Before the end of the month, September 2022, I will be off in Liverpool, England, which is three and a half thousand miles from home. There, I will begin my study abroad journey over these next few months. I’m currently brimming with excitement (and a tidbit of nerves) for what’s to come. Until I leave, I will be preparing for the trip, taking the steps necessary to make the transition as smooth as possible, and sharing those steps with you along the way.
Choosing a study abroad program that’s right for me was hard. There aren't many places where someone with dark skin, like me, is accepted without alienation. Or at best, I was unsure of how a particular country would perceive me, and that uncertainty made me uncomfortable. I also wanted to be in a program that catered to my interests in creative and performing arts, which would allow room for exploration in those areas and more. Sure, it would be simpler to have chosen a shorter study abroad program, but my peers and professors encouraged me to study abroad longer, and I’m so happy that they did. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have considered the Liverpool program!
According to the United Kingdom’s 2011 census, Black people (African/Caribbean/Black British) makeup 3.5% of the population of England and 2.6% of Liverpool, which doesn’t include people who consider themselves mixed-race. Liverpool also has the oldest population of the Black people in Europe. The current Liverpool Black community are descendants of “sailors, freed people who had been enslaved and student sons of African rulers” (Liverpool Black Community trail). In Liverpool, England, I will not stick out as much as I would in other countries, making it easier to blend and assimilate to this new place.
Liverpool Hope University, where I will be studying, has classes within my interests both in and outside of my Creative Writing major and theatre minor, which is what I was looking for in a study abroad program. By the way, the class selection process was interesting and different from what I have come to expect from Susquehanna University, my home institution of learning. I may end up talking about that for my blog next week.
Everything about the Liverpool program, from its proximity to my areas of study and to the large population of Black people, made it the right place for me. I don’t experience the difficulties of finding the program that best suits me alone. According to the article, “What's Keeping Black Students From Studying Abroad?” in The Atlantic, only 5% of students who study abroad are black. Even though all students at Susquehanna University must participate in a travel abroad program to graduate, students of color are still less likely to go abroad for a semester. They tend to favor shorter trips over the winter and summer break. While I’m sure not having the resources to afford such an expense plays a significant role, I hypothesize their struggle to find a program that’s right for them will be similar to mine.
Work Cited
Liverpool Black Community trail. National Museums Liverpool. (n.d.). Retrieved
September 2, 2022, from https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/liverpool-black-community-trail
Tensley, B. (2015, March 13). What's keeping black students from studying abroad? The
Atlantic. Retrieved September 2, 2022, from https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/03/why-black-students-dont-study-abroad/387679/
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