Studying Abroad: The Start of Something New

After spending a month with my old friend Isabella and her mom and brother in Basel Switzerland, I embarked upon a new culture: England. I left Basel by train by myself (!) September 17^th as Isabella and her mom, Barbara saw me off. It was the coolest thing ever, sitting on the train all stressed out , and Isa automatically made me feel happy when she started running beside the train so I could smile, laugh, and wave goodbye to her for a bit longer. Awe, I miss my Swiss family! Switzerland was a good time, I enjoyed it very much. I got to Zurich about 2 ½ hours before my flight left, but had a lot of complications because I had no idea which gate my flight was leaving from—my ticket was blank on that spot. Waiting, watching the board, waiting, watching the board, finally its 45 min til my flight is supposed to leave and I’m freaking out. So I finally go ask someone at the information desk, found after much wandering with all my heavy luggage, but it got all figured out and it was fine. Then, after arriving in London-Heathrow so I could catch a connecting flight to Newcastle, I decided I hate this airport and it’s much too complicated. Luckily, I was in the same terminal for my connecting flight but if you ever need to change terminals you have to allow a few hours layover. Also, some connecting flights leave from a different London airport all together; thank goodness I didn’t have to deal with that! While at Heathrow, I had to go through security two times! Even though I’d already been through it in Zurich! Plus, they took my picture. Plus, I was asked so many times to show my boarding pass and my passport and I had my things manually checked ANOTHER two times! Apparently I look like a terrorist?

So I arrive in the small Newcastle airport and am greeted by two girls from my university. They send me over to a desk where other exchange students arriving that day are also waiting. Then, in groups or 3-4 people, they send us to our accommodations at the University of Sunderland. I went in a cab with two Germans. We chatted a bit, but really my mind was focused on not getting sick. I was all sweaty from the stress and nerves and I was also riding backwards in the taxi van…..AND they drive on the wrong side of the road! When I got to Clanny House, my uni accommodations for three months, we all went to the receptionist desk to check in and get our key. Well, I had to que (British English for waiting in line) for a really long time and then finally it was my turn. Well, my Swiss family didn’t have a working printer so I didn’t have my accommodations contract printed off so I just wrote all the info down and figured that showing my passport would work fine. Apparently not! So they made me wait for another hour and a half before they finally allowed me in their office to pull my contract up from my email and print it. Then, they didn’t even keep the thing! I was so mad! But it all worked out okay. A nice young man whose job is like a resident assistant, helped me carry my things to my flat (British English for apartment). And thus began my new lifestyle in England.

When I first arrived, I went into the kitchen. There I met two of my flatmates: Christina and Birthe, both girls who go to the same university in Germany. They were so nice! When they found out I was an American, they were super excited! Apparently they hate British accents and in school, they learn British English. They loved my accent and loved American words! So I have promised them to teach them the American ways. They’re so cute, I was shocked, but it just makes me laugh. And from there I met my other flatmates. There is Justin from Vancouver, Canada. Helen from Kentucky, U.S.A. Jasmin and Emma from Adelaide, Australia. One guy and 6 girls. We get along great; I really love my flatmates—couldn’t have asked for better ones!

Now, I must describe my flat. There are a total of four floors. The first floor includes my room and the kitchen/lounge. The kitchen includes four chairs with a coffee table, and then a kitchen with a bar and three stools. There are two fridges, except they’re rather narrow and more than half of each is freezer space. It included an old school toaster and a microwave. The oven is really small and is actually divided in two: half grill and half oven. The four stove tops take forever to heat up. We all like to hang out here pretty much every evening. My room includes a single bed, two separate windows, a desk with a chair, a four drawer dresser, 3 book shelves on the walls, a wardrobe, and a sink. The sink is weird because the there are two separate fossets for warm and cold. There is also a heater that will only turn on for two hours tops before turning off. Each time I turn it on, it makes all these old heater sounds and clicks and then goes BANG after a few minutes! Like Uncle Bucks’ car in the movie. I still haven’t gotten use to it and I jump every time. The second floor includes the Jasmin and Helen’s rooms, a toilet room with a teeny tiny sink, and another room with a shower, sink and a closet with cleaning utilities like the mop, broom and vacuum. The third floor is Emma’s room and the German girls’ room (they share) along with another toilet room. The fourth floor is Justin’s room, a shower room, a toilet room, and another empty bedroom. We are supposed to have another flatmate, but he/she STILL hasn’t arrived!

The University of Sunderland is made up of two different campuses. There is St. Peters on the river and the City Campus. Clanny House is like a 20-25 min. walk from the City Campus and 40-45 to St. Peters. There is a free shuttle bus that runs between all the accommodations and campuses, but it only sits 17 so sometimes you may que for a long time. Of course, all my classes are at St. Peters so I usually take the metro if the bus is full and I’m running behind. Basically, I always leave an hour before my class actually starts. The University is very “green.” Everyone recycles. Recycle bins are everywhere! And there are signs to do so in all of our flats too.

This semester I am taking three classes: Principles of Marketing, Introduction to Media and Culture and the Animated Film. Their university system is much different than back home. Here, three classes is the norm for loaded classes. It equals 15 credit hours to my home university (12 is full time at Wichita State). Marketing is the only class that actually has to do with my major, the other two are just for fun. Surprisingly, Marketing is my favorite class! I love my lecturer! And yes, they don’t call them professors, but lecturers. Each class (they call them modules here), has a lecture, just like your typical university class in the states. Everyone must attend this lecture. Then, we are separated into workshop/lab/seminar groups, which are a more intimate classroom setting and often led by someone different than who led the lecture. Because of this difference in the education system, I still have to have a class schedule on me at all times to make sure I am going to the right classes. On Mondays is my culture lecture for an hour, followed by a culture seminar led by a different lecturer. The seminars are basically splitting us up into groups of no more than 25 to go over and discuss what was learned in the lecture. It involves a lot of classroom participating and public speaking on the student’s part. Mondays I also have my one hour lecture for Marketing. Tuesdays I have my workshop for Marketing for two hours; I took the workshop led by the same lecturer who does our lecture classes because he’s just so awesome. On Tuesday evenings, I have a three hour screen section in the media center cinema for my Animated Film class. Wednesdays is my one hour lecture and one hour seminar for the media part of my Intro to Media and Culture class. Again, led by different people. I also have a two hour workshop for my Animated Film class where we discuss the makings of the animated film and the hidden meanings behind them. Thursday and Fridays, since I am one lucky son-of-a-gun, I have free! So, even though I’m only taking three classes, I’m actually all over campus for a good part of the day Monday through Wednesdays.

I haven’t really explored much of Sunderland yet. I have absolutely no sense of direction and I’m just happy I know how to get around as much as I do! There’s a big shopping area nearby the main campus, so if I ever need anything, that’s where I go! I’ve been to the beach, since Sunderland is right on the coast, but that’s about it so far for the local things. I plan to eventually attend a soccer (football!) game as well, since Sunderland does have a team. So far I really like Sunderland though, but as my flatmate described it, “it’s mordor” when you compare it to other places I’ve seen in the UK. LOL