Lucy – King’s College London – England
Semester 1, 2023
Bachelor of Design – International
The semester that I spent at King’s College London for my exchange was by far the best 10 months of my degree and honestly my life so far! Living independently, making some lifelong international friends, and getting immersed in the UK culture was definitely living my main character moment. I cannot recommend enough how fulfilling having even a semester abroad is.
My name is Lucy and I’m studying Interior Architecture and spent two semesters in the UK. I started my exchange year in September and returned home in July. I would recommend starting your exchange at the beginning of their academic year, which is in September, as everyone was open to making heaps of new friends at the beginning of the year.
Living in London
Firstly, let’s clear up the stereotypes of England. Yes, the weather is gloomy and dark, so much so that I ended up taking Vitamin D tablets! However, when the sun starts setting at 4:30 pm it really gave it the cosy Christmas vibes which is the total opposite of Brisbane! I think that one thing I really loved about living and studying in the UK was the difference in culture and climate. Not to mention having hot chocolates and exploring the famous Oxford Street with friends.
I chose to live in student accommodation rather than outsource as I really wanted to immerse myself in student life and meet heaps of new people that were going to my university. Hayloft Point was the one I chose because the location was near an underground train line and pretty central London. This was important to me as I didn’t want to be too far commute from campus and the inner city. I shared a flat with eight other people in a complex with 15 different floors. There was a gym, laundry room and study spaces which were amazing. Now I know what you’re thinking, sharing a flat with eight people sounds crazy, but honestly, I think I got lucky! My flatmates were really clean and respectful and there were two ovens and two fridges. However, I know other people have had different experiences, but to me, that’s all part of the experience.
Catching public transport was always a bit daunting to me as London is such a big city and the underground train lines are like a spider web! But after living there for 10 months it got so easy and you can basically travel anywhere in London in 30 mins with the underground. It’s also really nice to catch the buses as firstly, they are double-decker, and secondly, it’s an easy way to sight see!
Meeting Friends
It can be really scary being by yourself halfway across the world, especially when you don’t know anyone. I found the first day of classes scary to meet people, but after you meet one person and then their friends, and then their friends you start to find your tribe. Also joining different clubs and societies are so much more popular over there and definitely something I think Brisbane is missing out on! I got involved in the art club, dance society and other gym classes – this was such a good way to meet like-minded people too! These friends and groups will become your family whenever you need a pick-me-up.
How could I forget, one of the best things about living and studying in the UK was how interconnected the country is with national trains and how close the rest of Europe is! I took every opportunity I could to travel and explore the country like travelling to Manchester for a music festival, going to the Cotswolds, or going to one of the “beaches” on the south coast (and I say “beach” in a loose term). As the UK is really close to Europe, there were heaps of other international students with different backgrounds. I have been so fortunate to have made friends from Switzerland, Italy, France, Barcelona, and Japan! It’s been so wonderful to listen to and learn about their different experiences and even spend Christmas with one of them!
University Life
The actual university part was very similar to Australia. We had weekly lectures and tutorials and required readings to have for the week that was a very similar format to here. As my degree had an extra year added to the course to allow for this exchange year, I could choose complementary subjects I wanted to study. I decided to explore my passion for Art and Architecture History as well as Modern History. This was a great choice as London has the British Museum and the National Design Museum and is overall full of culture and artifacts. Couldn’t have picked a better place to learn history!
To me as a curious design student looking to explore and experience the world, this exchange year has been so fundamental to my personal character and development of my passions. I have explored interests, met some incredible people with ranging experiences and embraced the chaos and change like I never knew I could. I have really proven to myself how independent and resilient I can be and wouldn’t know who I would be without the exchange. This year was about saying yes to as many opportunities I could, and I cannot recommend this experience enough.
