By: Amanda Pressly, Foster Undergraduate

First off, I will be the first to admit I am probably among the most unlucky people in the world. I will also admit my first day/night in Manchester was hell. It all started to go bad when I missed my connecting flight and the airport lost my luggage, meaning I had no clean clothes or toiletries. By the time I arrived in Manchester I had already spent about 17 hours traveling, and it was another 2 before I got to the housing. When I got to my flat I realized not only was there was no one else there, there was also a lack of basic housing needs, i.e. toilet paper, paper towels, pots and pans, dishes, internet, and the bedding pack that I had pre-ordered. Needless to say I was not a happy camper, as it was literally almost like camping.

My motto that night was it can’t possibly get any worse, and finally I was right about one thing. The next morning I woke up to the sounds of a flat mate moving in (the dorm is set up weird to where you have to go upstairs to get into the general area, then go downstairs to the rooms).  She turned out to be really awesome and the first British friend I made. I spent the rest of the day with her and ended up meeting about 10 new people from all over the world. Admittedly the social scene in Manchester gets a lot better after a shower and a clean change of clothes. For the first week it was nothing but pubs, clubs, events, games, and hanging out; there is never nothing to do in Manchester, which is all very exciting at first, but by the time classes actually start the majority of students are practically brain dead.

The weekend before classes started I went on a trip to Wales with the international society; if you do anything it should involve Wales at least once. It was an amazing trip, the landscape is gorgeous and the atmosphere is completely different from Manchester. While it is important to get to know the city you are in, you should also take advantage of the fact that there is so much more to see and do.

The night I got home from Wales I was extremely ill, and had been for a few days. I tried to brush it off with a shower and lots of sleep, but couldn’t shake it. It got to the point where I was in so much pain that I had to go to the hospital. The reception helped me right away and got me to see a triage nurse. After several tests and three hours of observation, I was sent home with medication. Now, had I been in America this would have cost a fortune, but here everything was free, even the medication they gave me.

Today’s lesson takeaways:

• Book a flight with a longer layover time
• Pack extra clothes in your carryon bag just in case
• Be prepared to spend much more than anticipated
• Don’t overdue the partying, as tempting as it may be, be sure to take a few nights off
• Explore surrounding areas
• Make loads of friends
• And above all, if you are going to get seriously ill or injured, do it in the UK

By: Nathan Whitson, Foster Undergraduate

Studies at the University of Manchester (Manchester, England) have finally begun! My name is Nathan Whitson. I am currently a Senior at UW, my focus being finance. At this point, I have been in Manchester for a little over a week and have genuinely had the time of my life. The people are incredible, the city is gorgeous, and the University is bounds better than what I expected.

It seems appropriate to spend a bit of time highlighting differences I have been slowly adapting to. First off, the fact cars drive on the left side of the road may be the most dangerous thing I will come across during my time here. Every night out and even on casual strolls to the shops, it never fails to confuse me. I’ve continually told my flat mates that I will get hit by a car at some point (though lets hope not!) Another major difference is the bus and transit system. I have never been to a city that is so connected. People say the Oxford Road bus line from Uni to city center is the busiest in all of Europe. Not surprising, there are double deck buses at the stop every 2 minutes! Manchester has also done an exquisite job of altering modern architecture as to not overwhelm the older parts of the city. It really is beautiful. Finally, football; No, not the football we all cherish in the U.S. I am talking about ‘the beautiful game.’ Manchester is known as a Mecca in the football world, and not surprisingly, it is woven into the lives of almost all Mancunians. I was never a fan of ‘soccer’ as a child, though my views on the sport will surely change after attending both Manchester City and Manchester United matches this fall. You should be able to see who I support based off of their order in that sentence!

Another highlight of my time at the University of Manchester has been the people. Even after a week I see stark differences between them and most Americans. They know how to have loads of fun. The first week at Uni is called freshers week and it is absolutely bonkers. There aren’t many places in the U.S. (or any) where you have 4,000 college freshman literally descending into an area’s pubs and clubs. Every night is a massive party, for 8 days straight. Apart from the droves of partying students, it is easy to see Manchester is a boiling pot of different cultures. Just on the way to Uni I have to bus through what students call ‘The Curry Mile’, and Manchester has the largest Chinatown in the UK. The diversity doesn’t end there. The University of Manchester has 8,000 international students. That is 1 out of every 4 students at the University, awesome. This oddball group of students helps to drive the most fashionable culture and city I have ever seen. I really don’t want to imagine the shopping madness in London. Though, I will soon find out since it is only 2 hours away by rail!

Until next time,

Nate

Hey everyone my name is KJ and I am currently an exchange student in Manchester. Recently however I made a short trek over to Italy and have come up with a few words of advice for any of those planning to visit while abroad. I stopped first in Venice for a few days and then headed straight over to Rome to finish off the week.

 Venice

 Venice is probably one of the most relaxing cities I have visited. While it is often extremely full of people due to its popularity everyone there is definitely there to chill out. The first word of advice I can give you t is try to arrive in Venice during the day if you can. As you will find out quickly the city is quite a labyrinth. Regardless of your sense of direction and savvy with maps you are guaranteed to get a bit lost trying to find your way around. Try to enjoy the experience and don’t hesitate to ask for directions. While your in Venice I also recommend that you search the backstreets as thoroughly as you can. Venice is full of tourists and so a lot of the better experiences are off the main pathways. This holds especially true for restaurants and cafes. The easier they are to find the more expensive and less authentic they will be. Finally, while you might enjoy weeks exploring the city you really only need a solid day or two to get a real feel for the place.

Rome

First things first, Rome is humungous.  You could spend days and days trying to see al there is to see while you’re here. Luckily the city is equipped with a pretty decent subway system. It is comprised of two main lines that will take you to most notable sites within a few minutes. Another aspect of Rome was that it had a much better nightlife than Venice. If you head to the northeastern end of the city you can find some great places to spend a night out. Furthermore, its not a bad idea to go revisit some of your favorite sites during the night as well. Most are lit up beginning at dusk and provide for some pretty amazing pictures. The impressiveness of some of the fountains and buildings is more apparent at night. The main drawback of Rome is that the center of the city is a drive away from Rome’s main airport. That being said it might prove wise to set up a shuttle before you venture over. Overall, Rome has a lot going on so it is a great place to go with a large group. A final thought on Venice and Rome is that you must eat as much of the food as you possibly can. The food, wine, and deserts are all some of the best I have ever had.

Hi again, everyone! This past month has been full of fun travels, good times, and, of course, lots of learning both in and out of the classroom. My overnight adventures included trips to London and Dublin, and I’ve also had many opportunities to explore the city of Manchester even further. One of the highlights of this month, though, was celebrating Thanksgiving with so many of the friends I’ve made over here. All of my English friends wanted to experience a traditional American Thanksgiving, so that meant that I wound up cooking a full Thanksgiving meal for everyone. It was a huge task but was really rewarding since everyone who came, both Americans and Brits, had a great time eating loads of food and just spending time together.

I also really enjoyed wandering through the Christmas Markets, which is comprised of stalls and exhibits that vendors set up in designated areas around the city. There are multiples squares full of different booths and food vendors and streets lined with even more fun things to discover. Oh, and every booth/stall/vending location is designed in the traditional European Christmas Market style, so it’s a very cultural experience. You can get things ranging from Manchester souvenirs to a number of different foods and drinks, and a whole lot of things in between.

Another fun discovery was the John Rylands Library. This library was built in the early 1900s and merged with the University of Manchester Library in the 1970s, but the original building is full of history and artifacts from all over the world. You’re not supposed to take pictures inside the exhibit areas, but it was almost surreal being so close to things dating back to the sixth century B.C. I also saw a display about how Manchester is credited as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution—I had no idea that Manchester was so full of history, but it’s awesome to be here in a place so full of great things to discover.

Hey everyone, my name is Alissa and I’m a UW junior who’s currently studying in Manchester for a semester. I’m not completely sure of where to start, other than to say my experience so far has been absolutely amazing! Manchester as a city isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing place in the UK, but it has plenty of attractions to make up for it. For one, there’s the two massive shopping malls: Arndale Shopping Center, which is about a 15 minute walk from the main campus, and The Trafford Center, which I’m told is the biggest mall in the UK (I don’t know for sure that this is true, but I can vouch that it is definitely a bit overwhelming in size!). There are also a ton of art and science museums if you’re into those kinds of things. Plus it’s really easy to get from Manchester to other European locations for pretty cheap. I’ve been to Edinburgh and Bath, and I was able to see Stonehenge in person.  Tomorrow starts Reading Week, which is basically like the University of Manchester’s version of a mid-semester break. Most students go travelling over Reading Week, and I’m headed to London for the first half and Dublin for the second half of the week. Like I said, it really is easy to travel more once you get over here.

 One of the other things I love about Manchester is all the great people I’ve met. The business school here has a really awesome international society who sets up lots of events and makes it really easy to meet other exchange students from all over the world. Plus, I’m living in the university’s student housing, and the way my accommodation is set up is as a flat that I share with seven other people. There’s another American girl here from Arizona State University, and everyone else in the flat is from England which has made meeting ‘local’ people really easy, too. People here tend to love Americans and it’s been really fun learning their lingo and teaching them some of ours. There are so many little colloquialisms and different pronunciations that, at first, had me really confused as to what people were saying to me, but I picked it up really quickly and have come to enjoy all the little differences. 

 There are also a ton of other differences in things ranging from the way classes are structured to the way people shop for food here, but I think the biggest cultural difference I’ve noticed so far is the drinking age. Since the drinking age is 18 and Manchester is a college city, there are a ton of bars and clubs that make for a fun night out, even if you’d prefer not to drink a lot yourself. And I have to admit that it’s really nice being able to walk into any of the numerous pubs in Fallowfield (the area of Manchester that houses a lot of students) and relax with friends over good food and a drink. Which reminds me: we don’t really have pubs in the States, at least not in Seattle, but they’re pretty great. You know how you hear that pub food is, generally, really unhealthy but totally delicious? It’s true. Just another little detail that has made my time here so far amazing.