Arriving in England went smoothly, and happened a lot faster than I could have imagined. The flight didn't feel long at all, especially because I slept for a few hours and enjoyed the complimentary food and wine (yes, free wine (WIN)). As we started our desent down to London, I could hardly keep my nose off the window glass. Lower and lower we went, and the clouds finally parted and there it was. ENGLAND, my new home. I felt this overwhelming sensation of happiness as we touched down in London, which I took as a reassurance that this is what I am supposed to be doing. Customs took 5 minutes at most, perks of landing at 6am and because I am a student I was ushered to my own line where I was able to walk right up to the officer. Once that was over I collected my luggage and wandered around blindly until I find someone or something that said University of Essex. A few wrong turns eventually led to a right one and then BOOM, bright green shirts everywhere with big smiles and welcome signs. I had found my people. While we were waiting for our bus to arrive I met a very nice girl from Zimbabwe, which I thought was just so ironic because my Mom's good friend, Erica, is from there and she has been loading me up with advice for my travels the last two weeks. (I took this as another good sign). Fast forwarding waiting in the rain for 45 minutes and 2 hour bus ride (which I slept the whole time on) I eventually made it to my actual new home, The University of Essex, Colchester. First Day on Campus My first impression was how nice everyone was. I had multiple people offer to help me with my suitcases (yes, plural, I brought 2. Packing light isn't a quality I seem to have). Once I checked in and received my building and room key I headed over to my building, which from the outside didn't look too bad, but on the inside... It pretty much looks like an insane asylum. But hey, I didn't come here to live in luxury anyways. I also noticed there are only 4 toilets and 2 showers for 16 people, so it should be interesting. I met my RA first, her name is Paula and she's from Romania. Sweetest person, and quite funny. She had coffee waiting for her tenants, which I thought was so nice, considering most of us had just traveled long distances. I chatted with her for a bit and eventually took off to conquer unpacking all my stuff. This actually didn't take long and before I knew it, I had another part of my new home, a room with my belongings. Another feeling of relief and accomplishment. Considering the fact that nobody else had arrived yet, I decided to make my way to the local super store to get a SIM card for my phone and some groceries. And what an adventure that was...* Below are pictures of my flat* The Tesco FiascoTesco! The glorious everything you can think of Tesco. It's pretty much Target of England, but with a little more. Conveniently located 1.4miles from the University, it is every students go to spot. On this particular day (Arrival day) it was absolute hell. You could hardly walk around the store, it was so packed. A few things I noticed: The only brand I recognized was Philadelphia Cream Cheese, so I grabbed that. They don't have sliced turkey (or at least any that I could find) so I grabbed sliced chicken. They call Ranch, Salad Cream Sauce, and its slightly yellow looking, so I passed on that one. And they do not have mustard anywhere. Looks like I'll be eating chicken and mayo sandwiches. Without realizing it, I had filled up my cart (which is actually called a trolly here) and was ready to leave the Tesco Zoo. I exited the store and could not remember where the bus station was. So I walked in the direction I thought it was and a nice guy offered to help me carry my bags, which was nice because they were darn heavy. He also didn't know where the bus station was but we spotted another guy with Tesco bags and he seemed to know what he was doing so we followed him to the bus stop. The first guy was walking back so once he got me there he left, and now I was standing with Christian, the second guy. We chatted for a while, he's from Norway but has been going to Essex for three years (he did know what he was doing). The bus eventually shows up, its full. Dang it. Wait for the next bus. We got on the next bus but the road to my building was closed so he got me as close as he could (which actually wasn't close at all). So here I am, on campus trying to get to a building that I have no clue where its located and carrying 4 heavy bags. All I knew, was that this was going to be hard. Dreading the walk ahead of me I started on my way, and eventually these two nice girls from Malaysia offered to help me. Thank GOODNESS because I thought my fingers were going to fall off. We were about half way through campus when one of my bags breaks. UGH, typical. Another THANK GOODNESS because a lady near by had an extra bag and a trolly she wasn't using, so now I could push my groceries. Up some hills and down some others I finally found my building and made it back to my flat. The whole return trip took me about an hour and a half, but I made it back and nothing was broken so thats a plus. Now I know, check the bus numbers more closely before getting on because some can get on certain roads and others cannot. First Night Out on UniUnlike Chico State, this campus has an active campus night life with bars and night clubs all on the campus. The student store sells booze and people can just walk around with open bottles in the courtyard. Theres concerts and raves pretty much every weekend and dress up nights at certain bars. (Skyler if you're reading this... A DRESS UP BAR, dream come true right?) Every Wednesday is a different theme at this one bar. I ended up meeting up with some of my flat mates and we decided to check out this awesome night life. It was so cool to see everyone socializing like that on campus. We mostly drank our own wine at a table and talked and met others. I think the wine made me realize how tired I was so I headed back early with another flatmate of mine and went to sleep. That concluded my first day in England. Some ups and downs but overall, I can tell I am going to love it here. *Below are some pictures of me with my flatmates, and a few other photos I took around campus.* That is all for now, but thank you for reading and I will post again soon! Contacting me... The best way will be through Facebook Messenger, or on WhatsApp. WhatsApp is a phone app that allows for free international calling, texting, and even video chatting.
My international number is 44-7751-049829 You can put that number in your phone, set up an account on WhatsApp, and chat with me that way! My old phone number will not work, so keep that in mind.
2 Comments
Aunt Mary
2/10/2017 18:16:39
Maddi!!!!! Sounds great so far! I loooove hearing about your travels! Keep it up!!!! Love you!
Reply
Debbie
10/10/2017 16:32:32
Congratulations Maddi.. What an adventure and a blessing! Looking forward to reading about your time in England.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
MadeleineMy name is Madeleine Sarner, and I am an American student living in Britain's oldest recorded town, Colchester. After many months of saving, extensive planning, and a few break downs along the way, I have finally started my journey of living abroad. On this blog you can keep up with my adventures, my culture shock, and my new and exciting experiences! Archives
December 2017
Categories |