Megan’s abroad in London, England, until Dec. 13.

You know how in Evanston, Reading Week either means constant cramming or constant partying right before finals? Prepare to be jealous.

At Goldsmiths, Reading Week is right in the middle of the term. You’re supposed to “catch up on your reading,” but most full-time students go home or just get drunk. For me, Reading Week meant a whirlwind trip through Rome and Paris and a realization that I picked the right place to study abroad.

Before I set off, my friend Sarah, who’s currently studying in Prague, came to visit me in London. I showed her the requisite tourist spots, took her for a full English breakfast (which is massive and includes baked beans) and stopped at museums I’d yet to visit myself. It was nice for once to openly look at London A-Z in the middle of the street and not pretend to be a local.

After three days, it was time for Rome — and the first of two mornings where I woke up before 4 a.m. to catch a plane. The early wake-up was truly worth it once I was enveloped by the 75-degree weather. I’m originally from Florida, so the sun and heat in November felt like home. While in Rome, we ate gelato and pizza every day, visited the Colosseum, the Forum and the Vatican, where we ran into the Pope giving a blessing to a gigantic crowd in front of St. Peter’s Basilica.

If it weren’t for the language barrier, I’d move to Rome immediately. It’s just the perfect mix of nice weather, amazing food and friendly people scattered among ancient ruins. I’m glad, though, that I was just visiting for a few days — the entire city is jam-packed with tourists and people seeking to take advantage of tourists, and I’m sure that gets old pretty quickly.

Speaking of people trying to rip off tourists, our next stop was Paris. I was so excited to see Paris, since taking French during middle school and high school made France seem like paradise. Maybe it was my high expectations, or maybe it was the dreary cold, but I kept wishing we would have stayed in Rome. Not that Paris wasn’t beautiful or interesting — I loved visiting the Louvre and Versailles and climbing the steps of the Eiffel Tower — but it just didn’t sweep me off my feet like I expected. I won’t go on and on about Paris, since you should read Sara’s posts to learn more. Maybe if I had eaten a few more Nutella and banana crepes I would have liked it more. Those always do the trick.

By the last day of our trip, I was exhausted. Late nights and early mornings, combined with constant walking, really wore me down, and I was ready to read signs in English again. I had been to so many art museums that marble statues of naked people began to frustrate me. Overall, I was glad I had the opportunity to visit places I’ve only read about, but it’s also reassuring to know London is the right place for me. When you combine the lack of language barrier with a more laid-back attitude towards tourists, it was refreshing to get on the train from the airport and hear a reassuring “mind the gap.”

Now, on to actually catching up on my reading.

Read Megan’s previous post l Meet the rest of our study abroad bloggers