On my way, UK!
September 10, 2017
Hello everyone! As I’m currently sitting in my room looking at
all the boxes and suitcases that I packed, I’m slowly starting to realize that
my semester abroad is actually starting tomorrow. So far I have been pretty
relaxed but now I’m getting both nervous and excited about the next few months.
In a little more than 24 hours I will be sitting in my room in Manchester, my new
home for the next 5 months. It’s been a big dream of mine to study in the UK
one day which is why I’m even more excited about this upcoming adventure.
„Manchester – the ugly industrial city where it’s
always raining?“ This was the reaction of my parents when I told them where I
would like to spend my semester abroad. I have never been to Manchester before
but I’m convinced that this city has to offer far more than just that. And if
you know me you’ll probably know that the British weather is my favorite one
and, weirdly, I’m a lot happier when it’s cold, grey and raining outside. Manchester
being a pretty good place for soccer fans finally also convinced my Dad that I
made the right choice. ;-) Also not to mention that the UK is the country where
Harry Potter takes place which is also a big plus point for sure!
Here in Austria I’m studying linguistics since
two years. As my department offers only one partner university, I decided to
apply to other places as well through the German department of my university.
My top choices were the UK and Sweden and when I was offered a place at the
university of Manchester I was more than excited. After some (actually quite a
lot) hours on my laptop looking for classes that somehow fit the curriculum of
my linguistics program I finally found some courses that sound quite nice and
that I will also get credit for. The last few months have been a marathon of
running around between different offices, writing tons of emails, catching
different people and collecting signatures for various forms that I had to fill
out. But after booking my flights and finding an apartment to stay (which I
pretty much procrastinated until the last moment) everything is now prepared
and I am ready to go!
5 Months doesn’t sound like a lot of time and I
know that this semester is probably going to pass by faster than I’m expecting
it. I realized, however, how hard it is to say goodbye to your friends, family
and hometown for some time, even if it’s just for a few months. When I met all
my closest friends to say goodbye and walked through the center of my hometown for
the last time last week I got quite sentimental. But knowing that I will be
back again afterwards and my excitement for living in a new city, being
surrounded by many new people and experiencing another culture makes saying
goodbye a lot easier.
In order to share my experiences of my semester
abroad with my friends and family I decided to start this blog. It’s also going
to be a little online journal for myself to collect memories and moments of my
time in Manchester. I never thought that I would start my own blog. It’s always
been something that I’ve been looking up to if other people did it but I never
took the courage to do it myself. One of my best friends, who happens to be a
blogger herself, finally pushed me to go for it and my semester abroad seemed like
a good occasion to me to get started. A big thank you at this point to you
Theresa, for helping and inspiring me and being so patient!
If you want to stick around I’m very happy to
share my stories and experiences with you. I don’t know where I’m going to take
this blog after my time in Manchester but for now it’s going to be a little
collection of tourist photos, Manchester facts, studying abroad tips, life
updates and restaurant recommendations for whoever wants to follow along my
time abroad. Thanks for reading and talk to you soon! Next stop: Manchester. Let’s get this little
adventure started! :-)
2 comments
Hey :)
ReplyDeleteI was super excited when you told me that you have started a blog to write about your time in Manchester. Theresa was right to push you a Little ;) I'm really looking forward to read your next entries and to stay updated. I'm sure you are going to have a more than wonderful time in the UK. I have to say that I'm a little jelous about the weather that you will have there. I wish you a wonderful flight tomorrow and all the best for your adventure abroad! Innsbruck will miss you!
A big kiss, Lisa
Sooo coooooool��������
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