Lisa Kailai Han

London, UK

What made you decide to study abroad during your time at Carnegie Mellon University?

I’ve always wanted to study abroad, but my decision to go was really enhanced by my involvement with CMU’s International Student Union (ISU), which is an organization aimed at promoting multiculturalism. ISU hosts a program called Buddy Exchange where we engage with incoming exchange students by throwing events and giving each exchange student a CMU student “buddy”. Interacting with all the exchange students and learning more about the world from them made me want to go abroad to experience it all for myself!

How did you choose London as your study abroad location?

I chose London because before study abroad, I’d never been to Europe, and I thought that London would be an amazing city to be based in while I was abroad because it’s a major hub and English is its official language. Because it’s so major, there’s always tons of things happening and things to do. London is also a very culturally and historically rich city, and it's even more relevant currently because of British politics. I also really liked that London is very connected in that it's really easy and cheap to travel around Europe from London. It was super important to me to be able to make the most of my time in Europe by travelling around while studying abroad.

What were a few of your favorite experiences and/or places abroad?

In the UK, almost every student organization that exists throws a formal ball at some point, and I really enjoyed going to these! I also really liked participating in local traditions—for example, my flatmates and I made it a habit to go to Nando’s at least twice every month. The food in general was really different, so I really liked going to the grocery store and picking out a new candy or sweet to try each time.

What were some challenges you encountered while abroad and how did you deal with them?

One of my biggest challenges was trying to find a good balance between doing schoolwork and also enjoying study abroad. I really think that while abroad you should take a lot more time than usual to focus on recreational activities or traveling, and it was super important to me that I found a good mix between this and academics. Another challenge is that traveling and exploring can obviously become really expensive, but being in a big city like London actually helped me save money because in such a big city, you can find really cheap food and grocery options. Also, it’s super easy to find really low-cost travel and hostel options in Europe if you plan accordingly.

What was the most surprising or exciting thing you encountered while studying abroad?

I would definitely say the friendships that I formed abroad were the most surprising and exciting things I encountered. It still surprises me how special these friendships are and how close we got after only five months. I didn’t really expect friendships formed abroad to be any different, but they seem really special in a certain way just because of the sheer number of experiences you share together. One of my favorite memories is when 10 of us in our group went on one of our trips together to Bath, England. It sounds chaotic with so many people, but it was so much fun, including doing all the touristy things together, exploring different pubs, and staying in one room together in the hostel. You really just spend so much time with your friends when you’re studying abroad.

If you could study abroad again, where would you go?

I would definitely either go somewhere where the official language was something other than English, or somewhere that’s also a major hub with easy access to travel in the area! I almost studied abroad in Milan instead of London, so I might consider there, or maybe somewhere in more Central Europe that has a different culture like Prague. I’d also consider places like Sydney or Singapore, which are also major cities where I could easily travel around and explore a new region or continent.

What are three pieces of advice that you would give to another student about to study abroad for the first time?

First of all, I’d definitely say to go out of your element, and find friends who will join you in getting out of your comfort zone! When I was abroad, I joined the figure skating club and the salsa dancing club, both of which I never did at CMU. I’d also say to take advantage of any free time you have to really explore and get to know the city and school that you’re studying abroad in. If your university or organizations throw any events, definitely go to better integrate into the system there. Finally, I’d say that making friends with locals definitely has its advantages. When you’re studying abroad, you have a tendency to stick together with other exchange students, but locals are so well-connected and can give you the best advice and recommendations, and it’s the best way to really immerse yourself into the culture.