Victoria Obisesan
UMBC Exchange: Newcastle University
Major: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Pre-Departure Post #1
Hey Everyone!
My name is Victoria Obisesan and I am a sophomore majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. I am sitting on my couch writing this post only a few hours before I leave for the airport and head off to Newcastle. I have a connecting flight from Dublin to Newcastle which I find exciting because I have always wanted to see Ireland and even if it’s from the Dublin airport today, I’ll take it!
Since being introduced to the Education Abroad Office my freshman year, I have wanted to go abroad. My cousin went to France for a semester and she loved it, so I wanted to give it a try as well. I quickly realized that I needed to plan way in advance since I did not want to fall behind in my chemistry courses since I can only take them in the U.S. as I was told by my advisor who then set me up on a plan to take all of Organic Chemistry and finish ASL during the Summer 2025 sessions. While it was extremely stressful going from school to work nearly every single day, I am grateful that I saw it through and can now travel without the fear of having to catch up!
Originally, I was between three universities for the exchange program. I had wanted to go to Japan with my friend Maranna, who is there right now so shout-out to her and go check out her blog posts! However, my major would not fit well there. So that left me between Newcastle University and the University of Galway. I think what really pushed me towards Newcastle was the ability to go watch a Premier League game. Especially since Newcastle United’s stadium is about a 10-minute walk from campus and I have enjoyed playing soccer, or I mean football,l my whole life. I even joined the Women’s Soccer Club here, which I think more people should try out for, it’s loads of fun yet still competitive.
That being said, I am really going to miss my schedule. Knowing I would see my friends three times a week at practice, during classes, or just run into them on campus. We could easily meetup in the dorms or after classes and the fact that I won’t be able to experience that for about 4 and a half months is crazy to me.
I am quite nervy about the flight and just studying abroad in general. This will be my first flight since 2019, my first ever flight alone and to Europe for that matter, which I cannot tell if I am more excited or nervous for. So much preparation since the application time until now has gone into this experience.
This past weekend, leading up to my departure, has been full of me hanging out with friends, finishing my packing (just finished it today), and doing my hair. I have been doing my hair since forever, but it feels like it does not get any easier. Hours upon hours are spent braiding, but I am especially proud of how it turned out this time since I opted for a boho style. I set up in the bathroom and surprisingly my friend Jesse came by to help me and keep me company while I did my hair! It took me about a whole day to do but I think it was worth it. Within Saturday and Sunday, I went ice skating, had dinner with friends, went to the mall twice in one day, visited my friend at her job, and made a snow angel in said friend’s front yard! It wasn’t until late Sunday night that I finally returned back to my house and said a final and quite saddening goodbye to my friends which I will have to repeat in just a few hours to my family before I embark on this journey.
Well, that is all for now, thanks for keeping up with me and talk to you later!
In-Country Post #1
Hey UMBC!
It’s Victoria again and I have so many exciting experiences to share with you after being in Newcastle for two weeks now!
Starting from takeoff, the flight was nice since it was practically empty so I had a whole row to myself and the view from the window was gorgeous. My second flight was in a smaller plane and it was with four other international students that were coming to study at Newcastle as well! The Meet-and-Greet program was very nice since they provided transportation to the university and also leads me to my first culture shock. Well, I knew this already, but seeing cars driving on the left for some reason threw me for a loop. My whole first week, I kept looking left then right to cross the road when I should have been looking right then left. Also, if anyone asks if I almost got hit, the answer is no (the car was closer than I’d like).
Orientation day came and all I had to navigate from my accommodation to the campus was my eSIM, google maps, and my friend Katherine that I had connected with before the trip through our mutual friend! I met students from all over and we had coffee in The Grand, a coffee shop next to campus. The interior was cozy and full of our energy since we took up about a third of those in the shop. This here is where I met Alex, also from UMBC, and Katie who lives in my flat!
After orientation was when the adventure really began. With only three more days before we start school again, we did everything we could to explore. First priority was food. We had some bomb Indian cuisine after orientation and I can not stress enough how good it was, every bite was worth it. We decided it was time to grocery shop and found a Tesco Express nearby and bought a few supplies to last us until we could figure out the metro or bus to Aldi that weekend. Seeing everything in GBP instead of USD was another small shock since I had to keep converting the price of each item to see if it was reasonable, but I think I got the hang of it now.
By Saturday we were on the metro to Aldi and I must say, the metro in Newcastle was cleaner than the D.C. lines I have been on, I know, shocker. The metro here also has a deal for those who are 21 and under to get a Pop Blue card where a single ride is only £1 which equates to about $1.37. The walk back from the metro was highlighted by a pleasant stroll through Leazes Park where all kinds of birds littered the area.
Every Sunday, next to the River Tyne the Quayside Market takes place. I had gone with Alex and Katherine and we ended up only buying food. The food was great and the red velvet cupcake I bought was about the size of my hand and delicious. On our way back to our flats, we could hear St. James Stadium since the game against Aston Villa was underway. The closer we got to the outside of the stadium the louder the booming voices of those inside grew. I pulled out my phone to watch the game, and even though there was about a minute delay between my streaming service and the shouts from the stadium we found it quite fun to hear what happened before finally seeing what happened.
It isn’t until Wednesday I received my finalized set of classes for the semester. I ended up taking Physics, Genetics, Philosophy, and Psychology courses and even made a friend in my Philosophy class which dives into Aesthetics and what art and beauty mean. The people on campus are nice and my first week went by smoothly. The campus is quite large, at least compared to UMBC, and I learned very quickly that I would need all the given transition time between classes. I also learned that the word “Cheers” is said at the end of nearly every interaction I have had. I assume it means thank you but I have also been told “Thank you, Cheers” so I am not exactly sure. I might ask someone.
A few highlights of the past two weeks include me going to the Hancock Museum next to campus, watching Newcastle vs. Liverpool in the pub, walking across the Gateshead tilting bridge, going out with friends, getting ramen, going grocery shopping, and just hanging out with my flatmates. I also keep in touch with all my family and friends back home through WhatsApp which has definitely calmed my nerves about being so far away from home.
Well, thanks once again for tuning into my blog, see you guys later!
In-Country Post #2
Hello UMBC!
I hope your first few weeks back have been good, now it’s time to tell you some more about my time here.
My classes so far have been going quite well. I had two lab sessions for my Genetics class where we performed PCR followed by Gel Electrophoresis to see if the DNA samples we were given matched. It was honestly quite fun and the lab itself was pretty laid back. I also have been enjoying my Electromagnetism course since our professor always brings out devices and machinery to demonstrate the concepts we are learning!
Taking our sights to nature, we explored Jesmond, a nearby suburb, last week and even visited a thrift shop our friend Katherine found for us. The walk was peaceful and seeing the architecture along the way was nice. The thrift store itself was full of items to choose from. Although I did not buy anything, Katherine bought this stylish necklace that she put on immediately after leaving the shop. Then, later that week after classes, we took the bus back to Jesmond Dene to visit the petting zoo within the park. The weather was a bit wet so some of the animals stayed in their houses, but we did see peacocks, pigs, numerous species of birds, and goats! I had also caught a nasty bug at this time so I had a rough week fueled by a constant runny nose and lingering cough, but being outside felt a lot better than staying indoors.
To clear up my sinuses, I ended up getting Pho for the first time with Alex and Katie later that same day. I made sure to get it spicy and it was delicious. Definitely going to get it again soon.
After another week of school behind us, the weekend finally reared its head and a trip to Durham for a few hours was planned! Our train tickets were bought and all we had to do was navigate the station, which by the way was a lot larger than I was expecting. The train ride took about 10 minutes and the scenery along the way was beautiful. Every time I thought the foliage can’t get any greener it continued to amaze me. It must be the constant rain keeping all the grasses so green, although, that day was one of those lucky days we had some sun for a bit. After getting off on our stop, we descended from the station into the city where we stopped by Greggs for a snack before sitting in front of the Durham Cathedral for a few minutes. The Durham Cathedral and Castle are right across from one another so it made transitioning between both fairly easy. We never actually toured the Castle since we did not buy tickets but it looked gorgeous from what we could see.
The Durham Cathedral itself was grand and jaw-dropping. The exterior and interior left us questioning how on earth people built it, beyond impressive. It was also nice to visit the cloister where some scenes from Harry Potter were filmed. After leaving the Cathedral, we walked through the city and came across an ongoing market before settling in a café for tea and coffee. We bought food and our adventure was soon over with a final uphill trek back to the train station which was very lively since a home game in Newcastle was to be played soon.
This week so far came with a visit to the Hancock Museum which is arguably on campus. They have a Planetarium which I plan on going back for since I have not been in a while.
About three minutes away from the museum is Claremont Teahouse where we spent brunch this past Sunday. I got a sandwich and fries while my companions both got Full English breakfasts, with one being vegetarian. We all enjoyed our meals and plan on going again in the future where I think I will be open to finally trying the Full English.
Jumping back in time to the Super Bowl, even though it went on late for us in the UK, staying up for Bad Bunny’s performance was worth it. The ads were lacking this year, and I must admit that the Crypto ad that had us doing karaoke to the Backstreet Boys got us good. The game felt a bit slow and watching abroad was a bit hard since the TV version didn’t have the exact sequence of ads because we weren’t in the US. To combat this, we had the Super Bowl pulled up on the TV, Alex’s computer, and my phone. Both of our devices were pulled up for the purpose of watching the ads, so anytime an ad break ran, we’d raise my phone’s volume to watch the ads before lowering it again and shifting out focus back to the TV since my phone was slightly ahead in gameplay.
Once again, thank you for reading my blog and we plan on going to the beach this weekend so stay tuned for more about that experience!
In-Country Post #3
Welcome back UMBC!
Spring is right around the corner and I honestly can’t wait for the sun to set later. I heard that you guys back home got some impromptu snow…that’s unfortunate, the weather here has been sunny and quite nice recently.
Picking up right where we left off, I did in fact go to the beach, specifically Tynemouth Beach. I took the metro with Alex and we were dropped off in the middle of the Tynemouth Market which is open Saturday and Sundays. The market itself was huge and lively with a wide variety of shops and food options. After walking around the market and exploring the booths, we left for the beach. It was about 10 minutes out and required numerous steps to get down to the water. I myself am not a fan of stairs at all, merely because of how uneven they can be and my fear of falling on them. A little lame, I know. But the sand on the stairs made them slippery so I took a little extra caution on my way down.
The water was freezing. I still don’t understand how some people were comfortably swimming with it being that cold. I had just gone to rinse the sand off my hand and could barely withstand the temperature. 
The dogs on the beach though were having the time of their lives. Swimming, playing fetch, and digging holes in the sand, it was fun to see what they got up to. We eventually had to leave the beach and head back to the market to get food before heading back to our flats. Eating a chicken gyro for the first time while walking around the other unexplored half of the market was the perfect way to end our journey there.
Classes and school days have been moving faster recently. Time is sneaking up on me and I can’t believe that in a little over two weeks the long-awaited spring break will be here. On a spontaneous decision, most likely induced by this realization and some online inspiration, I took my hair out and tinted it a red-brown color since I was afraid of bleach and developer. It turned out pretty good considering how it is most visible in the sunlight because my hair is too dark for it to turn out as pigmented as the bottle shows.
So far, I have had a physics assignment and just finished my genetics homework which required me to write a discussion section about our lab results, take a short exam, and provide anonymous feedback for my peer’s discussion they submitted.
Besides the few assignments, my week was relaxed. For the past three weeks, going on four now, I have been going to the gym with Katherine and Alex. Before coming, I had convinced myself a membership was not necessary since I would be walking a lot. While I do walk everywhere, I am glad I was convinced to get one because going to the gym as a group makes the most unbearable tasks miles better.
Speaking of unbearable tasks, remind me to never hike Arthur’s Seat without proper footwear again since that uphill trek was treacherous. Our Sunday trip up to Edinburgh, Scotland was wonderful really. Took the early train, arrived around 11, and started out from there. Walking uphill for an extended period of time is never easy, but what made it that much worse was that the path was a bit muddy, so I kept slipping in my ‘half a size too big’ boots. I like to think that had I been wearing my running shoes the traction would have been better, but I really don’t know. What I do know is that with running shoes my feet would not have hurt as much as they did after walking for hours in my boots. Must have to do with a difference in sole flexibility. Otherwise, the rest of the day went off without a hitch and made for a nice transition into the new week.
This new week was highlighted by a gathering for Alex’s 21st birthday! We helped her set up the common area and bought the Connie Caterpillar cake for her, per what we were told is considered tradition. To my surprise, Alex also shares this day with my friend Johana back home who just turned 20! So of course I had to wish her a happy 20th birthday! The next day we attended our friend Brooke’s first gig with her band T-shirt. It was in Jesmond right by the thrift shop we walked to some weeks back. The venue was cozy and operated on a “donate what you feel” policy which was cool to see. The band’s performance was amazing and I am currently awaiting an invite to their next gig.
These past two weeks have been interesting and I honestly do not know what is up next, but be sure to find that out next time on my blog! See you later 🙂
In-Country Post #4
Hey UMBC and welcome back to my blog!
I think my karma for making fun of the fluctuating weather in Maryland came back to bite me because our week of warm weather was ambushed by a week a misery. I can deal with the cold, I can deal with the rain, but what I can not deal with is this UK wind! There is no direction to the wind here, it can come from any angle and it really picks up speed on the path to my accommodation since I am surrounded by so many tall buildings. But after last week, this week so far has been very pleasant.
Retracing my steps, last week I had the pleasure of meeting Katie’s friend Ella from the University of Vermont! The three days Ella was in Newcastle consisted of us showing her around town, Grainger Market, Tynemouth Beach, and campus. At the Grainger Market she bought her first leather coat from this vintage shop! It was so nice and a steal for sure. We took a detour on the walk back to the flat since the weather was quite nice, making time to stop at Leazes Park Lake and walk around admiring the blooming flowers and the flocking birds. After dropping off all our stuff, we took Ella to Tynemouth Beach before it got too dark. The beach was quiet since there weren’t nearly as many people as the last time I came.
Throughout the day, I noticed numerous people in Barcelona jerseys which reminded me of the Champions League game that was to be played at St. James’ Park. To provide Ella with the full experience, we took her to watch the game in Luther’s, which is an on-campus food spot. The atmosphere was amazing, especially after Newcastle scored, but a little soured when Barcelona converted a penalty kick for a last-minute equalizer. That night we had to say our goodbyes to Ella since she would be heading up to Edinburgh with Katie for a few more days before heading back to North America.
The rest of my week was relaxing, majorly categorized by completing some physics homework, which was a few practice problems in the Numbas lockdown app.
With my old style taken out and allowing my hair to breathe for almost two weeks, I made the step to actually do my hair before our spring break comes around. So, early Sunday morning, I began braiding my hair, which was extra hard since I did not have a spare handheld mirror that I could use to see the back of my head. What I can’t see can’t hurt me so the parts at the back of my head are not my business. That same night Katherine had a bus ride up to London to meet with her friend from UMBC coming to visit for spring break! Alex and I ubered with her to the stop just to make sure we saw her off. After getting back around 1 Monday morning, I finally finished my hair, curled the ends, and went to bed.
After my classes did not come rest, but a search for a green shirt I can wear for St. Patty’s which was the next day. Nearly every store in the mall did not have what I was desperately looking for. I finally managed to find a top…in the early teens section. A little tight around the arms, but it fit! A little off topic, but one thing I noticed about the stores around Newcastle is that they like art, so I always see something on the walls or spraypainted on the way to the bathroom. This time I saw Goku.
With Monday’s stress out the way, I woke up early to see Alex off before she left to take the train up to London to pick-up her friend, Ava, also from UMBC, from the airport. Their train back up to Newcastle was delayed due to “signal failure”, but even with the delay they were still back in time for us to get ready together before heading out to celebrate the holiday.
An impromptu decision to buy a train ticket up to Edinburgh and join Alex and Ava this Thursday was made whilst getting ready, so stay tuned to see how this second trip and the rest of these two weeks will pan out!