which was a comforting moment to my unreasonable fear of hypothermia. Over the next few days, I saw some of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. I did a tour of the golden circle which includes seeing where the tectonic plates meet, a breathtaking waterfall, and a geyser. These were all such incredible sights to see and unlike anything I had ever experienced. The next day we experienced one of the lagoons which was once again an extremely memorable experience. I never thought I would wear a bathing suit in Iceland and not freeze to death. But the water was warm and relaxing. Lastly was the northern lights tour, which wasn’t as successful as I had hoped. It turns out the northern lights are harder to catch even during the months they are meant to be most frequent. I didn’t get the chance to see them and even though it was upsetting, it did give me a reason to come back.

After leaving Iceland, I returned to London and was able to explore the city a bit more. Every week it seems like there are new things that pop up for me to discover. I spent a lot of time at the Tate Modern and in Shoreditch where I discovered the incredible works of street art, record stores, and vintage shops. It’s really crazy how London can be so different just from a few tube stops away. It’s something that I really love about this city. The following weekend I went with a group of friends to Copenhagen. Copenhagen was full of cool architecture, shopping, interesting hot dogs, and beautiful canals. It was absolutely freezing though. I would definitely like to return when it gets warmer.