Keep Off The Grass (And Other Lessons Learned)

Just as the number of rain clouds in the sky has diminished, I am packing to return to the States. At this time, it is also appropriate to look back at lessons learned in my travels so those who come after me do not have to reinvent the wheel.  So, here are the dos and don’ts and useful information for the next person who gets sent to Coventry:

Pre-Departure

Housing:

The University of Warwick gives you the option to live on or off campus. Get your housing request in as early as possible in order to secure a spot. On-campus dorms come furnished with bedding. Bathrooms are cleaned twice a month, so no need to buy cleaning supplies. I believe the least expensive hall is Cryfield, where students have individual rooms but hall bathrooms and kitchens. I live in Benefactors which is different from most other dorms--the first floor of rooms consists of a common room, a kitchen, and a lot of single rooms with private restrooms. The second floor, where I live, has shared rooms with en suite restrooms. What is really cool about my room is that I have a huge window and a lofted second floor where the beds, closets, and restroom are. I also have two kitchens on my floor.

Benefactors Hall, January 2014

Decorative water thing outside Benefactors, April 2014

First floor of my dorm room.

Online Enrollment Form:

You are not a student at Warwick until you complete this. You can pay any fees due to the university, like housing fees, and register for classes once you submit the form. Make sure Warwick sends you this form before they close for the winter holiday in case you have questions. I did not receive it until right after their offices closed and I had questions about how to complete it, but no where to turn for answers until the office reopened. It was a really big problem--I almost had to travel to England without knowing if I was enrolled.

Packing

Warm socks, two or three good quality sweaters, a heavy coat and a scarf should get you through the winter months. Blending in is easiest if you stick to dark colors. If you are staying for two terms (from January until June), bring layers. Some of the summer days get pretty toasty, so you’ll want short sleeved shirts and maybe even a pair of shorts. Girls--it is really windy here, so stick to pencil skirts. My airline only allowed me to check in one piece of luggage for free, so I become a minimalist. I only brought three pairs of shoes--winter boots, a sturdy pair of ballet flats, and tennis shoes--which is really all I needed.

I packed to save money, so most of the clothes I brought are things I am fine parting with if a souvenir needs to take its place in my luggage. I also brought shampoo and other toiletries because they are cheaper in the US. My parents believe I may have taken things a little too far when I shoved a bowl, coffee cup, cutlery, and a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch (my favorite) in my bag, but I think it was worth it.

Remember to bring an adapter!

Travel

You will likely arrive at the London-Heathrow Airport. From there, it is easiest to take a bus to Coventry via the National Express coaches. Ticket prices increase closer to the travel date, so while you can buy a ticket on arrival, you will save some major bank by purchasing it online beforehand. From Coventry Station (also known as Pool Meadow Station), the University is just a 20 to 30 minute bus ride away.

The International Office, which is equivalent to USC’s Study Abroad Office, hosts trips to various parts of the UK. While you could probably find a better deal by booking with another company like Megabus, traveling with the International Office is extremely convenient if you live on campus. Below are some pictures from my most recent trip with the International Office to Winchester, the former capital of England. The World@Warwick society (student organization) also hosts some trips for members.

Winchester Cathedral

Jane Austin's grave at Winchester Cathedral 

Strolling along the River Itchen after touring the City Mill 

King Arthur's round table at the Great Hall

Campus Life

Classes run Monday through Friday and can be at any time of the day. Only one section of each class is offered, but that should not be a problem as many of the courses within the business school are scheduled so as not to conflict with each other. By the way, I never had to bring my notebook to any of my lectures since the lecturers always brought printouts of the class notes, and margins are a great place for extra note-taking.

There are lots of fun events on campus in the evenings from trivia nights at the Dirty Duck pub to dance events in the Students’ Union. You can also watch movies or work out at the gym. Unfortunately, none of these services are included in the tuition, but most of them are reasonably priced.

Miscellaneous

Walking:

You will notice that students at Warwick go out of their way to walk on the pavement, even if cutting through grassy areas will save time. Definitely follow suit during the rainy winter months. I learned the hard way and ended up with mud all over my boots. Yuck.

Banks:

There is a Barclays and Santander right on campus if you want to open a bank account in England. Opening an account is fairly simple--I just needed a special note from Warwick Uni (I forget what it is called) and a form of ID. Closing bank accounts can take a little bit of time, so be prepared for that.

24/7 Is Not a Thing:

If a store says it is open 24/7, that is probably untrue. For instance, the Costcutter convenience store nearby my dorm boasts 24/7 hours, but closes at 11 pm every night except on Sundays when it closes at 5 pm. A general rule of thumb: most places (stores, castles, etc.) close at 5 or 6 pm, so plan accordingly!

Student Health Services:

There is a health center located nearby the Students’ Union and Costcutter. Before you can meet with a General Practitioner there, you must register. Registering is not difficult at all and only takes a few minutes, but it is best to get that done pretty early on.

Service in General:

This is not Japan, my home country, or even the Southern US, known for its hospitality.  The level of service here is inconsistent and having the right accent can make a difference. The American accent both opens doors and slams them shut.

Best Simple Pleasures of Life at Warwick:

Chocolate, even the store brand ones are a level above the stuff in Japan and the US

Ducks on campus

April’s tulips

Spinning desk chairs in the dorms

Nice neighbors

Shopping for postcards to send to friends

Receiving snail mail

Lychee flavored soda

Moving On

This life-altering six month adventure in England is coming to an end, and in a few days I will fly back to the US where I will begin preparing for my final undergraduate year. I am excited about my senior year classes, being involved with the Capstone Scholars program again as a Capstone Ambassador, moving back in with my roommates who are also some of my very best friends, pigging out at Groucho’s Deli, and the bittersweet conclusion of my four years at USC.

My semester at Warwick has been one of self discovery and growth. I now have a better understanding of the world and have become a stronger, more resilient person though overcoming challenging situations. I may have gained a few extra pounds (those Chilli Heatwave Doritos are so good), but with those pounds have come wonderful, irreplaceable memories. I look forward to seeing how my experiences living in England will affect my life in America. 

And that's a wrap!

Took Exams, Looked at Sand

I once met a girl who, for some very strange reason, loved taking tests. I do not. I am anxious tester who constantly bites her nails and sometimes blanks during exams.  While I lucked out and only had to sit three exams this term, they were worth large portions of my final grades (50%~100%), so I was especially nervous. 

Before entering the testing rooms, I had to check seating charts posted outside. For my last exam, I was at desk number 163 and there were many more seats after mine. I had about two hours for each exam and all three required me to write two essays. I am not sure how well I did--I am typically very bad at guessing my exam scores. I would love to know how I tested right now, but the University of Warwick will not post my grades until August. Oh, well. I will just have to work on being patient.

Yesterday (Saturday), I took a mental heath day trip to Weston-super-Mare, a seaside resort town. It was chilly enough that I needed to wear a hoodie and jeans, but sunny enough that my face burned. I spent the day mainly by strolling along the beach and wandering into little, local shops.

Fish and chips

Blue raspberry slush by the beach!

Weston-super-Mare is known for two things, according to their tourism website: the “iconic” donkeys and the Sand Sculpture Festival. The donkeys are popular among little children who can ride them along the seashore.

Weston's iconic donkeys!

I really enjoyed the Weston Sand Sculpture Festival, an annual event featuring artists from all over the worl. This year’s theme was stories, so there were sculptures of Romeo and Juliet, Beatrix Potter’s rabbits, and characters from Game of Thrones, to name a few.

Where The Wild Things Are

The Hunger Games

The Hobbit

Romeo and Juliet

Winnie the Pooh

I definitely was in need of a break after my stressful month of studying and sitting exams. It was so nice to explore a new place by myself as I was able to do what I wanted, when I wanted. I had a truly lovely and relaxing day in Weston-super-Mare, and I look forward to spending my remaining few weeks in England taking little trips to other areas of the UK!

Fauna Are Bigger in England

Yesterday I woke up at 6 in the morning and decided do my laundry (washers cost 2.20 GBP per load and dryers are one pound for 50 minutes) because clean clothes are important to have around, and I desperately needed some. On my way to the laundromat I came across a bunch of hares. They were so cute! I took a video of one, but the quality is quite poor because I only had my phone on me, and my mobile specializes in producing blurry images. There are lots of hares around campus all year long. They are often skittish and hop away from me at lightning speed, so I hardly ever get a good look at them, but the ones yesterday were much calmer.

Other than hares, the University of Warwick is home to several types of birds, like swans and geese, as well. There is a pool of still water (I think it is supposed to be a fountain or some other pleasant, decorative thing, but in reality it simply attracts mosquitos and other bugs that thrive in unmoving water) in front of my dorm where ducks like to swim. It is fun watching them play in the water and fluff up their feathers. The other day, I even saw a mother duck with her tiny duckings in tow!

Birds in this area are, as my boyfriend who is currently vacationing in Ireland put it, “really burly.” I still have not gotten used to how muscular they appear. Pigeons are sturdy-looking--a sentence I have never uttered before arriving in England. Other birds one would expect to be small and graceful are simply shockingly large.

I have also noticed some bugs are bigger in England than in the US. A few days ago, a bee buzzed into my room. Normally I am kind of okay with bees; they frighten me but I can somehow learn to coexist if absolutely necessary. However, this bee was enormous. It was the size of a wasp one might find in America. I screamed and ran out into the hallway where I set up camp until 4 in the morning when my (incredibly kind) Ukrainian neighbor returned to the dorm and agreed to catch the stinger. “You were so scared of a bee you left your room?” he inquired. “How cute.” I guess bees in Ukraine are also gigantic. What I do know for sure is that I am never opening my window ever again.

Long story short, whoever said everything is bigger in Texas was so wrong.

Peanut Butter, the Gourmet Food Market, & Finals Month

Good peanut butter is hard to come by in Coventry. First off, the selection of peanut butter at the stores is minuscule; you have your choice of crunchy peanut butter or extra crunchy peanut butter, and both are made by the same UK company. I am no peanut butter connoisseur, but the locally made stuff does not cut it for me. It tastes weird. Thank goodness for the International Foods aisle where two jars of Jif peanut butter were hidden behind a crushed container of Captain Crunch cereal, next to a box of Jello instant pudding and a few beef jerky packets. One jar of Jif cost around 8 USD, but I bought it anyway because, to me at least, peanut butter is worth any price.

While comfort food is good to have, it fun to try what the locals eat, too. Once a month, a Gourmet Food Market sets up shop by the Students’ Union, and I have bought some of the most interesting foods from the various stalls. My first purchase was a bacon burger--the least expensive item on the menu. It was amazing. The bacon was thick and well seasoned. I have also sampled delicious spicy tomato and caramelized onion chutney, treated myself to Irish coffee flavored fudge for my 21st birthday, and polished off a whole bag of savory samosas.

First Gourmet Food Market of the Spring term!

My bacon burger.

The nice men who made my burger.

Fudge! My favorite is the toffee fudge.

Unfortunately, as much as I want to continue writing about my love of food, I absolutely have to get back to studying. The University of Warwick (finally) announced the exam schedule for the summer term, and while mine are not for a few weeks, I have a lot of notes to read over. My first exam, which is May 20th, is for my International and European Employment Relations class and counts for 100% of my grade in that course, so I need to do really well on that. My International Marketing exam on the 21st is 50% of my grade, and my final exam on the 30th is for Managing HR and counts for 100%. I am a little nervous about my exams, but so long as I continue to work through all of my class notes, I think I should be okay! But just in case, please keep your fingers crossed for me.

And lastly, May the Fourth be with you!

Returning to Warwick

Going home was definitely a good idea. I really missed my parents as I had not seen them since early August when I left for my fall semester at USC. However, my holiday with Mom and Dad has, unfortunately, ended. My Easter began early in the morning as boarded a plane in Japan and landed roughly 13 hours later at the London-Heathrow Airport.  From there, I dragged my exhausted body to a hotel where I fell asleep before posting a new blog entry--whoops. Today I will be traveling to the university.

From Heathrow, I can either take trains or a bus to Coventry Station. I like to take the bus because wandering around town with luggage while jet lagged is not ideal. The ride to Coventry Station (i.e. Pool Meadow Station) takes about two hours. England is filled with lots of curvy roads and roundabouts, so the ride can be a little tough if you, like me, are prone to motion sickness.  On the bright side, you get to see the rolling hills and bright green pastures of the English countryside. Absolutely gorgeous!

Bus drivers in the UK (or at least in England and Wales) typically do not announce stations, so you need to keep your eyes peeled for signs. Coventry Station is nearby a large, metal thing. I am not exactly sure what it is and how to describe it. Maybe it is art? I use it as a landmark, so when I see that I know my stop is near.

Once at Coventry Station, I take the number 11 or 12  bus (they both go to the University). The buses do not give back change, so passengers need to either have exact change or be willing to part with a bit of extra money for the ride. When I traveled to the Warwick Uni the first time, I bought a bottle of Sprite at the cafeteria in the station to break a fiver (a five pound note) for coins for the bus. 

The ride from Coventry Station to the University is about 20 minutes. I stay on the bus for a while longer after driving onto university grounds to reach a stop nearby another interesting metal structure. This location is very close to Senate House where I will collect the keys to my dorm room. Then I can begin round two of my study abroad experience. Wish me luck!

Hard Times

When a typical non-European imagines England, we think of beautiful, picturesque buildings rich with history.  The University of Warwick is a relatively young institution so the buildings are “modern”, but are older than anyone in my generation.  To quote my Malaysian neighbor, the buildings have “little architectural value”.  If you want to see structures older than dirt, or at least your parents, you will have to leave campus.  The good news:  a trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace, is only a bus ride away.

At the Shakespeare Centre in Stratford-upon-Avon in early February.

Have you ever shared a kitchen with 25 other students?  I do at Warwick, and it is not exactly pleasant.  Communal kitchens are a norm in England, just as they are in the US.  In fact, I shared only five kitchens with over 500 other residents during the two years I lived in Capstone House, but it was never a problem because the majority of us were on  meal plans.  UK schools do not offer meal plans, so students must prepare their own food or eat out.  This is really not a problem--just know how to make some basic meals before you leave the States.

The issue is theft.  My kitchen has two fridges and two freezers, so I only have about a third of a shelf to store food, and sometimes (later in the Spring term with more frequency) I noticed my groceries were missing.  I used to wonder Who Moved My Cheese? but learned that I should have been asking who ate it, instead.  People have drunk my milk and opened packages of other more substantial foods like chicken countless times.  It is a real drag, and some students who share my kitchen have complained, too.  Not many of the exchange students who live in other dorms have had this issue, so keep in mind it is not guaranteed you will too.

However, the biggest difficulty I encountered while in England is the weather.  I knew that England is a rainy place before moving there, but I did not understand to what extent and how that would affect me.  I do not recall seeing the sun during my first month in Coventry, and, to be honest, rainy days (and Mondays) always get me down.  If you are moving from famously hot Columbia, best pack a bottle of fish oil to help combat the blues. 

Apparently, England experienced an especially wet winter.  The southern area of the UK suffered from floods that were compared to the water in Louisiana after the levees fell in 2005.  Despite the constant precipitation, Coventry did not even get a smidgen of snow this year, which Joanne, one of the ladies who cleans my dorm, said is unusual.  She grew up in the area, so she would know.  By the way, my room came with bedding (sheets, pillows, blankets) and is vacuumed/hoovered twice a month, which is nice.

The University provides comforters and other bedding to on-campus residents.

Everything is new.  Some things are good, others are just plain irritating, but it is all interesting.  Embracing the differences is what makes you a more tolerant and resilient person, and I believe those are the two main reasons why studying abroad is worth the ups and downs and stolen cheese.

Why Choose Warwick

Yorkshire Tea, Cadbury chocolate, and Branston Pickle--those are the things UK expats miss when away from home.  How do I know this?  I am in Japan, my home country, for Warwick’s Easter Holiday which separates the Spring and Summer terms and have been hanging out with my former teachers from Britain.  I think I am going to miss those foods, too, along with the UK Doritos (which are the best I have tasted in three countries).  They even beat out the yummy Japanese Doritos which are far superior to the US versions--what is up with that, Frito Lay?

However, I did not come to England in search of better chips.  I thought it would be interesting to spend the next few blog entries focusing more on life at the University of Warwick and why one might choose it for a semester abroad, especially since I understand the IB majors in the year below are in the midst of deciding which universities they hope to attend.

England made my shortlist for two reasons: language and courses.  It really helps that everyone I have encountered speaks English since my second language is only spoken in Japan.  Warwick Business School also offers classes that count towards both my International Business and Human Resources Management degrees, so I am still on track to graduate college on time.  I know from one of the other IB majors at Warwick that there are many Finance courses USC students can take, as well.

Credits earned at the University of Warwick translate back to USC as pass/fail.  This means that my Carolina GPA is not affected by my term overseas.  However, graduate schools look at all transcripts, so I cannot slack whilst in England.  Students need a minimum of 12 credit hours to maintain full-time student status at USC, which is equivalent to 48 CATS.  Some classes can be worth more CATS depending on how long you are staying at the university.  If you are there for two terms, classes tend to count for more than if you are only there for one.  One of the other USC students chose to attend Warwick for only one term, so while he is already finished with his study abroad experience, except for a handful of papers due in about a month, he took more classes than me during the Spring term to meet the full-time status requirement.  

Classes, as I mentioned in an earlier post, are run differently--they meet once a week and finals can be up to 100% of your grade, so finding a good study spot is a must.  My favorite building at Warwick to do homework is the library because there are quiet study areas on almost every floor.  All of the study areas are above ground, so you can set up shop by a window and bask in the little bits of sunshine that weasel their way through the cloudy English sky.  There is even a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream machine on the ground floor, which makes being at the library even more worth it.  The only downside is that, unlike the Thomas Cooper Library which stays open 24/7, the University of Warwick’s library closes.

If you want a safe campus, Warwick is definitely a school to consider.  Some of the on-campus facilities, such as the library, require Warwick student IDs for entry, which cuts down on theft.  The grounds are very well-lit when dark so late-night study sessions in other buildings on campus are possible.  There are also surveillance cameras everywhere.  This is a norm in the UK, but it still makes me feel a lot more comfortable walking home at night.

There are downsides to Warwick, as well, but I will write about them in the next post.  For now, I need to go to bed early because I start an internship tomorrow.