Long before I ever decided to come to Manchester, I went to a study abroad fair. I didn’t know it at the time, but my decision to walk through the doors of Memorial Union that day would have an insane impact on my life. It was there that I met an exchange student from the University of Manchester working the table marked “England.” I told her that I wanted to go to England and how I thought London would be the place for me, but she explained the beauty of Manchester to me quite succinctly by saying it is the cheaper London. I think I will go so far as to say that Manchester is just all around a better city, especially for students. So, with her knowledge and friendship, I made my plans to go to Manchester for my junior year! Which brings me to Sept. 13, 2023, the day I arrived at London Heathrow Airport. This aforementioned girl working the England booth became a close friend, and she picked me up from the airport and took me to her home in Somerset, a county in Southwest England. On our way to her house from the airport, we passed Stonehenge, a well-known prehistoric ring of stones, sitting on the side of the highway! I saw double decker buses, black taxis and red telephone booths, and we drove on the left side of the road. I was in awe as all the things that I noticed in the movies were brought to life. As I settled in at her home – which, i might add, is only miles away from the site of the famous annual Glastonbury music festival – I felt what it would be like to live in the beautiful countryside of England.

Before I knew it, the day had come to move me in to my flat. I was assigned to live in Oak House, an accommodation that is seen as—to put it lightly—a dump to students at the University of Manchester. I was very concerned as I did my google searches of the place and scrolled the Tik Tok hashtag “#oakhouse,”  but I decided to make the most of it. As I arrived in Oak, I took notice of the cinderblock walls of my room, which were painted a beautiful light green shade to match the 80s-esque curtains. It was small. It was old. There were silverfish. But I was full of nervous excitement, and I was ready for a challenge, as that is the only way to grow.

This first month, every day felt like a movie, and almost everyone had something to say about my accent. I was shocked (and this continues to shock me) that after hearing me speak, English people wouldn’t even ask if I’m from the states, they would just ask “whereabouts in the states are you from?”. I was expecting a lot of rude comments about my nationality, as I heard that English people (and the rest of Europe, for that matter) are not too fond of Americans, but I realized that for the most part they just treat me like an individual, with the occasional joke about America thrown in the mix.

As I settled into my life in Manchester, I kept track of some of my “firsts”. I had my first English breakfast (delicious, by the way). I went to my first club (the drinking age is 18 in England, so I had a lot to catch up on!). I took the bus for the first time. I joined the recreational rowing team at the Manchester University Boat Club and rowed on a canal for the first time. Above all, I made my first few friends. And luckily for me, my list of friends kept growing through the year. The social atmosphere of Oak House was exhilarating, with weekly flat parties and pub quizzes at the bar called Squirrels just steps away from my flat. Just sitting in my kitchen was a social time, as I had flatmates coming in and out to talk to as well. We would drink tea (yes, English people drink a TON of tea) and chat about the differences in our accents and our culture. I found that being from America was a great conversation starter for me, and it helped break the ice with new people and led to a lot of friendships. My first month in England was a whirlwind of new people, new sights, new food, and new experiences. I was loving it, and I couldn’t wait for the year to come.

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Learn more about this blogger’s study abroad program: University of Manchester