DARK EMPIRE: Public Health & Race Relations

August-September 2012

Despite everything I have ever known to be safe and predictable, I did what I had always dreamed of doing while I was in college - I studied abroad. Going outside of my comfort zone and learning more about myself and not just the culture of another group of people, but the struggles they face in their society was my goal this summer when traveling abroad.

I chose London mainly because of the program, because I was interested in how race relations had an affect on public health in a society. I would have liked to go to a country where I did not understand the native language, but throughout the trip my wishes would come true. London is one of the most diverse cities in the world, being surprisingly only a few hours by underwater train or flight into other countries with vastly different tongues. A lot of immigrants come to London for financial security or to seek a new life and it's no wonder that London is one of the best places to do it - free healthcare for all no matter status through the National Health Service (NHS).

However, this program was called Dark Empire for a reason. Through it's beauty I also got to learn it's historic and ongoing ugliness and dark times.