It’s hard to believe that I have been in Manchester for over a month already! Time really does fly. I have been having the time of my life and already wish that I was staying for the full year rather than just one semester.
I live in a flat with eleven other students and our building is right in the middle of campus, which is great because it takes me less than five minutes to walk to my classes. Each of the topics I am doing only have two contact hours a week and are all set out quite similarly to Flinders, with the major difference being that the class sizes are much smaller. Another big difference is that my whole overall grade is based on one essay rather than a few different assessment tasks which is what I am used to at Flinders.
The only negative part of my experience so far is that I have had tonsillitis twice since arriving here! It isn’t much fun being sick so far away from home, and it is frustrating being stuck in bed instead of out exploring.
I have made the most of my time when I have been healthy and so far have explored a lot of Manchester and done weekend trips to Chester, York and Edinburgh in Scotland. Edinburgh would probably be my favourite so far, and I am keen to visit Scotland again soon! Next week there are no classes, so I am planning on visiting Bath and Stonehenge (on a weekend trip organised by the International Society) and maybe Sheffield or Leeds as well. Catching the train to other cities around the UK is so easy and can be very reasonably priced if you book at the right time!
I also have a trip to France planned a bit later on. Everywhere I have been has been beautiful and packed with so much culture and history. There are so many amazing castles, churches and old buildings that I could spend hours exploring!
I’ve made so many great friends here, both locals from the UK and other exchange students from all around the world. The friends I’ve made have played a huge role in making this experience as amazing as it has been so far. It is great to have people to travel with or even just to cook dinner and watch a movie with, and I am already dreading having to say goodbye to them in a couple months.
Deciding to go on exchange was one of the best decisions I have ever made and I can’t recommend it highly enough!
Jade Ranford, Bachelor of Psychology (Honours), Semester 1 2018 exchange at Manchester Metropolitan University, the United Kingdom
- Read Jade’s 1st blog post here