Hey guys, my name is Madeline Wilvers. At UNCG, I'm a senior double majoring in Drama and Women and Gender Studies. For this semester, however, I'm in the UK at the University of Hull. I have been in England for exactly a month now, and the most mundane things are still the ones I'm unaccustomed to. I still forget that I'm the one with an accent. If I go a while without directly speaking to someone, the next time I'm addressed, there's a split second of "hey, they have a British accent!" before I remember that I'm literally in Britain.
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| Some of the exchange students friends I've made! |
There's alcohol quite literally everywhere. My school's student union has a bar. You can buy straight gin with your between-class-snack at Hull's equivalent of a Sparket, provided you have your ID. There's a pub across the street from the school's main entrance and another one down the road. There is probably a dozen within walking distance of where I live.
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| A day trip with other exchange students to Beverly, a nearby town. |
As a theatre major, I did not expect 98% of my classmates to outright hate Shakespeare. Apparently, being brought up in England means he's about all you study in terms of theatre and English. The strangest of all the differences so far is probably the age of all the buildings. While attempts are clearly made to update and modernize interiors, the outsides all tend to look like a quaint village from a Christmas card. The sinks have two different taps for hot and cold water. The shower has one shower head, but two pipes leading to it for hot and cold water. The rooms have old radiators, and none of the buildings I've been in so far have air conditioning. They're just not built for it.
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| Our Singaporean friend wanted to make us a Singaporean dish. There was a LOT of leftover food. |
I've only been here for a month, but even with these little things, it feels like I've been here for years. Here's hoping that the next two months go just as well!
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| My first Kinder Egg! |
