When in Liverpool….

Hey my loves!

Sorry It’s been sooooooo long!

I meant to do a blog way before now but moving to a new country was way more emotionally taxing and busy than I could have ever imagined.

I have been in England for almost two months now, and it has been completely life changing. Over the course of these 7 weeks, I have learned so much about myself and the city of Liverpool, and finally am completely settled into life here.

On Wednesday September 12^th, my friends Maggie, Cora, and I boarded our plane at Logan airport. We were nervous, apprehensive, scared, and so many other emotions but mostly incredibly excited to be embarking on this journey together.

We arrived at Manchester airport early Thursday morning, and waited for Stiffler’s plane to arrive. We all climbed into a cab, exhausted and happy to be off the plane.

The car ride felt like forever, but really it was just an hour. We got to our accommodation, Ablett House, around mid-morning, and spent the rest of the day getting lost trying to find somewhere to eat and stressing over things like what to buy for bedding and how in the hell we were supposed to bring everything back to the flat.

After I went to bed that first night, I had an overwhelming sense of dread, and realization that I was about to be here for the next three and a half months of my life. There was no going home for the weekend; this was it. I had one blanket to sleep under and I felt so out of place and not comfortable.

Over the next few days we bought kitchen things, essentials for our rooms, and food. It was still super hard not being at home, but at least we had the basics.

The first few weeks were stressful, to say the very least. We had to buy a ton of stuff for our flat and figure out where the heck everything is in the city. Not to mention figuring out how to enroll in classes, go to fresher’s week induction events, and maybe make some friends if we were lucky.

We also wanted to do a TON of traveling while are here, so we started making plans to go to different countries on the weekends. Let me tell you, planning trips is HARD. When you are ballin’ on a budget, you have to look at everything: cheapest flights, best hostels, closest locations to train stations.

 

So far, we have been to a handful of towns in England itself; Windsor, Bath, London, and Chester. And they are BEAUTIFUL. You can’t compare the historical sites in Europe to anything in the US. The history, the culture, the stories, the FOOD. I have gained some weight while being here, more than I would like to admit. But one does not simply go to England and not have a crap ton of fish and chips with mushy peas, tea and biscuits, and beer.

  

So here we are, 6 ½ weeks in, and LAWD JESUS has it been a crazy ride. You wouldn’t think that England would be much different from how it is in the US, but it is.

The night life in Europe is a lot different from back home. Pre’s start around 9 or 10, you drink with your friends in a flat until midnight, and then you go out. Its common to be out until 3, 4 or even 5 in the morning.

In Liverpool, there’s a block of streets called “Concert square” and that’s where many of the bars are. Different clubs and bars are more popular depending on the night, but on any night out you likely end up going to a bunch of them. A trip to “Maccies” always ends the night, even though you know you don’t need to be shoving more bad food into your face. #Fatandhappy

Transportation is also very different in England. Back home at Southern, I walk 10 minutes and I’m at class. Here I have to either walk 20 minutes to the campus in the city center, or I catch the train to the IM Marsh campus which is outside of the city.

I have a love-hate relationship with living in the city. I love the convenience – You don’t have to drive to get to the store, and you only need to walk a maximum of 20 minutes for anything you need. However, I have learned through this experience that I’m really a small-town girl. I don’t feel 100% at home in a city, and I don’t think I ever will.

I didn’t think that being so far away from home was going to be as hard as it has been for me. I knew I was going to be home sick, but I thought I would get over it quickly. But it’s been almost two months, and about half the time I am having the time of my life, and the other half I am missing my cat and my family and my friends back home.

I know that this is only a temporary thing, and that I am going to look back on my time here and want to go back. Being uncomfortable is what makes you grow, so I am trying my best to embrace the uncertainty and just enjoy my time here.

I am so incredibly blessed that I have this opportunity, and I have been loving every second of it. As it is, its already almost half over, and it’s felt like I have been here for 10 minutes. We have already been to Ireland and Scotland (more blogs to come ;P), and they were both INCREDIBLE.

Ireland was beautiful, and just the nature fix that I needed. And Scotland was so historical and beautiful. My aunt and Uncle hosted us in Edinburgh, and It felt so nice to be with family for a little bit.

 

In a week we have Reading Week, which is a break from classes. Most LJMU students use that time to go home and do assignments, but you bet your bottoms that we are going to travel during that time. (Classes, who? Homework, what?). We are going to Barcelona, Venice, and Rome. So, let a girl know where she can find new pants because I will NOT be fitting in the ones I’m wearing.

Overall, this semester has so far been the most challenging few months of my life, yet simultaneously the most rewarding and exciting few months as well. Who gets to say that they got to travel Europe for a semester, without having to pay an arm and a leg and your first-born child? Not to mention, my travel buddies are becoming some of my best friends, and I couldn’t imagine going through this without them (Cora and Maggie, ya’ll best be reading this <3). Shout out to my loves for putting up with my sometimes dumb comments, and my constant need to pee.

So, my dudes, if you ever get the chance to study abroad for a semester, DO IT. It is scary and uncomfy and weird, but it is by far the coolest and most exciting thing you will ever get to do.

Cheers,

Steph