This past Fall semester, I studied at the University of Exeter in Exeter, UK through an exchange program that the school has with my home school, the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. At the university, I took two English courses, one on Chaucer and His Contemporaries and another on Creative Writing: Building a Story. My classes were on the main campus in Exeter, which was nearly three miles from the house where I was staying (which I found through AirBnB), so I had to cycle almost daily on the left side of the road, using the bike I bought from a local store. Naturally, I was constantly tired.
At home and at school, I enjoy creating and sticking to a schedule, so I created a similar one for myself here in Exeter. Basically, I transplanted my life in Virginia to the UK. Back in the United States, I have been going to CrossFit gyms in Richmond and Williamsburg for a little over one year, so I found a gym in Exeter to join. At William and Mary, I have been an active member of the swim club team since freshman year, so I joined the swim club team at the University of Exeter for the semester (and I got to travel to Sheffield, England for the Speedo and BUCS Short Course Swimming Championships). I got to meet a great number of people through both CrossFit and the swim club, providing some distraction from homesickness.
I did also have time to travel outside of Exeter over the four months that I have been here. I traveled out of the country to Paris, France and San Sebastian, Spain on my own, and to Dublin, Ireland with a friend from home, who was studying at St. Andrew's University in Scotland. Then I got to explore around England, including the county of Devon (Exeter's county) with a friend of a friend from my family's church in Richmond, and all over the country from Cornwall to the Cotswolds and to the White Cliffs of Dover with my parents over the Christmas holiday. Finally, I will be traveling to London and Copenhagen, Denmark with my boyfriend, who will be visiting in a few days before we both head back to Virginia.
Look out for more posts about my study abroad experience and travels!
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