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By GIA Center

For International Education Week 2023, we’re sharing conversations with students who engage in global and intercultural learning in different ways. Logan Miller is a senior history major originally from Dayton, Ohio. He currently resides in the Global Learning Living Community and is an active member of the Diversity Peer Educators program. In the summer of 2023, he studied abroad in London, UK, for 5 weeks. We talked to him about his experience abroad and what he learned from it. 

Why did you choose London as your destination?

Well, first because I was familiar with the language! But more because the history is so rich, and to be able to study history in a physical space where it happened was amazing. I also had family members who had been there, and they had great experiences and highly recommended it. 

What did you enjoy most about your experience in London?

So many things! I really enjoyed the British Museum. Being a history major, it was awesome to see physical artifacts that my professors at UD had talked about, such as sculptures, gravestones, and pieces that had been looted from far corners of the empire. I also liked the famous paintings in the National Gallery. But my favorite place in London was the Imperial War Museum. I went in my free time. I do a lot of WWII research, and there was a lot in the museum that was from that era, like propaganda posters and uniforms. I actually choked up when seeing American uniforms there from WWII. My grandfather was present the day after D-day and fought in WWII, so it was an amazing experience. 

I also traveled constantly while I was in the UK. I visited my old roommate and friends from the Global Learning Living Community, Tom Frequin and Marjolein Ekelmans, in the Netherlands—a beautiful, fantastic country. I loved the natural beauty of the land and the history. I went to Amsterdam but it was too touristy. I visited Breda, which is home to the Grote Kerk or Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk (Church of Our Lady), a beautiful old church with a lot of history, connected to the ancestors of the Dutch Royal family. 

My favorite memory was that I got to meet Peter Capaldi [the Scottish actor and 12th Doctor Who] at the Alexander Palace during their 150th Anniversary Festival. We talked about music and took a picture together. He was very kind and down to earth. I also saw King Charles III exiting Buckingham Palace once!

How did you engage with the culture while you were in the UK? 

I’m kind of a foodie, so I made sure to go to lots of diverse restaurants. It was always interesting to view the diaspora communities through food, and to have conversations with the families who run the restaurants (Korean, Thai, Indian….). I was super interested in how black culture extends across the world, which I saw through my experience with my host family. My homestay was with a lovely family: Janice was born in Jamaica and moved to Birmingham, then London. She lives with her daughter and her daughter’s partner, who is Australian. We had so many interesting conversations about the diaspora and Brexit, and the impact on communities around the former British empire. 

What is a challenging moment of intercultural learning you have encountered?

I learned that UK nationals often think of Americans as loud and emotionally expressive, because they see tourists in London that way. In fact, when our entire group, all 19 of us, went to a pub, I noticed we may have been rather loud. English culture is more reserved socially, and I saw that people don’t talk to strangers in public unless there’s an urgent need. Once, when I looked lost, someone finally asked if I needed help, but people don’t just strike up conversations frequently in public. On the tube [subway], the only people who talked were people who weren’t born in England and were there as tourists. You hear so many languages on the tube in London, because it’s a place where everyone shares the space. In the U.S., we tend to be more distanced from different ethnic communities. Learning about British culture helped me to consider my own culture by experiencing those differences, and to understand others better, even here in the U.S. 

What did you learn about yourself through this experience?

I learned that I am more resilient than I thought I was. Traveling on my own (on the weekends or in my free time), doing things for myself, visiting museums, etc, I realized I can bounce back from adversity or issues, and power through. I found that when I travel, I am more adventurous, more willing to explore. I did get lost in East London once, but figured out how to find my way home. Public transportation is definitely a help!

Where is a place you have always wanted to explore, and why?

I’m hoping to participate in a study abroad program this summer with the GIA Center in Japan. As a Buddhist, I have always been drawn to Japanese culture and tradition. My graduate school research will focus on the Early Showa period, from the 1920s to WWII. I have family who fought in WWII, and find the time period interesting. I’m especially fascinated by how authoritarian groups come to power and the social and cultural forces that allow that to happen.

What would you say to a student about to embark on a study abroad experience?

I’d say, first, pay attention during the sessions that the GIA Center gives before you travel. Consider how to adapt to the culture and really connect with it when you’re in the country. What’s the point of traveling if you’re not going to really experience all that there is to experience? Tourists often just see a country from an outside perspective, but the real experience is to live inside of it as much as you can. Ask questions. Be curious, talk to people. Obviously approach people with respect, but take advantage of the opportunity to learn about the real culture of the place you’re in. You’ll be smarter and more emotionally intelligent as a result of it!