Oh What A Wonderful Week It has Been!

Hi! My name is Sarah Adigba and I’m currently studying abroad at the University of Sheffield. It’s been a week since I arrived in the UK and it’s been a whirlwind of an experience.

My journey here was uneventful. I booked a super-cheap ticket on Thomas Cook airlines and slept through most of it. Then I arrived at Manchester Airport and took a train to Sheffield.

The real fun started when I told my taxi from the Sheffield train station to drop me off at the University of Sheffield (Endcliffe, to get my keys) and he drops me off smack-dab in the middle of campus, which I now know to be Firth court. I drag my luggage and I into the building and ask on how to get my keys(I think I’m in Endcliffe). The man at the front desk is really nice and tells me I’m a bit far off and that taxis here usually make the mistake of dropping students off here. He calls me another taxi to Endcliffe because it’s an unwalkable distance with my luggage and I eventually get there in less than 10 minutes.

Now I’m in Endcliffe; I try to get my keys so I can take a nap in my new bed. Then I’m told my keys already at the front desk of my building (Sheffield 3). Originally I was told in an e-mail to get my keys from there (but it must have been changed without me being notified). Another taxi gets called for me and I finally get to move in and sleep!

I ended spending about $30 on taxis that day and made my mind never to use taxis ever again. Since then I’ve done a lot of walking and have learnt how to use the city’s public transport. The image below is from the first day I took the tram(similar to trolleys) to the city center and had a lunch date at the local Nando’s.

Moving to a new country can be initially stressful but trust me; it can very well be worth it. After the initial hitch of getting my University card and registering for my classes, I’ve got to take courses (or modules as they call them) in pretty cool locations. For instance, my history classes are in a converted, very old church!

European cities are very much about mixing the old with the new and this is something Sheffield (and the University of Sheffield) does brilliantly with connecting super-modern glass buildings to old churches and factories. Unfortunately I haven’t been taken as many pictures as I should but I will try to add them in my next posts.

I have to run now! I’m off to London where I’m going to the British Natural museum. I promise to take plenty pictures of the exhibits I see.

Signing out,

Sarah.