Progress

In less than 10 weeks, I will be on a plane to England. I am beyond excited. Everything has started to become very real as I begin paying for things. I've booked my flight, have been assigned my accommodation and paid the damage deposit...The cost of everything has officially hit me. Thankfully I have applied for student loans and by the end of this week, I should know if I have won any scholarships through my school.

The semester seems to be rolling by - I can't believe i have only 2 weeks of classes left before finals! The stress adds up though, with the papers! My mind has been on England this entire semester and I am sure you can believe how hard it was to take initiative in my work. I've got two more papers to write and not a lot of time, so hello pressure!Taking 4 history classes this semester may have been a mistake but I can't stop now! 

In preparation for this trip, I have even had to order a new battery for my computer. Can you believe it, after two years, my battery is done. According to reviews on the website, this happens to all of them. For good measure, I invested in the larger, more favorably reviewed battery. This got me to thinking about adapters, so I am hoping I can find a cord for my computer that works in the UK! One less mini adapter to buy, I guess. 

Here in the Canadian prairies, it has essentially been winter since the middle of October. You can bet I am ready for a change of weather. In my city, the weather likes to tease us with miniature chinooks between cold spells and the lack of sunlight makes a lot of people depressed. You might think that the rain of England would not help this, but I've kept track, I have yet to see Nottingham get below zero while I have already encountered the frosty air of -25°C. I'd just really like some change!

Once classes and exams have finished, I hope to start my scrapbook in my free time between working. I plan on keeping one for memories, just as i am keeping this blog. I just need to figure out how to start it... 

xx

Brianna

The Story

For the winter semester of my third year, I am going to participating in an exchange to the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. 

 

Going on an international exchange was kind of a last minute decision for me. I had previously planned on doing the co-op program at my school, participating in three works terms over the course of my last three years of university. However, after a while of thinking about it, that program just did not fit in my future plans. Some of the people I knew from high school were going on exchanges or had transferred to other schools and I admit I got jealous. So after looking up possible exchanges for myself, I got super excited and made a decision - I was going to go study in a different country for a semester. 

The reason why I chose to go to England was because it is probably the best place to go for English speakers studying history. They have many more topic specific courses and they intrigue me. I've heard Nottingham is a really good school and it offers a good selection of history classes as well as geography classes, another subject I really enjoy. If I had applied earlier, I may have looked at other schools, but there were only two available so I am glad that this was a good one. 

I'm really excited to experience new things, to become much more independent and to make lots of friends that I hope I will keep for a long time. I want to make amazing memories and be able to remember them forever, which is why I am starting this blog. I hope to post often, either daily or every second day, posting pictures and stories of my day(s). I plan on beginning my posts in the week before I leave. This blog will serve as a reminder of what I experienced as well as a way for me to share my trip with family and friends. 

I hope you all enjoy this as much as I will!