What made you choose London ?

Well, I speak the language!  I’m not bilingual, so that would have been a big barrier for me.  Also, I chose London because it’s good transportation system, as I was worried about getting around with severe arthritis.  Most of all, it had all the courses I was looking for in a program.

How are you preparing for your time abroad?

I have done a lot of research for the independent study I am doing, where I will looking at how universities in the UK help their adult students.  It will be a retention strategy research to see what sort of resources they provide, and compare that with the College of General Studies (CGS) at the University of Pittsburgh .  I hopefully will write a paper on that, with recommendations for Pitt and also establish friendships and relationships with the university that will benefit us.

I’m currently doing pre-trip research by looking at the culture of adult learners and different universities there, reading through my first textbook of my first class, looking over notes from old classes, and looking at train schedules and other transportation issues because I like to be completely prepared before I go anywhere.

One of the things that comes with arthritis is the fatigue factor.  When you chose housing in London , what were some of the issues?

Living with the fatigue and pain of severe arthritis was one of the biggest factors that prevented me in the past from studying abroad.  I’ve been thinking about this since 2002, but there were always roadblocks.  I know studying in London that they don’t have campuses like we do; housing is half-hour away by bus, or you have to take a train.  I was worried about the distance factor and carrying a bag full of books, and that really put me off.  I really thought that I couldn’t do it without a car, or that if I was having a rough day, I couldn’t stand at the bus stop and wait with a heavy bag.  I don’t know the routes, or if the ride would be bumpy, or if I would be jostled around. 

It was, of course, anxiety, but when I talked to Lynette at the Disability Resource Services and we discussed my classes here. We talked about study abroad, and I said, “I just don’t think I can do that…” but she told me, “Oh, yes you can!  You go down and talk to Carol.  I know we can get you housing close to campus.”  I never thought about asking, or that it would be an option.  She knew we would be able to work together to help me find something near my classes.  And, you know, that is exactly what happened.  Where I’m staying now is only five minutes walk  and so when I heard about this beign available and I told Lynette.  She said, “What does five minutes mean – five minutes straight walk or directly up a hill?”  She was adamant that we find out what “five minutes” meant, because if it made me tired it was not good enough.  It turned out to be a five-minute flat walk, so its perfect.

Can you tell us about arthritis and the issues it causes for you?

I’ve had psoriatic arthritis since I was 20, so that would be since 1985.  It is different from regular rheumatoid arthritis because it does not show up in the blood.  It is diagnosed through its symptoms.  You have psoriasis and certain symptoms, so the doctor puts two and two together to realize you have psoriatic arthritis.  It is very destructive, but it is also fusing.  It is the kind of arthritis where if you overuse a joint, you lose it.   For example, I often use my writing hand, but now arthritis completely destroyed the joint.  I had no wrist, so now I have an implant.  I wear a cast because it still hurts me. 

The case with my spine and neck is not that they degenerate, but they fuse together to protect the spine.  I have to be very careful and worry about my knees, which is why I’m always worried about steps and hills.  The more I use my knees, the sooner they are going to give out on me.  It is a use it and lose it, and I don’t want to do anything to enhance that process.  Needless to say, this plays a big factor in where I am going to be studying.  My neck fusion is very painful, so if I’m going to be on a long bus ride.  If it is bumpy and I’m jostled before I get to school, I’m not going to feel well enough to go to class.  In Pittsburgh , I know the routes to avoid the potholes.  Every time I’m going somewhere, I have to know where I’m going.  Since my neck is fusing and I cannot turn my head, I cannot go anywhere where there is merging and blind spots.  Sometimes I have to go two miles out of the way to get somewhere so I get there safely.  That is a huge concern with studying abroad – its not just hop on, hop off a bus.  As Jeff talked about, some of the subways don’t have escalators.  Well, then I’ll have a different route that has to be planned out ahead of time.  I can’t get off the train and be stuck with four flights of stairs. 

The weather factor – well, you can’t get away from that.  I’m not going to not go to London , which is notoriously damp, because its going to make me feel bad.  That is one of the things that I just refuse to compromise.  I know it is going to make me achy, but that is just too bad.  I’m going!  There are, of course, other climates that are more suitable, such as that at Cairo University .  I honestly did consider that school because the dry heat of the desert is a lot easier to live with than the cold dampness, but that’s ok.

How did you work with your program to fit your needs, and how did you choose your program?

The Institute for Study Abroad (IFSA) offered the academic program I was looking for.  The London School of Economics was the deciding factor; if it wasn’t this program, I wasn’t going.  This was just exactly what I was looking for and the time frame, because I didn’t want to go for a full semester.  Summer study abroad programs don’t often hone in on one particular area of study, but this one did.  When I brought it up to Leslie, my study abroad advisor, she told me that IFSA was an excellent study abroad program.

I needed to go somewhere where I could feel safe, due to my medication and medical problems.  I just needed to know that there would be somebody over there to whom I could to go for help if needed.  I knew the university would be great, but its kind of like a safety net for me to have this program.  Since the study abroad office here at Pitt has a great relationship with IFSA, and Leslie knew even the name of the person I should begin talking to when planning my program, that made me feel like my experience would be more personal since the offices already had a close working relationship. 

I told Leslie the accommodations that I need, and she contacted IFSA to let them know my needs.  I began the process at the end of November, and right before Christmas, I got an email from Trevor from the London school, to discuss my accommodations that they could provide me.  He had everything I was looking for: proximity to my classes, a lift to my floor, my own bathroom, a secure refrigerator for my medicines that others could not access, and even a special lock so I didn’t have to strain my wrist when turning my knob.  Sometimes with my psoriasis, it makes me dreadfully uncomfortable, and I would not want to share a floor bathroom with other students who might not understand me.  I just wanted to avoid that. 

I also needed my own room because I have to get a good night’s sleep.  I need a muscle relaxer at night to ease the pain of sleep, and I was worried how I would sleep when sharing a room with 2-4 other girls.  I go to bed at 10, and get up at 7.  If they come in at 2, I would never be able to get back to sleep.  I constantly worried that I couldn’t do it or handle studying abroad, but Leslie constantly encouraged me.  Finally, with Trevor’s ability to accommodate me, I realized I could do it after all.  All my fears were put to rest.  He let me know that my accommodations would cost a little more than it would for other students, but that was fine.  I can’t go without my needs being met, so it was worth it. 

What sort of length of time have you spent in preparation for this program?

Well, I’ve been looking into since 2002.  I made my decision in November 2005, started the process in December, and I have been working on this almost daily since, so probably a total of seven and a half months so far.  Once I chose the London school, it is much more expensive than other summer study abroad programs.  But it is a very prestigious school known all over the world for international relations so it is well worth the money.  As soon as I decided where I wanted to go, I knew I had to start looking for grants and scholarships.  I have done a tremendous amount of work for scholarships.  I am happy to say that almost the entire trip is funded through scholarships.  I went for everything I could possibly find, and I received two scholarships because nobody had applied for them.  Non-traditional students do not even think of studying abroad, so these two scholarships were sitting there for two years in a row with no applications, so I got it. 

The scholarship process for studying at the London School is directly responsible for my independent study project and I filled their criteria with my grades and community service, but one also wanted a research component and a submission of a proposal.  I had no research; I was just going to study international relations. At the time, I was working with the director of the College of General Studies , Sherry Miller Brown at the McCarl Center , helping to find new strategies to help adult students be successful and stay in school.  While working on this project, I thought that this would be a great project while working in the UK , to visit various schools abroad to see what they work on.  Dr. Miller Brown has done seminars in the UK and was very excited by this idea.  Since unemployment is low and the European Union, they are really trying to promote adult student education.  I could do a project near and dear to my heart, which is non-traditional student education, and what I could do to help the college while abroad.  This whole research project developed simply because I was trying to get a scholarship.  Its just wonderful, and I’m so excited.  This would not have happened if I wasn’t trying to get any scholarship possible so I go to the London School .

Also, the scholarship process really helps you focus on what you are doing.  The committee wants to know what you are doing, why you are doing it, what you hope to get out of it, and why they should fund you over someone else.  It has really helped me focus on what I want to do with my public service degree because I have to put it on paper and present it to the funders.  It has helped a lot.  But I knew in January and February, when my 90^th hour of writing scholarships that this was really going to pay off.  It really did pay off, too.  I’m here today, my trip is funded, and I’m going.  It is just great.

What are your thoughts on study abroad for non-traditional students?

I think that most non-traditional students do not even think about studying abroad.  When I tell my friends and other students in my class, they are just shocked and did not even know that the opportunity was available to them.  They would never think about it; in our minds, it is something that traditional-age students do – you know, backpack around Europe, stay in hostels, go and have a nice study in Italy.  Most non-traditional students would not even consider that.  This is exciting because it helps non-traditional students realize that the opportunity is there for them, and scholarships can help fund it, which is something else they never thought of.  I hope I have some people thinking, “Wow, I hope that is something that I can do too!”

Do you have inspiration or anything in your life that you feel gave you the strength to travel as much as you do with the difficult situation that you have? 

I think a big inspiration in m life that helped me, and still helps me, to overcome my challenges and reach my goals, is my grandfather.  He is my adopted grandfather.  He is a Native American that is such an elder in my life, a person of such high esteem and respect, that I’ve earned the right to call him “grandfather.”  He has terrible knees.  He is an Apache, and one of his biggest passions is “fancy dancing,” which is three days of non-stop dancing.  He has bad arthritis in his knees, but that has never stopped him from doing what he loves.  He is very in touch with nature, and dedicated to honoring the ancient ones and the ones who came before him. 

Whenever he has a chance, he’ll go and perform honoring dance at a sacred site or a site that has meaning to him.  In 1999, he got permission to dance on top of the Great Pyramid as an honoring of the ancient ones.  This man, with his terrible knees, climbed the Great Pyramid with 30lbs of regalia on his back in 20 minutes at 5:00am to dance at sunrise.  That shows that it does not matter what kind of physical challenge you have, you will find a way to get there.  If it is something you love, the energy comes, the excitement comes, the passion comes, and it doesn’t matter what roadblocks in your way, be it health or finances, because if its right, it is going to happen.  That has never stopped him. 

When I first met him, seeing what he said, and he would look at me and say, “I know you are in a lot of pain, but if you find your passion, you can do anything.”  I refuse to be left behind; whenever he went somewhere, if it was in my power, I would be right behind him.  There was one time there was an honoring in the Canyonlands.  It was a 2 mile hike, in and out of canyons, to the top of the pinnacle to do an honoring dance.  I was not going to miss that.  I was not going to be left behind.  Sometimes I’d limp and crawled or had a stick, but I got there.  That is how it has been with this.  There have been a lot of challenges and obstacles with studying abroad -- not only the room and the medication, or even health and finances, or my divorce being completed last week.  If you got an inspiration that you can climb to, you can get through these things and reach your goal.  I truly credit my grandfather for making me who I am today.