by Millie Elwell, University of Maryland College Park, USA
Lucky enough to have family friends in New York, I have visited quite a few times over my year abroad. So here is my perfect itinerary from College Park, Maryland (not inc. accommodation).
Continue reading “An Itinerary for the Perfect Weekend in New York”
By Lara Bradley, University of Colorado Boulder, USA
What better way to start off a Spring Break trip to Miami than some cultural immersion in the heart of the city’s Cuban community, Little Havana.
Continue reading “A Night in Little Havana”
by Millie Elwell – the University of Maryland, College Park.
By Megan Bateman, Indiana University Bloomington, USA
At the current time of writing, I am exactly 2 and a half months into my year abroad in the USA. I can say it has absolutely flown by, which is why I have only just found the time to write my first blog post on Manchester On The Road! Whilst I have already experienced many different things here like my first American football game (separate blog post coming for that!), American culture and nightlife, there have been times when I have found myself really missing Manchester.
Continue reading “Challenges of Homesickness, by an English living in America”
I feel some things are just rightly assumed about the long-run advantages of doing a year abroad – yes you become more cultured, yes you’ll gain confidence, yes you’ll view life differently, yes there’s new opportunities… but what actually are some examples of these?
A (by no means exhaustive) post on how my year abroad impacted my life.
By Eleanor, at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
It’s no secret that one of the main reasons I chose Rutgers for my year abroad was due to its vicinity to one of the most famous cities in the world, compared to other destinations in the US offered by Manchester. I feel I made a great choice. My apartment at Rutgers was literally one minute’s walk from New Brunswick train station, perfect for someone like me who tends to run fashionably late. From here, New Jersey Transit trains run directly to New York Penn Station in the heart of Manhattan, taking between half an hour to 50 minutes. For the price of dinner and a cocktail ($28, around £22) I could get a return train to the city that never sleeps. Here’s my experiences at some of the most iconic landmarks in the world.
Continue reading “New York, New York; The Iconic Landmarks”
By Eleanor, at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
When people have asked me “How is America?” one thing I always mention is the weather, in typical Brit fashion. However, I feel justified in this as during my time studying abroad, I have braced all temperatures, and at a more leafy university, found a new appreciation for the outdoors.
Continue reading “An Ode to New Jersey Weather”
By Imogen Henry-Campbell, Case Western Reserve University, USA
As the end of the semester approaches, and in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought I would reflect on the incredible experiences I have gained from studying abroad.
It is easy to forget why you chose to study abroad when you doing the third round of midterms and have spent endless evenings in the library. I was feeling slightly lost, terribly homesick and unmotivated until I realized how lucky I am to have experienced new things and to have travelled around the world.
Over the last month alone I have managed to travel to Toronto, see Niagara Falls, experience a traditional American Thanksgiving and walk around downtown Chicago. I will try to share some of the incredible things I have done and encourage people to make the most of studying abroad:
Continue reading “Fall break, Thanksgiving and Remembering Why You Chose to Study Abroad”
By Elizabeth Pace (Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA)
So this is my eighth and final blog (try not to get too upset) and its basically just a short one to talk about what it’s like being back in Manchester, post-Illinois.
By Elizabeth Pace (Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA)
So 10 months later and I’m permanently back in the land of real bacon, correct spellings, day/month/year and people who know how to make a proper cup of tea (I’ve had 12 already). For my final blog, instead of getting all sappy and emotional about how amazing this year has been I thought I’d finish off by sharing some of the worldly wisdom I’ve acquired since August. Here are a few of my top tips and insider hints for studying abroad at the University of Illinois, navigating the USA in general, and for all of those things you think will never happen, but actually did:
(interspersed with various photos from UIUC post-spring break and summer travels)
By Elizabeth Pace (Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA)
“Fun but maddeningly frustrating” is the line used to describe Cuba on the back of the Lonely Planet Guide and by the end of our second day in the country, it had pretty much become our mantra for the trip.
If you’d asked me a year ago where I thought I’d be spending my spring break while on exchange in the USA I’d probably have said Mexico, or Florida, or some other typical location known for its beaches and partying. Then one day someone mentioned off-hand, “Guys, wouldn’t it be hilarious if we went to Cuba for spring break?”.
I’ll admit there was something enticing about the idea of, while on our American exchange, spending our break somewhere that Americans can’t actually go (at least not just for tourism reasons) and after triple checking with the international office at Illinois and various embassies that, yes, we would be allowed back into the country after having gone to Cuba, our spring break plans really started to take off.
Continue reading “Spring Break Travels (or Cuba: Fun yet Maddeningly Frustrating)”
By Elizabeth Pace (Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA)
I’m now five weeks into my second semester here at UIUC, so it’s probably a good a time as any to talk a bit about what it’s like being back on campus, what I’ve been up to so far, what’s different about this semester and what’s very much the same.
