By: Paige Barbarich

As a very lucky participant in studying abroad I have learnt many things, opening myself to endless possibilities and new ambitions to carry me further in my future. After spending four months in Lancaster, UK, we decided to return home early for both personal reasons, as well as taking precautions due to the ongoing fuel crisis. We discovered that flights were being cancelled, and as we were almost at the end of our term we decided it would be in our best decision to return home early. To resolve the issue of studying back home and ensure we could still complete our papers, we discussed options with our study abroad team and global experiences. They provided material that we could do, such as a replacement essay for an exam, or continuing modules online.

Sam and I travelled and planned to study together. We chose England as the previous year I made good friends with the study abroad student from Lancaster as we were living in the same dorm. In doing so, we bonded over our different life experiences which encouraged me to seek out new and exciting experiences myself. For safety reasons, as well as emphasising the idea it would be an amazing opportunity to share, I influenced Sam to join me on my adventure!

We were able to study and greet our friend back over there as she was finishing her degree. However, I also chose England as I wanted to see what the fast paced word was like. On the contrary to anywhere in the UK, especially London, New Zealand is very relaxing and far less populated. I also found there is further variety in almost everything, and public transport is far more advanced. It felt like stepping 30 years into the future. This cultural shock was very appealing to me since I thrive in places that feel busy, exciting, and filled with opportunities; still, I enjoy New Zealand’s solidarity. Lastly, I also am a major music fanatic. A large part of England’s media culture is music, and decades of legendary artists have been birthed there. I fell in love with the historic opportunities I found, leading the way for many of my personal highlights of my trip, such as playing on Sir Paul McCartney’s first piano!

L to R, Playing Sir Paul McCartney’s first piano, Me in Edinburgh Scotland, Miranda (the study abroad study from Lancaster) and I watching Randy Feltface.

I had many more trips to different areas and also experienced Edinburgh, which I could go on forever about, but I won’t venture too far.

What it was like studying was both familiar and entirely new. For me, it involved everything from transport, to food changes, environment changes and meeting all sorts of different friends. The accommodation had more variation than Waikato for instance, because of the size of the campus and population. This meant there were far more students living on campus and we were able to meet and connect with people from all areas. Our dorm situation however, was similar in a way to student village, with just a few on each floor with shared facilities. Luckily, Sam and I were home to a floor of lovely people who we grew to cherish as not only memories of a new time but also as global friends we will keep in contact with over the years. The student life was similar, between studying and leisurely activities. However, there was far more productive activism and concepts discussed which showed the openness of students in England’s society.

Getting around campus was different with the size of it, as it took a little longer to reach classes that were on the other side, and there was also a large range of convenient stores, bakeries and material stores. The cost of living was hard to compare, the exchange rate felt like it cheated us sometimes (only joking) but it was fairly similar to NZ and most things were more than affordable.

One thing I enjoyed the most was not only the range of public transport but its affordability. This offered the chance to be able to travel almost every weekend and see somewhere new. Lastly, there were a lot of differences between kiwi culture and British culture but some were very funny. I mean really guys…. You walk into a Subway ( the sandwich takeaways) and your side option is baked…beans?? And no carrot!? Sometimes I had to question why Brits have an odd obsession with baked beans, tea, and jacket potatoes. But I suppose us kiwis have our guilty pleasures too, much like the Whittakers chocolate, which they unfortunately did not have!

Aside from the differences I enjoyed it a lot. Of course there were moments where the 11,000 miles did feel very far at times, missing our friends and family, but what helped is that we had each other and everyone who was studying abroad had the same experiences. We weren’t ever really alone. We managed ourselves great and kept busy with school work and traveling that we slowly forgot about the absences. With something new almost every week the entire experience has ultimately changed my life for the good. I feel so much more free and ambitious knowing what can be out there for me, and the thrill of only being able to truly understand an experience by being there is what will encourage me to seek similar choices in the future.

I totally insist that if anybody can, that they should greatly consider an opportunity like this. There’s something so eye opening and intoxicating about seeing different ways of life. It has taught me that perspective is forever changing, there is always something new for you out there, and that no matter where you go you can meet some really neat people and create such exciting experiences; it all resolves into my moral belief that you should always aim to live life at its fullest, and so far I feel I have achieved a lot with this experience alone.

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me on this Journey, and all those people along the way I have met and worked with. I truly have no regrets, I loved it all.