Studying abroad was something I thought about before I even began college. I thought it might be an experience that would give me more confidence and independence. While this turned out to amazingly true, I found that once I got to Grinnell and the idea became more real, I grew apprehensive and wondered if this goal was possible. I had traveled to other countries, and I knew many places were less accessible than the United States.

During the last week of my first year at Grinnell, I sent an email to the directors of off-campus study. I explained that I was interested in studying abroad, particularly in London, and asked for any resources available. My tone in the email was very noncommittal, very much a message of "This might not work, but maybe?" Off-campus study staff met with me that week, and their response shocked me. "If you want to do this," they said, "we will make it happen." Their confidence came before fully knowing all of my needs or obstacles I might face in London.

From that point on, I viewed studying abroad as achievable. Throughout the summer, I was in contact with off-campus study, sharing questions and researching the city of London and the study-abroad program in terms of accessibility. I in no way regret beginning to plan my study-abroad experience more than a year in advance. I was fortunate to know right away that I wanted to go to London. I was even more fortunate that Grinnell had its own Grinnell-in-London (GIL) program. Since GIL occurs every fall semester (and has for more than 30 years), it was easier for the off-campus study office and myself to know where to direct questions.

If you want to study abroad in a different program than I did, I'd advise you to start researching programs as soon as possible. I say this only because the options of study-abroad programs today are endless. If there is a place you want to go, or something you want to study, you probably can find a program for you. This is exhilarating but can make preparation more complicated if you the program needs to accommodate a disability. Communicating with your selected program sooner gives them and you more time to work through potential challenges and make arrangements that you might need abroad. Preparing to go abroad is a challenging but exciting experience; it takes a lot of time, and the time goes quickly!

Throughout my second year at Grinnell, I had several meetings with off-campus study staff. I found I needed to consider many of the same issues as when I started college. What combinations of mobility devices would be most helpful to me? Would I need my manual wheelchair and scooter? If I needed a scooter in London, could I travel with my personal model? What about charging the battery with the changes in voltages in the United Kingdom? Should I rent one? Where would I find the most affordable scooter rental, but also a model that I was comfortable using? There were some questions I could anticipate, but some I would have never thought of. Asking questions and discussing scenarios with off-campus study staff was crucial.

Another unexpected component I dealt with was England's inability to conform to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This conflict arose when I decided to live in the student dorms. GIL offers its students the choice to live in flats with roommates or in an international student-living dorm. Students form roommate groups and apply for a flat without knowing which one they will be assigned to. The unknown question of whether I would be assigned to a flat that would work for me led me to select the dorm option instead. Looking back, this was the best choice for me. Visiting my friends in their flats was tough, as it forced me to walk up several flights of stairs or use an elevator that could barely accommodate my average-sized manual wheelchair.

The student dorm offered a handicapped-accessible single dorm room for my use. The policy of the dorm complex was that single rooms cost more than doubles. I was told that I needed to pay the extra cost for an accessible single. I learned that because of the lack of an ADA equivalent, the dorm could charge me the extra amount even though I was living in a single because I needed it, not because I was voluntarily choosing it. Grinnell decided that as an American student, I should still accorded the privileges of the ADA. The College reimbursed me the difference in cost of the single.

Another decision to be made was use of a sponsor person. One of my big concerns was that something would happen to me abroad. There were the big "what ifs": What if I got sick while abroad? How would I find a doctor? What if something in my dorm room didn't work for me? What if I had a major transportation issue? But there were also smaller questions: What if I couldn't find the closest grocery store?

I thought that knowing someone who was more familiar with the area and had access to more resources would ease my mind. It was important to me that the sponsor be someone I could contact without feeling uncomfortable or awkward asking for help. One of the Grinnell professors who came on GIL with us served as my sponsor. I could email or call him with specific questions. Having a sponsor did not hamper my independence at all, and none of the students on the program knew or cared that he served in this role. I used him on a strict only-when-needed basis, and he would only help me when I asked. Knowing I had that support available to me was a huge comfort, especially in the first few weeks abroad. It was also especially helpful to know someone was there to pick me up at Heathrow Airport and take me to my dorm.

Other services that eased my mind before departing were the guide book Open London and the website Mobility International USA. It was amazing for me to see a guide like Open London, produced by the city and detailing all sorts of references and advice for navigating London with various disabilities. Mobility International is an organization that helps support individuals with disabilities in their quest to go abroad. On its site are narratives from students from all over the United States with many types of disabilities, talking about their successes and challenges traveling all over the world. Reading their stories encouraged me; if they could do it, I could do it. Mobility International also allowed me to correspond by email with a woman in a wheelchair who studied abroad in the United Kingdom and provided me with disability specific resources, like information on defending yourself from a wheelchair.

Though I planned as much as I could for my semester abroad, I was still anxious. I had the same fears as many of my peers. What would it be like? What if I got lost? How will I deal with the new culture? What if I got homesick?

But I also had fears about accessibility. As much as I planned, some aspects couldn't be worked through until I got there and tried them out. Some of these things were big things, like testing out public transit. I got on that plane to London excited — but also reminded myself to keep the most open mind possible and roll with the punches.

I was able to do just that. And it paid off, big time.

If there is one trait I think every study-abroad student should have, it would be flexibility. This is even more important when you are abroad in a wheelchair. Situations I have never dealt with before would arise in a moment's notice, and I had to deal with them instantly and as best as I could. Things did not always go the way that I had hoped. As the British would say, you must keep calm and carry on.

In all seriousness, life in London will constantly surprise you in both good and bad ways.

Take my experience riding the London bus system. Since the Tube is largely inaccessible to wheelchairs, the bus was free to me as a disabled rider (it was a great bragging point among my classmates). All London buses are equipped with ramps and a special spot for wheelchairs. The only restriction is one wheelchair passenger per bus. I took the bus everywhere — to classes, sightseeing, to swim practice, to see friends. It wasn't unusual to spend up to two hours a day riding the bus.

London is a huge city divided into 33 boroughs. It takes at least 30 minutes to an hour to get anywhere, not counting the unpredictable traffic or the time you spend waiting for the bus. While transportation issues are just a part of living in London, they were more noticeable in a wheelchair. Sometimes using the bus went off without a hitch. Other times, traffic made me very late. A few times, buses broke down on me and I had to find another one on the fly. Many times, I couldn't find the stop I needed. Always, everything worked out. I had to deal with being late. Other times, I had to resort to a cab. I learned to be flexible.

Londoners are among some of the most receptive and aware people I have ever encountered. If a stroller occupied the wheelchair spot on the bus, people always moved or even got off the bus to accommodate me. If I struggled to get up the ramp to the bus, people walking by on the street would push me up. Once, the ramp on a bus refused to lower. I expected the bus driver to pull away. Instead, he turned off the bus and enlisted the help of several passengers to lift me on and off the bus.

Sometimes, it was just not feasible to take a bus due to time constraints or too much distance to wheel between bus stops. All black taxicabs in London are accessible to average-sized manual wheelchairs, with fold-out ramps. One of the courses in which I enrolled, History of London, required the class to meet early in the morning in various locations. I always took cabs to history class and the College reimbursed me.

London was a constant learning experience. Things that worked well for me in Grinnell, like my motorized scooter, were not the best choice in London. I found the streets were extremely busy and narrow, and the hallways of the teaching site where we had classes could barely accommodate a scooter. The scooter that I rented, however, was very helpful for grocery shopping and running errands around my neighborhood. Most of the time, though, I used the manual wheelchair in London. I found that the chair worked much better in the narrow and always bustling streets, as well on the buses.

It was challenging to learn how to cross streets in London. Pedestrians in London do not have the right of way, so I had to remain alert and be sure to cross only at safe times. I had to wheel quickly to get across and not get stuck in the crowds. I had to make sure to be conscious of where all the curb cuts were, as they weren't always on every crossing.

I was grateful to have bought various backpacks, grocery sacks that hooked onto a scooter, and wheelchair storage compartments that were so useful to me in London. It was through planning what might work best and testing what actually did work best that I found what was most comfortable for each situation in London.

My study-abroad experience taught me many things. I was so amazed by the academic experiences and the places I got to see. I was able to attend all of the theatre, museums, and overnight traveling trips with all of my classmates; I never felt excluded from the group. During my semester abroad, the GIL program traveled to Stratford-upon-Avon, Bruges, Oxford, and the Lake District. On these trips, we traveled in large coach buses and stored my wheelchair underneath. With the exception of the Lake District, I stayed in a separate hotel than the other students due to accessibility. But I never felt like I missed out on any part of these trips by not staying with them. Our hotels were always close by, so it was easy to meet up with the students at the start of each day. I was always pleased with how easy the trips worked for me. There were challenges, like the cobblestone streets of Bruges, but the other students always worked together to assist me. They helped make what might seem inaccessible into an accessible and fun experience.

When we went to see plays at the various London theatres, I sat in wheelchair-seating areas. These areas were typically in a different location than where the other students sat, but we usually settled this by switching who sat next to me in the companion seat each time we went. Even Shakespeare's Globe Theatre had accessible seating, a platform that I could wheel up on to watch the play as a groundling. It was a dream come true for this English major!

I learned many things that I couldn't have learned in the classroom. What everyone tells you about study abroad is that you learn more about yourself than you do about academics. And honestly, it is true. My time in London is one of my proudest accomplishments to date. This is because it wasn't easy, but I worked through it. I gained skills that will serve me forever: how to navigate a big city; how to find directions on the computer and how to handle it when those directions aren't correct; how to use public transit; how to buy my own groceries, prepare my own meals, and to be completely independent and accountable for my life. This experience and the skills that I learned will keep serving me, because they are life skills. As I look towards a postgraduate life, I am so glad to have my London experience under my belt, because it gave me a great deal of confidence to see what else is out there in the world.

For me, a huge plus for Grinnell was having a roommate during the first two years. Other schools I considered had wheelchair-accessible rooms, but they were single rooms. I knew that having a roommate was a part of the college experience that I didn't want to miss out on just because I needed an accessible room.

The accessible dorm rooms in Cowles Hall are really incredible. I lived in these rooms my first and second years. There was more than enough room to park my scooter inside and use my manual wheelchair in the room. The window blinds are remote-controlled and very easy to use. The room is air-conditioned. The door has opener buttons on the inside; and from the outside, I opened the door using a small button remote that I kept on my keychain.

There is an accessible washer and dryer in the Cowles facilities management closet, which is right next to the dorm room. I was given a special door remote so that only the students who needed this service could access it.

These North Campus rooms have a fully accessible shower and large bathroom inside them. The toilet and shower are equipped with metal grip bars, the shower has a fold-down bench, and the showerhead is a wand. The bathroom is very nice and I missed it when I went home on breaks because it was nicer than what I had at home!

For my junior and senior years, I decided that I would like a single room. I now live in Kershaw Hall on the East Campus. I live in what would be a double room, but for me it is a single because my scooter and wheelchair simply cannot fit in a regular single. This room has the same opener button and keychain remote button system as my other dorm.

Living in Kershaw, I use the dorm bathrooms for the entire floor because my room does not have its own bathroom. It was important to me that the floor I lived on had specific men and women's bathrooms, instead of gender-neutral bathrooms. This was arranged and I never feel uncomfortable or like I am keeping anyone waiting for the shower because it takes me longer. The Kershaw bathroom has a handicapped-accessible bathroom stall and a large accessible shower stall with a door that locks. The showerhead is a wand, and there is a bench and metal grip bars. The stall is large enough that I can wheel in, lock the door, and park my chair without it getting wet from the shower. This makes it easier to change after the shower, too.

I also use the Kershaw hall laundry rooms. They are in the basement and there is an elevator to get to them (and all the floors of Kershaw). The washers are all at eye level, but there are two rows of dryers, one row of bottoms and one of top.

My classroom accommodations in college are based on what I had in high school. I definitely recommend getting classroom accommodations if you qualify or have used them in the past. Sometimes students think they won't need them, so they don't get them. If you don't end up needing them, that's perfectly fine, but it's easier to decide not to use them than it is to decide halfway through the semester that you wish you had them.

All accommodations are arranged in a completely confidential way among you, the student affairs office, and the professors with whom you share your needs. No one else will know about your accommodations unless you decide to share that information.

My needs are minimal and I've gotten pretty good at figuring out what classes I will need accommodations in. I type my written tests on a computer and use extra time during exams. To do this, I use the testing room in the Student Affairs Office, which has the computer and a proctor to track your extra time. About a week before the test, I email to request a time to use the room. I notify my professor what time I'll be taking the test; it is delivered to the proctor beforehand and the proctor returns it to the professor when I'm done.

Accommodations like this are arranged through Joyce Stern, dean of student academic support and advising. After meeting with her, you receive a set of letters that you can give to professors explaining your needs and accommodations. It makes it easier to explain certain accommodations; for example, I simply explain to them what my Livescribe pen is, and that I use it to record lectures.