Wow! Time flies very fast here. In the past week I have:
1.) Finished Liverpool Hope University's orientation program for international students
2.) Visited the city of Liverpool several times
3.) Visited the city of Chester
4.) Made friends from all over the world
5.) Conquered jetlag
I may have only listed five things, but the list could go on and on. For example, I discovered that LHU (the university I am attending here) has AMAZING food to choose from! They also have a bar in their cafeteria area where students can get drinks after 4pm and just spend some time relaxing.
Getting to campus is an adventure in itself since we must take a double decker bus 20 minutes to class...and the schedule is a bit confusing! An easy way of transit is the train, but I only use that to get into the city or for trips away from Liverpool. The train runs every 10 or so minutes and is a very short walk from my accommodation.
The city of Liverpool is very nice with plenty of shops, clubs, and museums! I have bought a few things from a lovely store called Primark, which is a very popular clothing and accessory store in Europe. You can find plenty of sweaters for £10 (equal to around $13), which is very reasonable! Also, I visited The Beatles Story. I know, THE BEATLES. It was a great experience that I highly recommend, in fact, I made me tear up a little bit!
With the international program, I got to take a trip to Chester, England, which is about a 45 minute train ride from my accommodation. It was a cute little town that contained a lot of shops and restaurants. We visited the Cathedral of Chester, which was marvelous, and I couldn't help but feel very moved by its size, history, and Godly atmosphere.
One of my favorite parts of studying abroad is spending time with other international students to get to know their culture. For example, a difference I found between America, France, and Switzerland (and possibly other countries) is that students must pay thousands of dollars and must go to great lengths to get their driver's license. In my experience, getting a driver's license is very cheap and easy in America.
And finally. After a week, I have conquered jet lag and adjusted to being 5 hours away from my home. I feel very comfortable in my accommodation, made some great friends, and have been enjoying every minute of studying abroad.
It has been a really exciting week and I cannot wait to see what the rest of the semester has in store for me!
Since I do not have class until Wednesday, my friend Ellie and I will be traveling to Edinburgh, Scotland, tomorrow. I will share more about my past week with you all, but not until I return from Edinburgh! Pictures will be posted when I return.
Cheers and love from Liverpool!
-Michaela