Where Old Ways Meet the New
While I dreamed of studying in the United Kingdom, going to college was in itself a dream come true. I cautioned myself not to reach for the impossible, but to settle for the feasible. I transferred to the University of Tennessee (UT), Knoxville after two years at a community college, to study for an undergraduate degree in English. Because of low blood sugar and mild cerebral palsy, I worried about international travel and told myself that studying British literature at UT was the next best thing to actually going to the United Kingdom.
But, just a few weeks after I began at UT, a friend told me about her plans to study in the United Kingdom for an academic year. Because we have similar interests, she suggested that I find out about study abroad opportunities too. That was a scary thought. It seemed much safer to dream. I gave my friend a lot of excuses ranging from health and mobility to funding. My friend’s response? That I wouldn’t know what was possible until I found out what was involved. She told me to stop making excuses and start making an effort.
Her encouragement along with that of the coordinators at the UT Programs Abroad Office, finally convinced me that study abroad was something I could do. The Programs Abroad Office found a program that fit my needs, gave me information about extra funding and countered every objection as I desperately tried to demonstrate that I might not be able to study abroad.
After weighing the options, I decided to apply for a direct exchange program for an academic year. After the thrill of being accepted into that program, I also applied for the Gilman Scholarship Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. That award provided the extra funding I needed to help with travel, books and food while in the United Kingdom.
The University of Swansea, Wales, proved perfect for me, both in size—a campus I could easily walk in spite of cerebral palsy—and in the academic classes offered. The upper-level literature courses covered topics in my main interest, British literature, and I was delighted at the chance to take beginning-level Welsh, one of the most beautiful and oldest languages in Europe.
Because of my medical and disability concerns, I made arrangements for accommodations in advance. I decided to live in one of the residence halls on campus, and chose the one most centrally located. From there I could easily get to and from my classes. I chose to live on the second floor because of its convenience to a community kitchen, and I could quickly get down the stairs in case of an emergency. Although dorm neighbors can become loud anywhere, and the kitchen closed at 10:30 p.m., the arrangement worked out well for me.
I learned a great deal about literature and honed my essay-writing skills at Swansea. I was able to go into British literature in greater depth than I would have been able to do at the same undergraduate level in the United States. On the personal side, I began to see things from a Welsh viewpoint. Granted, learning to say “Good morning” in Welsh may not seem like much of a beginning, but it helped me to make friends with several girls in my dorm, who spoke the language and willingly helped me with pronunciation and vocabulary.
Because I was studying British poet William Wordsworth, a November day trip to the Tintern Abbey in England was one of the highlights of my year. In January, I traveled to Bath, England, where I toured the Roman spas and saw the abbey there. I also spent an April weekend with a friend in Carmarthenshire (called Dyfed in Welsh), in West Wales, which according to local legend is Merlin and King Arthur country. It felt amazing being in a land where English, Welsh, myth, legend, Roman roads, medieval castles and modern grocery stores all coincide. One of the most surreal moments of that weekend involved riding down a Roman road in a modern automobile, on the way to two, side-by-side medieval monastery barns converted into a large home more than a century ago.
I owe a debt to the direct exchange program, the Gilman Scholarship Program and the Program Abroad coordinators at UT and Swansea, Wales, for these memories and life-changing experiences. I’ve gained a sense of courage that I did not have before. And the friend who refused to let me feel sorry for myself? She has my lifelong gratitude.
The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program provides U.S. undergraduate students receiving federal Pell Grant funding with grants to support their participation in study abroad programs worldwide.
