London Calling: my Erasmus experience in London

"London Calling" was my first Erasmus experience, after that I went to Warsaw and Barcelona.

I had just graduated from my undergraduate degree in commercial economy and I was already thinking about improving my CV.

So, I decided to do an internship abroad. Where else is better than London for improving a CV>

So, while, I was working on my dissertation and I was studying for my final exams, I also had to look for an internship.

After my Master's graduation, I had no problems finding a job, I even had to reject a few offers, but it wasn't easy finding an internship as an undergraduate graduate.

The problem is that I had no work experience except from student collaborations.

Luckily, I had a good English level which was improved thanks to a student collaboration who saw me participating in the USAC programme as a buddy.

Essentially, my job was to hang around the city with some kind American students :D

To be honest, sometimes I would end up flirting accidentally with some American girl! :D But let's go back to us!

Finally, to find this blessed internship, I relied on an agency which collaborated with my university. Therefore, I didn’t have to pay for the commission, but my university did so :D

So, my dream was to do an internship in the marketing field in an English school at Edgware Academy.

I knew this internship would change my life.

This is because before going to London, I wanted to do my Master's in Finance, but then I decided to get some experience in marketing, so I changed my study path.

So, once I graduated, I went to London for my internship, but I didn't have an accommodation yet. My idea was to look for one during my first few days.

Trip to London

I felt lost when I arrived in London or even better confused! I was in between a crowd who walked frantically in every direction. That is one of London's features, something that I will never forget: chaos!

When I arrived in my hostel where I spent the first few days of my adventure, I sorted out my things and I went out to explore the place. I had no Internet, and just a little map, so I got lost straight away. But I found my way very quickly and I started getting oriented.

After having eaten, I started looking for the school where I would do my internship. After walking for a bit, I found out that surprisingly, the school was in central London, in one of the most beautiful areas of London: Covent Garden!

I still had a few days left before starting my internship, so it was time to focus on finding an accommodation.

After having found some advertisements on a few websites and after booking a few appointments and ending up in many London areas, I finally found a room in south London.

The bedroom wasn't cheap at all, I had to pay almost £600 per month... but this is the living cost in London.

The next day, I was ready to begin my first work experience.

I dressed up smartly and sat in the school’s waiting room.

After having introduced myself to the Operations Manager, who was a chubby and half bald Turkish man called Baris, I was ready to begin.

After a bit, I met Emanuele, another Italian guy, who had been working in the school from a couple of months and he started explaining to me how things were organised.

Although it was just an internship, the work environment was quite tough. Indeed, the senior staff were quite strict for the job and for the time and I always ended up staying at work overtime.

Nevertheless, I must say that in these four months I matured both personally and professionally.

Initially, I didn't have many friends, so there were a few times where I ended up going out alone.

It wasn't the best idea for me as a friendly person because I love being in good company, but I still appreciated it.

In fact, I enjoyed being alone and hanging around with the new people I met.

It didn't take me long to make new friends since I was working in a school with students around my age who came to London to look for an adventure and to improve their language skills.

Thanks to my job, it was easier for me to meet new people and make new friends from everywhere in the world: they were from Spain, France, Columbia and of course there were many Italians :D

Although my first two weeks in London were not the best and very often, I would say that I wanted to go back to Italy, the remaining four months flew.

This is certainly because I was having a nice time.

Apart from the weather which was usually horrible and the exorbitant prices in any shop or restaurant except from H&M and McDonald's, living in London is not bad at all.

It was a pleasure strolling in the streets of the city through Leicester Square, Big Ben and many parks in the city.

The city was very clean and the people were surprisingly very kind, friendly and always available to help.

In fact, I remember my first days when I had no Internet and as usual, I would often end up getting lost after asking for information, whoever I would stop was keen to help me they would even Google the direction I was looking for on Google Maps.

This disproved my belief of thinking that English people would blank foreigners.

It was a nice surprise for me to find out that this was not true. Another pleasant and nice surprise was that often while strolling in London streets, people would confuse me for Fabregas, the Chelsea footballer.

This is because, at that time, there were many posters of the footballer in London underground and he looks a little bit like me as you can see in the picture, so probably this tricked many people :D

Going back to my work as I have previously talked about, it was quite tough. Especially because the managers were quite presumptuous, and they wanted things to be done properly and I wasn't allowed to go on Facebook :D.

I got used to the job very quickly and my colleague liked me so much that at the end of my internship, I received gifts from the school and the Operation Manager admitted that I was the best intern that he had. So, I would say that my work experience wasn't too bad at the end. :D

Once again, as I have previously mentioned, even though this experience had nothing to do with written tasks, I worked for a bit in marketing, digital marketing and customer service and I learned that this was the right job for me and that was what I wanted to do as a profession.

So, my aim at that time was to go back to London once I graduated. In London, you don't only get fascinated by the beauty of the city while going for a walk, but it is also a place full of opportunities.

Opportunities that might be hidden and waiting for you. My plans have now changed slightly because after graduating, I moved to Warsaw, but London and Barcelona are still on my wish list and I often look for vacancies in London.

In terms of food, there are nice restaurants, but they're very expensive.

Living costs are high and so is the price for nice food.

There are probably cheaper restaurants, but during my four months in London, I couldn’t find many of them, except from a little pizza shop near Covent Garden, La pizzeria, which was run by a Mexican guy and there was an Italian guy from my ends working there.

That pizza shop saved my life because I thought that I wouldn't eat a decent pizza for four months.

On the contrary, the pizza was surprisingly nice, cheap and close to my work, so it was one of my main meals during lunch time. Imagine, there were times that I would go there three or four times per week. But at the end, I am Italian, so you can't really stop me :D

Things to see in London

A trip to London would not be completed without seeing the main attractions exposed to tourists.

There are touristic attractions from the modern Coca Cola London Eye to the historical Tower of London, which must be seen in any trip organised in this beautiful and controversial city.

Even better, there are many places that can be visited for free in London and you can get discounts and special offers in other places, thanks to the London Pass. There are also many places for kids to visit in London.

Firstly, there is London aquarium and the Science Museum, the interactive hub of science and technology in London. Both places are perfect for a family fun day in London.

You could also taste the culture in the museums of London, visit the Queen at Buckingham Palace or take a nice picture with the Big Ben and the Parliament on your shoulders: these are only some iconic places to visit in London.

1. Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, all about the realisation of Harry Potter's famous saga

You can have a magical day in this place with a perfect tour behind the scenery flat of the films Harry Potter in the Warner Bros Studio Tour of London. Look at the costumes and scenes used in all Harry Potter's films and enter in some positions and places of the film, so in the Big Hall, the Silencing Charm and Hagrid's Hut.

2. Coca-Cola London Eye

The magical Coca-Cola wheel, known as “London Eye”, is the main feature of London's skyline.

You can see the best London views from its 32 capsules, each weighing 10 tonnes and with a capacity of maximum 25 people. Get on board for a breath-taking experience, with an unforgettable perspective of over 55 most famous landmarks, all in just 30 minutes!

3. Buckingham Palace

The official residence of London's Queen has almost 800 rooms. It's one of the few Royal palaces which still exist today.

Buckingham Palace rooms are richly decorated, and they are open to visitors in the summer, when the Queen is on holidays.

The property can still be visited from outside the whole year to see the famous "Changing Guard", an attraction well known everywhere, which takes place every hour. In the morning, it can be seen for longer.

4. Bus Tour

You can visit the city by taking one of the traditional London double decker buses: in fact, you can buy a daily travelcard and enjoy your freedom of going on and off the touristic buses and you can easily visit the most famous places in London, such as the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral and Trafalgar Square, like the proper "English people".

5. Madame Tussauds London

In Madame Tussauds, you can meet face to face some of the most famous actors in the world. From Shakespeare to Lady Gaga you will meet figures influencing performances, sport, politics and even belonging to the world of regality.

You can pose with Usain Bolt, approach One Direction or receive in public together with Her Majesty the Queen: The Wax Museum will be an unforgettable experience.

6. Tower of London

Walk around with one of the Yeoman Warders around the Tower of London, one of the most famous buildings in the world. Discover its story that is ongoing from 900 years as a Royal palace, jail and execution place, arsenal, house with the best prices for jewelleries and zoo!

Visit the White Tower, walking on tip toes in a bedroom of the medieval king and observing the beauty of the jewelleries of the crown.

7. Westminster Abbey

Its world estate is worth it, every year, more than a million visitors visit this building from 700 years.

You could discover a huge site about the story of the British Kings and Queens of the old British government. The abbey symbolises the English Reformation and the history of the religion in England.

8. Kensington Palace

Kensington Palace is one of the most intrigues historical Royal Palaces.

Find out Queen Victoria's life stories at the Victoria Revealed Exhibition or visit the King's apartment: you can also see Diana's clothes exhibition and find out the secrets of a weak dynasty in the Queen's apartments.

9. View from the Shard

This skyscraper allows you to see London from the top and you can see the iconic development of the city from a unique perspective, with views up to 40 miles.

From the Shard, which is 244 metres high, you can see every landmark in London, including the Coca Cola London Eye capsules, St Paul's Cathedral and Wembley stadium. It's a breath-taking experience.

10. London's museums

In London, there are so many museums, but the main ones that shouldn’t be missed are the British Museum, Art Museums, History Museums, National Gallery Museum and Wallace Collection.

11. Big Ben

I am mentioning it just now because I forgot.

It might seem something obvious seeing the Big Ben in London and maybe it's because of that it came into my mind. I must admit that a walk in the Big Ben nearby area is a proper pleasure for your eyes. Despite this, you can't take a classic picture and post it on social media with the Big Ben.

If you need an advice, the best spot to take a picture with the classic red telephone box, you can copy my picture below :D

12. Trafalgar Square

Another obvious location can't be the beautiful Trafalgar Square, in the heart of the city. A square where you can relax thanks to the beautiful architectural panorama and where there is one of the most famous museums in the city. Free entry.

13. The numerous parks

London is full of beautiful and huge parks. Beautiful places to visit for a walk or run in sunny and sad days.

Of course, it is better when it is sunny :) A squirrel could also approach you and you could take a beautiful picture :D

Conclusions

Of course, London is a perfect city if you are looking for work experience to improve your CV.

But if you are a student, you will probably not get paid and you might just receive a refund for your travel expenses.

This means that you would have to consider many expenses that you are on charge of such as, accommodation, which is not cheap at all as it can be seen in my article.

Of course, if you received a scholarship, this could help, but for me it was not enough to cover my rent.

Of course, this also depends on the quality of the room that you are looking for and the zone it is in.

If you don't mind commuting every day for more than 40 minutes, you could find something more affordable. But you may not be too close to London as you may risk ending up in the suburbs.

I must admit that, even though my experience in London was quite expensive, it was worth it.

As well as gaining work experience and improving my language skills in a working environment, I also improved and reinforced my personality in these months.

Although it might be challenging at the beginning, you will easily fall in love with London.

On the other hand, Samuel Johnson stated that: "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life because you can find everything that life can offer in London. "

I don't know if I have managed to share my feelings, but this is what I wanted to share with you. :)