London in Review

July 30, 2018

In this final reflection on my time in London, I’d like to explain but also show my experience. This blog post is incredibly picture-heavy, but please take the time to read and see my experience.

I spent 3 months living in London and working at the City of London’s premiere think-tank, Z/Yen.

I lived on Green Lanes near Newington Green

Newington Green is an interesting area to live. The street is predominantly Turkish, so I ate a lot of Turkish food, but it also is a highly gentrified area. There is a street that runs perpendicular to it, and it’s packed full of charcutteries, brunch spots, and wine shops, yet Green Lanes remains untouched.

This is what made Europe different. I came to London to see how society differs from that of the US. Even though there are many similarities (food, language, social interactions), England has left somewhat of an Uncanny Valley feel. But, during the internship I also travelled across Europe to try and gain as much global cultural experience as possible!

From left to right: Wales, Scotland, Madrid, Barcelona, Bath.

There is a lot to say about London. I’ve never been to anywhere like it in the world. It has a great amount of diversity densely packed and yet almost a seamless blending of cultures.

While there were many take-aways from this trip, I have to say the cultural diversity and immersion has, even in the three months I was there, significantly shaped some of my world views.

Of course, the point of the trip was the internship. At Z/Yen I worked on a large variety of projects, including ones involving governments, large organisations, and technology reports. I wrote articles on Medium for the Group, handled client relations, and went all across the City of London – no two days were ever the same; I loved it. My most proud work, unfortunately, can’t be disclosed at this time, but I got to work with Governments to set up a commission and it was so far removed from my comfort zone that the project single-handedly changed my perspective on consulting.

The most surprising thing about the internship, however, is the people I met.

From left to right: The Z/Yen team, Yazan, Dan

While I was with the Z/Yen staff during work, outside of work I was with my flatmates. The Z/Yen team was incredible, but I got to know a very different perspective of London by being with other international students and going on random nights out.

My business experience gained from the internship will directly help me with any future prospectives I have in the corporate world–or starting a company. I think starting my own firm would definitely be the best way to continue building on the experience I’ve gained so far.