Fordham Abroad - London Centre

For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to study abroad in London during my college career. So when my first semester of junior year was finishing up and I still hadn’t done this, I had a minor freak out; how can I study abroad before I graduate?

“Have no fear,” Fordham’s International & Study Abroad Programs (lovingly known as ISAP) website seemed to tell me last November as I scrambled to find out what I could do. And then I discovered I could study in London before my senior year at Fordham for four weeks in the summer. Perfect!

Big Ben in typical London weather

And it truly was perfect. I was required to take one liberal arts course, and I chose Writing for Magazines. For a few days a week, my class met at Heythrop College, where Fordham London Centre is located. We got to do so many incredible things for the class, including seeing a play called “McQueen” and interviewing the show’s stars afterwards. We also got to meet up with Fordham alumni who are now living and working in London, and they gave us tours of their neighborhoods. We got to see a whole new side of London that most tourists don’t get to see.

Of course, I also partook in the traditional touristy London and English activities; I rode the London Eye, visited Windsor Castle, stopped at Stonehenge, saw a couple West End shows, and ate lots of delicious pub fare. It was everything I wanted out of my study abroad experience and more.

Stonehenge rocks!

Additionally, spending four weeks abroad turned out to be the perfect amount of time for me. A semester would have had me missing my family, friends, and Fordham, so four weeks gave me just the right amount of time away to get me acquainted with London without feeling so homesick.

Notting Hill's adorable houses

Even if you can't spare a semester to study abroad, Fordham's ISAP allow you to spend a short time in a foreign city that could fulfill all your study abroad dreams!

Studying Abroad With Fordham London (Is The Best)

Kensington Palace- A 5-minute walk from Fordham's campus!

The best experience I have had at Fordham University was my semester abroad in London through Fordham’s London Centre. For four full months, I spent my weekends traveling around Europe and my days exploring the ins and outs of London- and of course, going to class. As a marketing student, Fordham offered all the business classes and marketing electives that I need, which allowed me to continue my studies and while expanding my horizons, growing as a person, and mastering all forms of European public transportation. I also made so many new Fordham classmates through the program, many of which I am still very close with now that we are all back in the Bronx.

Gabelli School Trip to Rome

While I technically speaking had a “semester abroad in London”, I prefer to think of my experience as a semester abroad in Europe with London as my home base. London is where lived, studied and explored Monday through Thursday and anywhere else in Europe is where you could find me on the weekends. During that time I travelled to 10 different countries including France, Switzerland, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Italy, and the Czech Republic. I ate traditional Czech goulash, clinked beer steins at the largest German festival in Munich, and climbed the rural mountains of Scotland. I ate potatoes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in Ireland and dined in the mountains of Gruyere, Switzerland with, of course, gruyere cheese fondue. I learned how to navigate almost any public form of transportation and have mastering the art of being comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Our Flat

And while traveling on the weekends was always exciting, returning to London, to Fordham’s campus was always something to look forward to. My flat (British for apartments) was my home and my classmates were both my best friends and family. Classes were hands-on and field trips exploring the city and its treasures were common. Our professors were both encouraging and understanding about traveling, but still expected us to work hard and really learn in our classes.

London Centre Fall 2014 Farewell Tea Party

I cannot stress how great my experience in London was and I encourage every Fordham student to study abroad in order to discover it for themself.

Check out the the Fordham London's Facebook page and website for more information. Happy travels! 

Fordham Study Abroad: London Dramatic Academy

I spent last semester at London Dramatic Academy (LDA), one of Fordham's study abroad programs. I love acting, but I didn't want to get my undergraduate degree in theatre. Still, I wanted to get some kind of training before college was over. LDA was the perfect compromise. I got to spend three months focusing solely on acting—a rare opportunity for any college student who isn't a theatre major. Even better, my LDA class was quite diverse for a Fordham program. Two of us were from Fordham Rose Hill, four were from Fordham Lincoln Center, and the remaining ten were from a variety of schools including Cornell University, Loyola University Chicago, and the University of Pennsylvania. My roommate Julia and I, both of us from Rose Hill, were the only non-theatre majors.

LDA is a conservatory acting program, with a full week of classes that last, on average, from 9 AM to 5 PM (though ending a bit earlier on certain days of the week). It sounds like a lot, but the weeks actually flew by because 1.) I enjoyed virtually everything I was learning, and 2.) There are a several different modules within each course, so no one class became tedious. For instance, one of the four courses you register for at LDA is "Physical Training for Actors," but under that course we had four classes a week: Period Dance, Stage Combat, Movement, and Physical Theatre. (Check out my Instagram below to watch an excerpt of me and my classmate Tim rehearsing our final presentation for Stage Combat!) We also had interesting master classes with London-based theatre professionals, as well as a "Casting for Camera" workshop with Polly Hootkins Casting.

My classmates rehearsing the famous lovers' quarrel from Midsummer Nights Dream.

Aliyah and Tim performing as Hermia and Lysander in Midsummer Night's Dream rehearsal.

A video posted by Vanessa Anne (@vanessa_avocado) on Dec 18, 2014 at 6:40pm PST

Most of our teachers were trained at England's finest drama schools, and some even teach at those schools now in addition to working at LDA. For example, my acting teacher Kathryn Pogson (who also happens to be director of LDA) spent her years at Drama Centre alongside classmate Pierce Brosnan. My voice teacher currently teaches at the highly prestigious Guildhall School of Music & Drama. Several of my teachers have acted on the British theatre scene with the likes of Alan Rickman, Ralph Fiennes, and Mark Rylance. My one-on-one audition coach was a prominent drama teacher at Eton College for fifteen years, where he taught both Eddie Redmayne and Tom Hiddleston. (He actually still keeps in touch with Eddie.) Needless to say, we were in very good hands at LDA.

Me and two of my roommates, Julia and Jasia, take a final photo with our LDA director and Acting teacher, Kathryn Pogson. Excuse our teary looks--this was taken at the LDA Farewell Party!

We had several walking tours of London built into our class schedule, as well as two day trips to Oxford and Stratford-upon-Avon. LDA also booked about fifteen shows for us to watch as part of our Dramatic Criticism module. No exaggeration, I saw some of the best theatre of my life during my short time in London. The theatre culture there is wildly different from the culture in New York, and I firmly believe that training in the British tradition has its own merits that can't necessarily be reproduced in American acting schools.

Tim, Julia, Maryn, and Courtney amid the beautiful architecture of Oxford!

Between a full class schedule, day trips, and over a dozen shows to watch, it sounds like we never had time to travel, but in fact, I visited four different countries while I was abroad. Some of my classmates saw even more. LDA has one week-long fall break, and it ended a week earlier than the other Fordham programs. Ending early was nice because we were able to travel afterwards without having to worry about homework or getting back in time for my next class.

LDA gave me confidence, posture, and practical tools for approaching my craft. No matter what artistic projects I may undertake in the future--whether on stage, on screen, or simply an audition--I feel like I have an actual method to return to whenever I'm not quite sure how to begin. And LDA isn't just for actors; past LDA students include future lawyers and people who simply wanted to get out of their comfort zone.

Even if I don't continue acting after college, I am thankful for my time in LDA because it has immeasurably improved my critical thinking skills, the way I carry myself, my ability to follow direction and take criticism, and the way I communicate with others. All of these skills will serve me well in whatever career I pursue.

To learn more about LDA and how to apply, click here!

Our Acting class in a cast photo for our final presentation of the play Mixed Doubles.

When in London!

One piece of advice you learn shortly after arriving in London is that it's called "football", not "soccer", and it is a "match" not a "game".  This Saturday a few of us in the London Liberal Arts program took the tube to go see a football match. It was so exciting to see a sporting event in London. We travelled to the White City stop on the Central line and made our way with other fans to Loftus Road Stadium, home of the Queens Park Rangers. We saw a really good match between the Queen's Park Rangers (referred to here as QPR) and Leeds United. We were only a few rows up form the field, so we were really close to all the action on the field! The match ended in a draw, 1-1, but we were able to see two goals, which are always exciting to see. 

After the match, I had to go shopping so I stopped on Oxford Street on my way back to our flat. I love walking through all the shops (Oxford Street is one of the main shopping streets of London, and has Top Shop, Forever 21, H&M, and a bunch of other shops to explore, too!). One of my favorite stores is Selfridge's, a huge department store. It reminds me of home and the Macy's in Herald Square (that's how enormous it is). When I had completed my shopping I walked home up Oxford Street and past the British Museum, getting back to our flat just in time for dinner. 

Even better, is that my day of football and shopping had academic elements added to it. Fordham's London Liberal Arts Program involves a Research Module, in which each student in the program picks a topic about London they want to investigate over the course of the semester. I chose to study the football culture of London, and how the sports system here differs from the one in the US. So there will definitely be more football matches for me in the coming months! 

Rams across the pond!

 Today officially marks my one-month anniversary in London! I can’t believe that I’ve already been studying and living on a different continent for four weeks. Time flies when you are having fun!

The city of London is like New York; a huge public transportation system, endless museums to visit, and any type of food you can find (yes, there is even a Shake Shack and a Chipotle here in London Town).  One thing I love about London is all of the history this city has to offer, especially surrounding the Blitz of World War II.

Of all the sites I have seen, one of my favorite places in London has been the Churchill War Rooms, located up the street from Big Ben. This museum has documents and artifacts on display about the life of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, but it also a wartime bunker that served as Churchill and his government’s headquarters during the Blitz. The museum is all underground, and the rooms, including a map room, living quarters, and meeting rooms have been virtually untouched since the war ended.

After leaving the museum, I was greeted with a clear sky (it had been raining all day!) great view of Big Ben. Only in London town!

I can’t wait to keep exploring what this city has to offer the next few months!!