I've finally arrived! Here's some reflections on traveling and settling into your abroad home.
After weeks blogging from the states, I've finally arrived in Liverpool to begin my time studying abroad. This was after packing twice, rushing out the last day because I forgot to get a memory card and money to exchange, and getting to the airport and finding out I was supposed to pre-reserve a seat (luckily she was able to book me, which from the looks of the plane was the LAST open seat on that thing).
Luckily, by the time I was on the plane I was already tired so I immediately tried to find a comfortable position to sleep away the flight. My mom had pushed a neck cushion onto me, and after going through the trip I have to say I’m so grateful to have had a bit of cushion to relax as I was in the middle seat stuck between strangers with no surfacel to try and lean against.
I slept for a few hours on the flight and used up the last watching “Love, Simon” before landing in Manchester. Getting off the flight, I had to fill out the non-EU entrance form. This took me five attempts from what I can judge based off the ripped copies abandoned in my backpack, so make sure you’re reading the instructions and looking at what line you’re putting things on.
Where many people had to worry about travel visas, I announced my status as a short-term student at customs (this made me super nervous!) and gave them my acceptance letter into the university as my pass in. Though I was stressed, it went really smoothly and the guard merely asked me a few questions about what I’d be studying and allowed me through.
Proceeding through the airport, I picked up my luggage at the drop off, feeling very thankful I had marked my luggage by tying bandanas to the handle. And despite having two checked bags, a duffle, and a very heavy backpack, I carried it all because the carts cost money and I was too stubborn to pay the fee (and only had higher dollar notes).
After finally getting through the international arrivals door, I scanned the numerous signs of universities until I found mine. The woman had been initially looking down and paying little attention, but once seeing me was very welcoming and told me that she was shocked by how quickly I passed through (resulting in a mental dance to myself after having all the trouble filling out the form).
I was sent back on a shuttle to the dorms with some other students where I checked in and was escorted by a woman from their international office to my room. She left me and I proceeded to try and open my window to find out two critical things: one, their windows don't have screens so closing it at night to prevent bugs invading is important; two, these windows do not open all the way. I found out the second lesson by throwing my window open, only to have the entire thing shatter due to the force of the stopper :’)
Luckily (so I’ll say) the international woman was standing there (as were some families moving in who I will now have to avoid my entire trip) and was able to get security to patch it up for me. After that mishap, things have been going rather smoothly though!
My hallmates (flatmates? suitemates?) are nice, and a bunch of them came from the same university, spending their first 3 weeks traveling Europe with professors from home. These professors also hooked them up with some cooking supplies which they offered to share, lessening the load on what housewares I had to purchase. The university had also included a sheet/duvet/pillow package with our accomodations so that was covered.
I spent the first bit of my time in the dorms unpacking, but once my growling stomach got the best of me I ventured out only to immediately run into my roomies (still doesn’t feel right?). They were walking into town and already knew the way so I joined them, here we stopped at some second-hand shops that sold utensils, plates, and other needs for at most a pound but often for only 50 pence or so. This made stocking our kitchen a lot easier and left me feeling GREAT about my budget.
Lastly, I bought some food for lunch and we went home where I settled into my room with a sandwich to finish unpacking! I felt a lot better being able to put the suitcases away and out of sight, it was already feeling more like a home, but as a final touch I put up what photos I could before calling my boyfriend and passing out.
Though the final days before leaving were stressful (UNDERSTATEMENT, thanks to family, friends, and my boy for putting up with my mess) being here but having a few ties to home made me feel more grounded in a new country and I was able to really enjoy myself! I’m looking forward to sharing more soon on what it takes to live in a foreign country and how to side-step the anxieties along the way!
(#studyabroad #college #travel #homeawayfromhome #student #university #anxiety)