Newcastle University

Experience Report 1

My name is Justin and I recently got back from my exchange abroad in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England during Winter 2015. Let me tell you, the first thing that really surprised: the weather. Northern England had an astonishingly good winter, unlike back home in North America. 

Anyways, Newcastle was a great experience full of ups and downs. While it was way, way easier than anything I've done at McGill academically, there were times when life felt so much harder than in Montreal, I'll start by sharing my top 4 challenges and then my top 3 favourite things about exchange. 

My Four Toughest Challenges on Exchange

1. Jet Lag - eat, sleep, avoid caffeine

Oh my gosh is this a big one. Jet lag hit me like a ton of bricks when I lost 5 hours by travelling to Europe. Instad of sleeping on my British Ariways flight, I decided to drink caffeine, skip dinner, and watch 22 Jump Street - whoops. If you're travelling far away, taking care of your body is key. My biggest advice would be to make sure to eat, try to get some rest on the plane if possible, and avoid caffeine at all costs until you arrive there. If you manage this, you'll find the transition will be a lot easier. 

2. Forgot my uni Wi-Fi Password - write everything down!

For all my worrying about the challenges I'd face in England, the one challenge that totally blindsided me was so simple. I forgot my university wi-fi password when I arrived. Granted, the university had emailed it to me but I forgot to write it down. So, for my first day I was locked out of the internet. Definitely write down all your login info before you go abroad. 

3. You will get lost - bring a compass!

Despite all of our technology, there are some times you need to keep things old school. For me, I spent my first day in Newcastle wandering around trying to find the way to my Rez from the metro station. It took me two hours until I finally broke down and decided to hire a cab to get me there. In general, don't always assume Google Maps will be there for you. Your phone might be out of battery, you might be roaming in a foreign country, or something else might come up. There were tons of times I wished I had brought a compass on my exchange, so it's definitely a good idea to bring one. 

4. You'll get bored - make sure to have things to do

This was the most surprising part for me. Since your academic course load will probably be a lot lighter overseas, try to get involved on campus and cultivate your hobbies. For me, I had about a month free after Easter Break before exams, so I stayed busy by going to the gym, hanging out with friends, and even learning some German in my spare time. Exchange isn't always super exciting, so make sure to have things to do when life slows down. 

My Three Favourite Things about Exchange

1. You get to see the world, pretty cheaply if you do it right

When you're abroad, definitely take advantage of the fact that a lot of your friends will probably be in the same hemisphere as you. For me, I was lucky that a bunch of people I knew from McGill were scattered across Europe, so lining up places to go for my month-long Easter Break was fun and fairly easy. I went to London, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Copenhagen, and Paris. It was exhausting but really cool to see the world!

2. You get to make friends from around the world

This is definitely one of the coolest perks of going on exchange in my opinion. In Newcastle, I made friends with lots of Brits, plus other exchange kids from Spain, Germany, Australia and tons of other places. After a few weeks we really became like a family and they definitely helped make exchange less lonely. 

3. Exchange is what you make of it

Everyone's exchange looks different. I knew people who would travel to a new city every weekend, other people I knew were all about the nightlife and would go out 4 to 6 times a week. If you feel like you don't fit in, just remember that almost everyone has different priorities and reasons for going abroad, so the key is to find peopole who have similar interests as you. It's totally okay to be different. For me, I centered my exchange around spending time with my friends, going out with Newcastle Uni's Cocktail Society, and travelling around England on weekends. I even found burrito places in Newcastle and Leeds!

Finals Thoughts on Exchange...

Exchange is such an exciting time in your life at McGill. If you can go, I highly recommend doing it. Life abroad will challenge, enrich, and stretch you in ways you never could have imagined. I had a lot of fun on mine and I hope that other McGill kids will too when they go abroad in future years!