I am participating in the Pitt in London program through the CAPA Global Education Network. I am living in the neighborhood of West Kensington which is located in West London. I am living in a flat with four other girls, two of them are also from the University of Pittsburgh, one is from Arizona State University, and the fourth is from the University of Minnesota. I am in a three person bedroom and there is another two person bedroom. There was an option to stay with a host family, but I chose to live in a flat with other people participating in the CAPA program. I have friends who I have met on this program that chose to do a homestay and are extremely happy with their decision. 

The flat that I live in took a little getting used to because the flats are smaller than apartments in the United States. The beds are singles and extremely close together and there is not a lot of storage space which has taken some getting used to. An interesting fact I have learned about Europe is that most of the washing machines are located in the kitchen and connected to the kitchen sink. Our washing machine doubles as a dryer which is something unexpected. My largest challenge so far has been homesickness. I am not new to being far away from home- I am from Texas and moved to go to school at Pitt. The homesickness has been different because I am across the country, but I have made friends and embraced living in a new city with a lot of things to experience.

There is no meal plan associated with the program so it has been an adjustment with juggling grocery shopping, cooking, and doing all the other things at the same time. Also, the food in Europe has fewer preservatives so food goes bad a lot faster. This has been another component to get used to because I have to go grocery shopping multiple times a week in order to have fresh food and the ingredients I need to cook meals. 

Overall, I have been pleased with my living arrangements, both in location and in the flat itself. The area I live in is located directly next to an underground station and there are amenities like coffee shops and grocery stores located extremely close to where I reside.