Kate – Nottingham Trent University, England
Semester 1, 2019
Bachelor of Business / Bachelor of Law (Honours)
I have always considered myself a friendly person but I struggle initially with large social settings especially when I do not know anyone. From that, it is clear why I was apprehensive as to whether exchange was something that I would enjoy or if I would end up spending 6 months alone on the other side of the world. But I can jump ahead and say whole heartedly, exchange was the best thing I have ever done.
Before leaving, one of my friends reassured me and asked me if I have ever heard anyone say that they didn’t enjoy exchange? And she was right. I was lucky enough to get a spot in accommodation on campus, having my own small room and a bathroom (more like a caravan bathroom) but hey, it did the job! I lived in a hallway that had 24 rooms, sharing one large kitchen and one common room which had tables, chairs and two small couches. The entire third floor of our accommodation was purely international students which ended up being one of my favourite aspects of my exchange. It took a lot of self-pep-talks to venture out of my room and a few weeks before I found some people I really connected with, but after that the days just got better and better.
I have an extreme love to travel and I managed to find a group of friends who shared this passion.
This led to a few amazing opportunities to travel with my new found friends, first to Ireland then to Greece!
About Nottingham
Nottingham itself is a small town and feels like it is largely run by the students at the two universities it has. This created a very lively culture and most evening there was a party happening somewhere and the accompanying music could be heard. Basically the clubbing scene in Nottingham is beyond anything I have ever seen. Any day of the week (but Sunday) there is a club you could go to and it will be packed! My personal favourite day was Wednesdays, where all NTU student groups/unions/clubs or any friendship groups picked a theme for the night and committed to that theme, wearing their unified costumes to the clubs. In the six months I was there I saw it all. VS angels, people dressed as vegetables, as thugs (which we did do one of the nights) you name it! It’s a real right of passage for any NTU students and makes you feel like one of them.
Nottingham also has some beautiful parks, Wollaton park being one of them, where you can see real deer and the mansion of Bruce Wayne from the Batman movies! Not to mention the famous Sherwood forest where Robin Hood roamed. Nottingham is a beautiful city and was the perfect location for a 6 month exchange.
The university
The university itself was also amazing. I was lucky enough to have all of my classes at the city campus which meant everything was in walking distance. The Clifton campus is about a 20 minute bus ride and located quite far from the city. From the stories I heard, even if you have classes at Clifton, I would strongly recommend still getting accommodation at the city campus as I know some of the exchange students at Clifton felt isolated – and missed out on the ease of being able to walk anywhere you want.
Some of us went on a day trip to Wales and hiked through Snowdonia – this was an organised trip by a company called CityLife Nottingham. They run a number of day trips/weekend trips/extended trips, open to any students and for a reasonable price! It is a great way to see more of England and the UK in general without the hassle of having to organise transport yourself.
I would recommend exchange to anyone I see and could not be more thankful for my experiences abroad. I have made lifelong friends and memories I will never forget.
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