I’ve been back in the UK for over a month now and it feels like only yesterday I was packing up my room ready to leave Massachusetts. When they say your time abroad will go so quickly, they weren’t lying – it flew by! I had the most amazing time, and here I’ve compiled some of the main differences and hardest things I had to adapt to when moving abroad. Studying in a brand-new country and adjusting to a new educational system can be tricky at first, especially when there are so many differences between these two systems. I found the style of teaching to be similar but the way…

The University of Massachusetts Amherst campus is situated in western Massachusetts, just over an hour and a half drive away from Boston and under four hours away from New York. Being in such a good, central location meant it was easy to travel to loads of great locations, some of which were close by and some further afield. Here I’ve compiled a few of my top tips for travelling while studying abroad.  Make use of all modes of transport  There are so many ways to get to places, some cheaper than others so it’s important to look around and find the best options available. I made use of a Facebook…

At UMass we were lucky enough to be given a 10-day break for the Thanksgiving recess, so a group of 8 other students and I decided to head down south and embark on an 8-day road trip across America. We travelled to 7 different states, driving for over 40 hours in total and were lucky enough to be able to see lots of amazing sights.  Day 1 – New Orleans, Louisiana  We began our adventure by all meeting on campus and catching the Peter Pan bus to Boston Logan airport. We caught a short flight to New Orleans, where we picked up the car and minivan that we’d hired to…

7:00am – Rise and shine My alarm is usually set for around 7:00 as my classes here can start as early as 8:30am. Attendance is recorded so there’s no sleeping through my alarm! I’ll shower, get ready for the day and head to one of the four different dining halls on campus for some food.  7:45am – Breakfast As if it isn’t mentioned to us enough, UMass dining is rated number 1 in the whole country, so unlike the catered halls I was used to in my first year in Manchester the food is actually enjoyable! There’s a lot of variety and so many options to choose from. Today I resisted…