I just returned from a semester abroad in London, and I think I'm suffering from reverse culture shock. But I'm not having trouble adjusting to life at home; I'm simply amazed by certain troubling shortcomings of American culture.Right before I left in mid-September, I was prepared for anything. I read my handbooks, left all my "American clothing" at home, studied London slang, braced myself for the strong British pound and drafted responses to all possible forms of anti-Americanism that I could imagine. From the start, I was always on the defensive. I constantly apologized for our government, our scandals and our "holier than thou" attitude in world politics. So, naturally, I was surprised to hear from my British friends that instead of animosity, they felt adoration for our entertainment, bright lights and charismatic people. By election day, it seemed that I was the harshest critic of American culture around.

In many ways, London is ahead of America's urban centers in meeting the world's foremost environmental challenges. London's conservationist culture is ubiquitous. At grocery stores, cashiers always ask if you need a plastic bag instead of just giving them out. Some places in continental Europe even charge for these petroleum-based totes. On the way out of the store, there is often a tiny receptacle for unwanted receipts to save paper. There are very few garbage cans on the streets, primarily for national security reasons, yet most sidewalks are litter-free.

London has also perfected the art of mass public transportation. First, gas prices across the pond make driving in America seem cheap, providing incentives for Europeans to take the train to work. Second, London's congestion pricing scheme has successfully thinned traffic on its crowded city streets. Third, the tube stations are clean, service is punctual and efficient and coverage is exceptional, with stops all across the metro London area. All these factors work together to reduce carbon emissions in an urban metropolis already crowded with pedestrians. Small changes can have an enormous and compounding positive impact on the environment.

Compare this to America's culture of "more is better." Consumerism has dominated our way of life and backfired on our economy. Our supersized mentality has made it big in movie theaters and car shows, but has led to senseless waste and an unsustainable status quo.

I have now interacted with people on both sides of the pond, and I'm not convinced that we have a great divergence of values on a personal level. Instead, I believe that certain aspects of our industrial and commercial lives have endured far too long without question and have etched themselves into our daily routines. Our food portions are larger not because we're born with larger appetites, but rather because our social norms set a strong precedent and our preferences take the shape of their surroundings.

That said, all avenues of life are two-way streets, and American student ambassadors can also teach British university students a few things. There has been a recent surge in vegetarian and organic options in Brandeis dining halls, reducing the excessive breeding of farm animals and the spread of dangerous pesticides. In contrast, the collegiate diet at University College London, my home university this past semester, is primarily based on large quantities of meat and cheese.

Brandeis students have also worked hard to improve campus environmental sustainability. Greener capital projects and recycling campaigns have brought environmental awareness to campus. In my residence hall in London, we were forced to drink from disposable plastic cups, and I couldn't find a single recycling bin in over three months. One woman even pretended she couldn't understand my thick "American" accent when I asked if there was a place for me to recycle my plastic water bottle in the gym.

America is still the undoubtedly the world's leader in higher education and technology. Let's use this passion for innovation to challenge our status quo by implementing forward-thinking policies from our neighbors. More than ever before, Brandeis students should spend at least a semester studying abroad in this increasingly interdependent global marketplace of ideas. At stake is the crucial exchange of information between both cooperating and competing cultural systems of values, passions and human capital to ensure a prosperous future.

Studying abroad is an especially enriching academic opportunity because it is largely self-reflective. Students will get the chance to expand their worldview while learning to critically assess their everyday lifestyles. I traveled to London to learn more about British culture, and I returned with a deeper understanding of my own backyard.