Ava Barnes
ISEP Direct Study in Belfast & Northern Ireland – Academic Year 2026
Majors: Ancient Studies and Visual Arts
Minor: Art History
Jump To: Pre-Departure Post, In-Country Post 1
Pre-Departure Post
Hello, everyone!
My name is Ava Barnes and I am a third year student double majoring in Ancient Studies and Visual Arts with an Art History minor. As I write this, I am just over 48 hours away from boarding my very first flight to the United Kingdom and I could not be more excited! I have spent nearly every day this summer counting down until my study abroad and telling myself to “just make it to Belfast” until the word no longer sounds like English.
Studying abroad has been my dream since as long as I can remember. Though my family is very firmly planted in the United States, I have always felt a call toward the United Kingdom. Whether it’s in pop culture, beliefs, humor, social values — even weather! — I have yearned until my heart is sore. To study anywhere else would be a betrayal of my truest self as the UK is where all my future plans are set. It is where I make a name for myself as an artist, where I grow my family, and where I will settle for the rest of my life. I cannot be anywhere else. That is why I am immensely grateful to UMBC and ISEP Direct that I will spend my next nine months at Ulster University in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
My first day of classes is on September 21st, which means I have one entire week of welcome activities to enjoy before the hard work even begins. I will speed friend, ethnic food shop, meet the mayor, visit the North Coast, and learn Céilí dancing all while adjusting to jetlag. I love whoever made this itinerary! And I know this sounds like a lot, but it is nothing compared to my biggest study abroad fear. Public. Transportation. Don’t get me wrong, I am the biggest supporter of public transportation of anyone. I hate driving as much as the next person and I’ve had my fair share of parking lot… incidents. However, the directions they give to the train are vague at best and Google Maps does not have photos of the walkway and I’m kind of freaking out! I am the biggest planner you’ve ever met in your life, so this is not great for me. But I must be calm. Just because I cannot plan every moment of my day does not mean something bad will happen. I am strong and capable and I believe every word I am writing (no, I do not). At least if I end up in rural Ireland missing class, everyone reading my next post can have a nice laugh. Other than that though, I have done everything I need to do. I got my student visa MONTHS in advance, I have planned my grocery shopping, budgeted my entire bank account, found a phone plan that’s affordable. I am almost the most prepared girl in the world.
But, I feel weird. When you are bombarded with blog posts and stories of people saying how much they’ll miss home, it can put you on the outside by not having that experience. For me, studying abroad has always been a way out. I am a Humanities Scholar and I chose the program specifically for the study abroad component. This has always been my single-minded goal and I just want anyone who reads this blog to know that it is normal. It is normal to feel more excited than you are scared. It is normal to live in the future for months, just dreaming about the life you’ll live rather than savoring the life you’re in now. Studying abroad is the most important thing I have ever done and I get freedom like I’ve never known. If I fail, I have to pick myself up but when I succeed, I am solely responsible and get to feel 100% of the accomplishment. With that understanding, it is hard to feign tearful goodbyes or regurgitate the same anxieties as everyone else.
When I get to Belfast, I am looking forward to a new start. Being in a place where no one knows me, not a single soul. I arrive as “Ava the Artist” and nothing else. The entire city is my canvas and I am ready to show everyone there what I can do. I can be funny, be smart, be friendly, be creative. I can make art that I am proud of and spend time around people who make me feel good about myself. Everything in my life has led up to this moment.
And maybe I am saccharine and I’ll need an ice cold glass of water after writing this. But, this is all I can think about. When I get there, I will have more interesting and less introspective things to say; but for now, I encourage anyone who wants to study abroad to do so. Do it as many times as you can and go where your heart is tied with an invisible string. UMBC offers so many great programs and this is my third time traveling with them. I can’t wait to see what’s there for me!
In-Country Post #1
Welcome (or welcome back), this week on Ava’s Belfast Diaries is “Crying in Public.”
We’ll get to the title in just a second, but first I want to catch you up on everything you missed in the last two weeks. I arrived in Belfast on 12 September 2026 after a 14 hour travel day. I go through customs, catch a taxi, arrive on campus with a cute little goody bag, and life is great. I then enter my home for the next 9 months and it is HUGE — the Harbor Hall singles look like a broom closet in comparison. But, I do not unpack as I am incredibly lazy and proceed to live out of my suitcase for the next week.
Sunday, the 13th:
I have to figure out public transportation because my kitchen is empty and my bathroom has no mat on the freezing cold concrete. I hop on the train to Carrickfergus and spend an hour in a Tesco Extra debating between mug colors that 100% do not matter. And once I am properly stocked up with a 15lb bag on my shoulder, I hoof it back to the station. Successful trip and a successful day! I also locate the nearest grocery store and browse every single aisle. It is small but gets the job done. I end the day feeling full of accomplishment.
Monday, the 14th:
The first meltdown over public transportation. The morning starts off great. I attend orientation and meet up with some other international students. We are feeling good, eating Nando’s, and that night we made plans to get together. The night is fun (though raining) and at 10:30pm, I decide to head home since enrollment is the next morning. I book my train ticket and get on the second to last run of the night. But… disaster! When the train stops and I stand to get off, the doors do not open. Weird. I click the button. Once, twice, thrice. No such luck and the train begins to move again. I panic and nearly sprint through multiple cars to find the conductor. I tell him the doors did not open and he has the audacity to tell me that all of them did. I insist otherwise, now nearly hyperventilating, and he stares me dead in the eye with the most unsympathetic expression I have ever seen and tells me that my own experience was wrong. So, like any perfectly sane person, I ride to the next station and get off in Greensisland. The Greensisland platform is outdoors and devoid of light. I mean, there is not a single street light in the vicinity. So I sit down on the bench and I cry. I cry very VERY loudly with tears streaming down my face. My makeup smudges and I scroll, hands shaking, through the train schedule hoping I can get on the next one when it comes in 30 minutes. Time passes and eventually I am able to get on another train and make it home, but I am forever traumatized. The worst thing that could happen, happened at 11pm on a Monday night. But, it was a learning experience that trains cannot be trusted and I should probably download Uber. And maybe carry some self-defense as I am a woman. We will see.
Tuesday, the 15th:
I enroll for my classes which are Studio Practice and a faculty-led internship of my choosing. I also attend an induction which is basically just syllabus day but it happens before the first day, so as to not waste class time. Overall, a pretty simple day.
Wednesday, the 16th:
The time change attacks me with a sickness I am still suffering from. Going from 90 degrees to 60 degrees might sound like heaven, but it also sounds like Freshers Flu. All the international students are together and mingling their own person strains of sickness until eventually everyone has the same cough and same sniffles. It’s disgusting and I hate hacking in class, I am an embarrassment.
Thursday, the 17th until Monday, the 21st.
I then spent the next few days as a hermit. I unpacked my room, watched movies, went on walks by the water, and tried to decompress before classes. Completely uneventful and I could not have been more grateful. Maybe on some level I was hiding from the world, but it is what I needed after an eventful week. Moving across the world will not make me any less of a homebody than I already am. I continue to love my bed and I even have cute hedgehog bedsheets!
Then today, Tuesday, the 22nd:
We are introduced to our professional placements and I have meltdown #2. Apparently, everyone in the arts program had been receiving emails over the summer to start thinking about their internships. I wasn’t even on the email list so imagine my surprise when I showed up to class and half the spots were already filled. I want to work in museums and curate, but of course, that program only has 3 spots and I was the last to know about it. I am devastated and I leave the non-mandatory meeting early to find a quiet stairwell to cry in.
The world felt like it was crashing down around me and I was watching my future career disappear into a black hole. But, once my pity party was over, I sent a few emails despite being 4-8 weeks behind everyone else and I am determined to find another placement I enjoy. I have to, otherwise I will hate my life and book the first ticket out of this city. And at least the students union had a petting zoo today that I could use to soothe my aching heart.
So, what have we learned? Public transportation is #unreliable which I expected but I didn’t know I would come face to face with the horrors in my first week. My classes are fun and really free. We call the professors by their first names and I get my own studio space that I can do whatever I want with! My flatmate is from Sydney, Australia and she’s super nice. It’s just us two in the apartment and I already like how lowkey everything is. And finally, Belfast is a super fun city. There’s so much to see and do in the arts district. I’ve put so many galleries on my bucket list and located all the best spots for movies (my absolute favorite thing to do). The food is really nice and you should definitely believe the hype that UK Indian food is better than American Indian food. And despite everything, I am really happy to be here (just with less rose-colored glasses)!
Tune in next time to see how my taster session tonight goes with the Ulster Poms team. I cannot dance, this should be fun.