Since my Ukrainian-born mother dreamed of returning to Europe, she begged me to consider transferring to a university in England or France. So I reapplied for the degree I hoped to study and headed off to Somerville College, Oxford, where I would "read" — major in — Modern Languages, French, and Russian. Most of all, it opened my eyes to many differences between US and UK college life. AdvertisementMy college years in England involved a lot of dressing up for fancy-dress-themed "bops," or dances with cheesy music, and black-tie balls. I also learned that my college life in the UK was all-around better than the one I experienced in Vermont.

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Persons: Jen, couldn't, they'd, Proust, Tolstoy Organizations: New Yorker, Middlebury College, Somerville College , Oxford, Oxford, University Locations: New, Vermont, Europe, England, France, Paris, St, Petersburg, Russia, —