When Peace is Insulting

Recently I've been trying to watch a variety of British television shows, so that I will recognize some of the programming when I'm abroad.  I began watching the British comedy-drama Shameless, which has also been remade in the US and airs on Showtime.  The show focuses on the Gallagher family, where the patriarch Frank is perpetually drunk and unemployed.  His oldest daughter Fiona then must shoulder the responsibility of raising her five younger siblings: Lip, Ian, Carl, Debbie, and Liam.

Throughout the show, I saw some of the characters give the "peace sign" gesture to another character, but could infer it was not meant in a friendly greeting sort of way.  Upon further research (ok, I looked it up on Wikipedia), I learned that in the UK and Australia giving the V sign with the palm facing towards you is an insult, almost equivalent to that of giving someone the finger.  The gesture is also known as ""The Longbowman Salute," "the two," or "The Tongs."  To read more about the origins of the gesture as an insult, visit Wikipedia: V sign.  So moral of the story is I must be careful in the non-verbal greetings I give to the locals while in London!

Enrolled!

I enrolled today in the summer course that I will be taking while studying abroad. The course, HM491, is through Michigan State University College of Human Medicine (CHM). It is the only CHM course offered for undergraduate students, kind of exciting if you think of it. The name of the course is Special Topics in Bioethics and Medical Humanities, with a focus on the comparative Health Policy and Medical Ethics in the United Kingdom and the United States. Our program leader, Dr. Fleck, has arranged a pre-trip meeting to discuss logistics as well as distribute the course syllabus and give an introduction to the material.

Purchased!

I bought my plane tickets yesterday!!! I ended up booking my flight through STA Travel and the travel agent was so helpful. She made it very easy to understand the details of the ticket as well as hooked me up with some great travel insurance.

My ticket is a student exclusive ticket, which got me a discount of almost $200! I was even able to request a window seat so I can take some nice aerial photos en route to London. I just hope I don't regret picking a window seat since the flight will be long! I depart Detroit on June 30th in the evening and arrive bright and early on July 1st in London! That will give me plenty of time to take the tube from the airport to Regents College. Even though the study abroad program ends the first weekend of August, I'm staying an extra week with family in North Wales, and will return to the States on August 11th. I was able to pay for my ticket on a payment plan and must have it paid in full one week prior to depature. As I continue to plan out my trip, I have to look into modes of travel around the UK, so I can determine how I'm going to get from London to North Wales and back.

Pricing it out ...

So today I thought I'd stop in at STA Travel to get an idea on how much flights would cost and what kinds of fees came along with them. If you haven't heard of this company and are a student who plans to travel abroad, you should definitely check out their website: statravel.com. They offer help booking flights and hotels, creating vacation packages, or connecting you with some really cool tours all over the world. Another highlight is the reduced rates that they can get for you if you are a student.

When I went in to price out some flights, the tickets that were available are exclusively for students. I hope to book soon, since one of the flights was a direct flight from Detroit to London round trip. I'm not opposed to having a layover flight, but I am extremely nervous about navigating an airport on my own, not to mention having to worry about going through customs or switching my luggage to a new flight. I also want to get a good deal before prices skyrocket in anticipation of the upcoming summer Olympics. First, I need to find out the exact dates that I can move into the flats afforded for us and how long I need to be in London. Off to send an email!

Confirmed!

A week ago today I confirmed my acceptance to the London 2012 Study Abroad: Medical Ethics and Health Policy. I am so excited to go there this summer, but it still doesn't feel like a reality. I still have to book my flights and that stresses me out the MOST! But hopefully over Christmas break I will get working on that. I just have to remember to put some funds aside.