Survived week one? Check!

Wow! Have I seriously been in England for only a week now? It’s such a bizarre feeling – the days go by so quickly, yet I’ve jam-packed so much stuff into these past 9 days that I can’t believe only a week has gone by. With that being said however, it’s been a crazy-awesome time here, filled with meeting tons of new people, partying until the wee hours of the morning, going on plenty of tours, and doing my best to sort out what will be my life here at Essex for the next 9 months (basically, I just copy everything that Amberle and Stephanie do, and so far it’s been working out well for me, haha). Where to begin! Well, how about from the spaced-out/overwhelming/relieving day that was last Sunday……..

After shuffling up my bags to my room I spent a few moments to myself trying to soak it all in. My original plan was to simply pull out my duvet from the pack I ordered and crash right then and there, but I felt so spaced out and over-stimulated that I stayed awake and by the grace of the jetlag gods managed to push through another 10(!) hours. I’m glad I did, because not only did I not get a headache or pass out or vomit or get cranky, but I got the chance to socialise with my new flatmates over a cup of tea (yes, it’s very popular here) and I got to meet up with Amberle and Stephanie for a quick visit before we all went to sleep (Oh sleep! Sweet, glorious sleep!).

Monday was filled with setting up my internet, shopping at the nearby grocery store TESCO (everything but HP Sauce and Heinz tomato ketchup is a British brand), and attending an international student welcome meeting. The presentation was geared more towards international students who are doing their whole degree at Essex, so at the end of the meeting I introduced myself as a Canadian exchange student and asked a question about clubs geared towards study abroad students. From that I ended up being approached by 3 other students, one of which was a fellow Canadian from Montreal named Gilles. So speaking up led me to become friends with even more awesome people! The same thing happened later on that night when I was waiting in line for tickets for Freshers Week and befriended a girl from Norway named Silja, whom I’ve hung out with quite a bit since then. Through Amberle and Stephanie I’ve also met some wonderfully friendly and enthusiastic people that I hope to spend more time with as the weeks go on (it helps that all three of us live in separate residences). So, much like my first year at Trent, my social life is booming here! ;)

Speaking of which, my gosh, is Essex ever a party-friendly school! During Freshers Week there were multiple parties being held in multiple venues, and that’s not even including the endless house parties in the residences. I went out clubbing at Ministry of Sound night (which is a world-famous club in London that I would love to check out), International night, and at an Eliza Doolittle concert (she’s a very cute British singer). On the other nights I simply stayed up late writing blog posts and bonding with Steph and Amberle over tea, beer, and whatever sweets and goodies we could pick up at the campus shop.

AAANNNNNNNDDDDD that isn’t even mentioning all of the tours I’ve gone on!! The first was to Wivenhoe, a quaint little British town about a half hour’s walk away, where we had a pint of English beer by the water (like in the Essex brochures!). The second tour was to Colchester, which is the city near campus – we visited the castle there (it’s very small, but it’s legit!) and I got a free pint of Strongbow with my order of jacket potatoes (possibly the most exciting free drink I’ve ever received, haha). The third and final trip was a tour of Cambridge, including King’s College at the university. I won’t go into too much detail about it right now, but I’ll just say that walking along the cobblestones streets and admiring all of the beautiful architecture reminded me why I wanted to come to England in the first place. It was absolutely GORGEOUS, and it got me so pumped up for travelling (this Saturday in fact, is my long-awaited trip to London!). What a treat to be able to experience all of this so soon after arriving here!

"And now for something completely different…………"

So because I know you want all the deets on rez life, here’s my living situation: Including me, there are 14 of us living on the fourth floor of Tawney Tower. 8 of us are international students, and 6 are British. The Brits are Izzie, Ellie, Chloe, James, Farzad, and Ali, while the international students are me, Kri (American), Emily (American), Klaus (German), Shotaro (from Hong Kong, although his English is perfect), Beatrix (Spanish), Fabio (from Angolla), and Li (Chinese). So it’s an awesome mix of people, all from different places, all different ages, and a good balance between guys and girls. So far, we’ve all got along really well – everyone is very respectful of each other’s space, and while most of us are very sociable, the partying hasn’t gotten too out of control. I feel very confident that living with these people will be a thoroughly enjoyable experience for me :)

And now, because this post just isn’t bloody long enough, here is the first instalment of my weekly segment…….

British Thing of the Week!!!!!!!!!!!

And the winner is…………..

The University of Essex!

Kind of an obvious choice, but since it’ll be my homebase until July, I thought I’d tell you more about what I think of it. First of all, the campus is beautiful – lots of green space, a small lake, and large concrete buildings that remind me a lot of Trent (they were both built in the 1960s and are rather liberal-minded schools). There are tons of parties going on all the time, and it helps that there are two clubs, two bars, 8 restaurants, and plenty of alcohol to purchase on campus (in fact, people can down a can of Fosters right in the middle of campus if they want to – public drinking is totally fine here!) As well, and this was a pleasant surprise for me, 45% of the students here are international, so I definitely don’t feel like I’m part of a minority! It’s a tremendously fun school, so while I haven’t quite fallen in love with it like I did with Trent, it feels like the right place for me to be at this point in my life :)


Whew! Ok, I need to stop writing these so late at night, but I really wanted to give you all an update on the craziness that was Freshers Week! Feel free to creep my photos on Facebook, let me know how your Thanksgiving was, and keep in touch! (I called my mom long-distance today, and Skyped with my dad and sister yesterday, so as long as I have the time, I’m definitely in the mood to chat!).

Love you all!

Madalyn