The grass is always greener on the other side. I dislike clichés, but this particular phrase has been a principle that has always plagued my dreams. In my first two years at university in the United States I always fantasized about my year abroad where I would finally see "the world." The world consisted of anything that was not America. Of course, at the time it never occurred to me that I had never been to California, or even really left the east coast of the States. My aspirations to travel only included a long plane ride across the ocean. I planned go to England, mostly because they spoke English and partly because of the romantic, "grass is greener" notion that I had of England. There I would meet people with sophisticated accents and see sights that previously had only existed in the 2D world of photography.

Now I am here, I live in Coventry whilst attending the University of Warwick. Yes, I must say the literal grass is much greener, but figuratively I am undecided. Here I am experiencing "the world" and missing blueberry pancakes. Don't misunderstand me, I have had wonderful experiences here and I value everything that I have learned.

The UK university system is worlds apart from my home institution, but it has been a refreshing change. In the States I am used to a system of constant assessment. Here everyone works towards a culmination of exams and papers. When the British system was first explained to me, I thought that it could not possibly work. If students didn't have regular exams and assessed work, I assumed that they must goof off all year and them cram at the end. I have definitely been proved wrong. Despite the fact that their grade doesn't depend on it, students mostly come to class prepared. No one has been able to explain this phenomenon, except that this is how everyone has been programmed to study. I admit that at first I was inundated with the disease of procrastination, but now I have adapted my sense of study responsibility to fit the British system. As I said, it is a refreshing change, but I do look forward to regaining the structure that I have personally been programmed to succeed in.

But amazingly enough, my experience has come down to food. I have seen Big Ben, I've had a professor recite Monty Python in the middle of a lecture, and I have experienced the incredible lure of the show The Weakest Link… yet I can't help but reminisce about those blueberry pancakes with warm syrup soaking into everything on my plate. Seeing the world has reminded me how much I have yet to see of my home and it has also helped me appreciate different philosophies of learning. When I do return home, I will have that much anticipated pancake breakfast. Then a few days later, I know I will start reminiscing about Cadbury's chocolate and of course … how much greener the grass was in Warwickshire.