Newcastle, U.K.

Shruthe Yoagentharan

UMBC Exchange: Newcastle University

Majors: Media & Communication Studies and Asian Studies

March 11

Hi Retrievers!

It’s been quite a while since my last post!

To catch you all up on my winter break: I had nearly over a month off for the holidays from a week before Christmas until the end of January. I definitely wasn’t expecting to have so much time off. As mentioned in my last post, I did plan on doing a week-long backpacking trip with my friend to Amsterdam, Brussels, and Paris during the holidays (and when I say backpacking, I genuinely mean that). Newcastle has a lot of budget-friendly, direct flights to so many places around the U.K. and Europe, but the flipside of that is adhering to the extremely strict baggage restrictions that these cheaper airlines enforce.

We stuffed everything into a backpack each and caught an early morning flight to Amsterdam. Our hotel was right behind the airport, which was super convenient, so we dropped off some stuff once we got there and took a train straight to Amsterdam Central Station. It was so cool getting to see the canals weaving throughout the city in real life; I’ve only ever seen them as the backdrop of films and television shows. After walking around and exploring, we got ourselves some breakfast and also tried the famous stroopwafels! Traditionally, you eat them with coffee or tea, and Amsterdam has so many places around the city where these are sold in various iterations. We spent two days there, the second on which we booked a visit to Anne Frank’s house and museum. After reading so much about her in my classes since fourth grade, it was certainly an eye-opening moment to actually stand inside of such a prominent piece of history.

March 25

It’s crazy to think my year abroad will finish up in the next few months. This semester, I’m taking three different modules involving Digital Cultures, Public Relations, and The Politics of Europe v.s. Asia during World War II. The latter course is actually quite interesting for me because I’ve been learning about the post-war era from a very different perspective than usual. I’ve only ever learned about it through the lens of American history, which I’ve noticed places a lot more emphasis on the war’s impact in the United States, Europe, and Japan. I’ve been studying WWII here with a lot more focus on other Asian countries like China, India, Korea, and Taiwan. It’s made for some very engaging conversations with other students, especially international ones.

This semester also feels notably shorter than the fall semester (I have a feeling it might actually be so if I compare the term lengths). We’re already preparing for mid-term assessments/projects which we have right before we get off for spring/Easter break in a few weeks. I have three essays and one news video clipping I have to shoot and edit with others. Not to mention, a lot of my friends have been working part-time and I’ve also started doing remote editorial work for an online publication so I’ve been keeping ourselves quite busy. Every other day until break, we’ve started a routine of taking turns to choose a cafe spot for all of us to meet and study/work together (we’re practically there from right after classes end until the moment the cafe closes). In the past few days, we’ve been finding places to sit outside as well with the weather warming up. It’s honestly a nice way to keep each other in check with work while also spending time together.

Last weekend, a friend and I took a break from all the work and did a day trip to Durham. It’s only 15 minutes out from Newcastle via train so we went out in the morning and Durham city itself is quite compact, so we were able to see the entire area by the middle of the day. Once we got off, we grabbed breakfast at a cafe near the station and went down to the riverside rocks to eat in the sun. We then hiked up the cobblestone streets to Durham Castle and Cathedral. Both are actually a part of Durham University’s campus, which made me think about how lucky the students must be to have their classes on such historical grounds.

Additionally, the Cathedral yard and hallway was used as a filming location for the first Harry Potter film (we actually didn’t realize it until we saw it on an information board inside!). It was really picturesque and, quite literally, straight out of a movie.

The campus also hosts a UNESCO World Heritage site. There’s only 22 UNESCO sites in the world, and Durham’s is based on their deep connections to medieval Roman history. We had a look around the museum for it, which showcased a lot of old armor and even dinosaur fossils. We were able to cover the entire city within around 7-8 hours, so it’s definitely a must as a day trip.

When the Easter holidays hit in a few weeks, I’ll most likely be back in London again to catch up with a few relatives. Can’t wait to share more updates then!

April 8

I did indeed come back to London for my Easter break…is anyone really surprised?

I genuinely thrive amidst the city bustle, so coming back here is always such a place of comfort for me. There’s so much to do and see even if you’re on a budget and you can cover so much of it by walking or the tube.

My cousin and I are also huge bibliophiles so we spent a whole day doing a bookstore/library crawl through the city. London has some of the best retail publishers as well as independent bookshops to browse through. We started off by taking the tube to the famous British Library, which is right by Kings Cross. The library was opened in 1988 by Queen Elizabeth II with more than 170 million works in over 500 different languages. It has original manuscripts from ancient Egypt, Greece, medieval England, and Asia during the Mongol Empire and Silk Road era (to just name a few). We then went to Waterstones and Hatchards, two staple retail bookstores that can be found across the U.K., and then stopped by a few of the independent ones that we found on the way. Daunts was one that is definitely worth paying a visit to; it has an absolutely gorgeous interior and is much more spacious than the outside lets on, plus it holds a surprising variety of genres and works from different countries.

The entire time I’ve been in the U.K., I’ve honestly had to tone down my bookaholic tendencies more than usual due to the unfortunate limitation of luggage weight (I would’ve filled up my entire cabin suitcase with books if I could) for when I go back home. But because it’s London, amidst the student discounts that I surprisingly got when I asked, and the glorious bookcases towering around me, I did end up succumbing to my temptations this one time. I bought four books here: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, In Memoriam by Alice Winn, Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim, Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, for anyone interested at all. I think my preferred genre in literature is quite noticeable at this point…

During our time here, we also ate at so many different places—Indian, Chinese, Malaysian, Thai, and more. I might have mentioned this before, but I feel like so much of mainstream media stereotypes London with one-dimensional food that doesn’t vary past sausage rolls or fish and chips. As someone who has been around here enough by now, I can confidently refute that belief. Apart from the occasional lack of spice, London actually has a wide variety of cuisines one can choose from. I like to think of it as a little bit like New York—the multi-cultural diversity of the people that live there is very visible in the city’s restaurants and food spots, and the same can be said about London, specifically with the abundant Asian communities that reside here.

I’m still here for another two days, so we’ll see what else I get up to!

April 22

I’m back in Newcastle! I’m missing the southern sun already…

During my last few days in London, we watched The Drama at the cinemas, did some more book shopping, and visited some cafes. I think this might possibly be my last time in London during my time studying abroad here, so it was a bit bittersweet for me.

Back in Newcastle, we’re having our last two weeks of classes before gearing up for finals! The time here has flown by so fast. I feel like it was just yesterday I was stumbling off the train at Central Station with all my luggage, so it’s hard to believe that a whole school year has gone by already. My friends and I have also resumed our cafe-hopping to study and work on final projects. It’s either there, or the library (which is just an 8 minute walk from my dorm), but it’s a lot harder to find open spots for a group of people there unless you book in advance, especially right now. I’m glad I did most of my bigger travels earlier because I’ve been keeping myself booked to the brim these days with work. Alongside finals prep, I’ve also been applying to summer internships almost every other day so that I can try and secure one by the time I get back. Additionally, since I’m also a reporter for an entertainment magazine, I’ve been working around the clock this semester (quite literally) doing interviews at 2 AM because most of the people I’m working with are based in New York or L.A. time zones. Honestly, I can kind of say I’m a bit ready to live in the EST again ever since I’ve become a regular writer.

We did give ourselves a break from all the cramming and typing before it drove us completely off the walls. Three of us took a trip to Tynemouth Beach together, which is about twenty minutes of a train ride from campus. We already went once a few months ago, but the weather was so cold that we couldn’t spend much time by the actual seashore and instead holed ourselves up in a nearby chip shop. It was still a bit windy, but definitely more manageable for us to actually be able to stay outside. We were able to see the ruins of Tynemouth Castle from the outside (leave it to England where you can literally find random chunks of medieval castles next to your everyday pharmacy). The beach also has an open market every Sunday with vendors selling all sorts of things, so we each bought loads of different bakery items that were on sale and homemade by the locals. I also got a postcard since I realized I didn’t get one at all during my time in Newcastle; I’ve been making a habit of collecting postcards in every city I’ve been to in Europe so that I can put them all together in a travel scrapbook when I go back home.

I’ll write again soon about what else I get up to!

May 6

Finals…are definitely not for the weak.

I’ve got a total of four finals: a full-length PR campaign for a real-life client, a mock journalist clipping on a local issue, a research zine, and for a 4,000-word analysis paper on the British Empire’s colonial occupations during World War II. All my time is currently spent either at a cafe or library (I do not trust myself to get work done within the confines of my dorm, especially with how it’s been raining recently and how tempting it is to just stay indoors).

I did have some time in between to go to my first book event, which was really fun! V.E. Schwab, who is part of the writing duo, Evelyn Clark, is the author of one of my favorite books, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. She and her co-writer had a new book out, The Ending Writes Itself, for which they held an event with the Waterstones bookstore in Newcastle. It was really cool getting to actually see a writer I’ve been following in person and hearing them talk about their creative process. I wish I had brought my copy of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, but I completely forgot that I had even brought it with me to the U.K., so I unfortunately missed out on that. But being there in the moment was honestly enough for me.

My friends also randomly asked me to come with them to a nearby farm (and why not, honestly). Because of Newcastle’s geographical location near the countryside, there are so many local farms and animal pastures, where you can go and see cows and sheep, and even get locally-grown produce. There was one in the outskirts of Newcastle, about 20 mins of a train ride away and they also had a flock of Scottish cows, which was such a highlight. My friends and I were able to look at them for a bit, before doing a bit of berry-picking.

As my time here is creeping up to an end, I want to highlight one of the best parts about this whole study abroad experience for me. As much as all the traveling around has been exhilarating, I genuinely think that meeting so many new people from all over the world has been the best part of this. I’ve gotten to be friends with people from Ireland, Spain, France, Ghana, Brazil, Australia, Japan, and Vietnam, just to name a few. Having grown up and lived in the States all my life, it’s been really eye-opening to learn about their own cultures and living experiences in contrast to an American. I also now know that I have a friend in multiple different pockets of the world if I ever want to travel in the future.

There wasn’t much to update on during this entry, but we’re trying to do a few more trips after finals wrap up for everyone, so that’s something I can look forward to. I assume everyone back home is also preparing for the last stretch of classes and exams as well, so good luck! Summer’s just around the corner!

May 20

Hello, Retrievers,

Unfortunately, this will be my last post in Newcastle! It is so insane how quickly my sophomore year went by abroad and I can’t believe I’m already halfway through university already.

I’ve just about finished with all of my finals. I have one more reflection to turn in for my comparative politics class, before I’m completely done with my academics here. Attending a British university has certainly been an intriguing experience for me, and I feel like the academic rigor really helped me change and evolve some of my study habits to bring back with me to the States. One of the most surprising things was how long the grading process takes. Even though our finals are technically done soon, and teachers might enter in marks on Canvas, our grades aren’t officially out until the end of June. There’s a group called the Board of Examiners, who sit down and ratify each student’s grades individually from both semesters, so it’s quite different from the States.

Since I’m trying to work in international media one day, I’ve also been networking and attending career-based events as much as I can while I’m here. Newcastle University’s School of Arts and Cultures recently held a full-day panel with members from the BBC. It was really insightful getting to hear all these screenwriters, directors, producers, and journalists share their experience within the media industry. We had the opportunity to ask them questions as well, so the students all got a lot of great career advice and the chance to network with them.

Most of my friends are internationals, so a lot of them are flying out starting this week into the next at different dates. Everyone is wrapping up their semesters abroad or going home for the summer, so we’ve been scrambling to spend our last few days together by doing trips before everyone parts ways.

There’s been a heat wave across Europe the past week, but it was manageably nice for a few days. Last weekend, we wanted to take advantage of the prolonged warm weather out at the seashore, so we decided to go beach-hopping! We each got a £3 metro day-card so that we could go to a few different spots: Tynemouth Beach, Whitley Bay, and Cullercoats. It was quite crowded with families and kids, as it was the weekend, but we still enjoyed it in the heat. We spent most of our time going for a swim, reading by the shore, and buying an egregious amount of carry-out fish and chips for us to share. In a few days, we’ll also be going to York, which is a historic city about an hour away from Newcastle by train.

Alas, all great things must come to an end at some point though. I just bought my return ticket a few days ago; I’ll be going down south to spend my last few days abroad with some friends in Warwick next week, before I fly out from Heathrow Airport in London. I haven’t even started figuring out how to fit all of the books and souvenirs I bought here in my suitcases, but I guess that’s a problem I have to solve soon. I did learn a lesson with overpacking if I ever want to study abroad again in the future. To any potential travelers—definitely take into account the fact that you will most likely bring back more back with you than when you went (especially the shopaholics), or you might be faced with having to pay an additional £80+ for an extra checked bag.

My final post will most likely be around the time I start getting back to the States, so I hope these anecdotes from England have been insightful or entertaining in any way!

Return Post

Hey everyone, I’m currently sat in my terminal at London Heathrow, finishing up this blog series with this post! Alas, my sophomore year has come to a close, so my U.K. adventures have unfortunately ended as well. Ten months go by in a blur when you keep yourself so busy and engaged with things to do…

My friends and I did one last group trip to York, also known as the Viking Capital of England. It’s also supposed to be the “most haunted” city. I’m not sure to what extent that would actually be true, but the gothic aesthetic definitely matches that. There were so many cathedrals and medieval-style buildings that we saw, along with The Shambles—a run-down, slanted street filled with all kinds of eccentric stores (it’s also supposed to be the original inspiration for Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter books).
The last few days I spent in Newcastle were filled with a lot of somber walking around the city to try and commit most of it to memory. I’m not sure when I’ll be back, but I definitely want to make a visit sometime in the future. I said bye to a lot of my classmates, as everyone went back home for the summer holidays. A few things in particular that I’ll greatly miss:

1. The weekly $2 coffees. It’s not every day you get a deal like that in cafes that are just a few minutes of a walk away from the dorms!
2. Going paddleboarding weekly down the Tyne River before my Wednesday classes.
3. The trains. If only the States had such an interconnected rail transit system the way the U.K. and the rest of Europe did…it’s honestly just so convenient and very, very impressive to my American self. And not the mention, I’ve just always had an odd fascination with trains and just meandering around, people-watching at the stations. I’ll definitely miss getting to travel down the English countryside or hopping across the Scottish border with a cheap student discount from the Trainline app.
4. The hospitality of the people here. Newcastle residents (including the local Geordies) are all so warm and friendly, and they’re always cracking jokes, even when they spill their coffee or fall off their bike. I think the living-in-the-present lifestyle is something that a lot of people take for granted in the States, so it’s a less frequent happening back home from my perspective.

After leaving Newcastle, I went to spend my final three days in England with some family friends in Warwick, which is about a 3 hour train from my university. It was nice to be able to have a peace of mind, finishing some online paperwork to wrap up the exchange program and my last bits of packing. Having successfully dragged two fully-weighted checked suitcases across train stations and the London airport, that somehow fit everything I needed to take back to the States with me from my year abroad, I think I can officially consider myself a pro-traveller (I’ve definitely learned what to bring/what not to bring if I ever study abroad again).
For my final acknowledgements, to anyone who is currently on the fence about studying abroad—I would strongly encourage you to do it. You might be faced with some challenges, and you’ll most certainly be made to go out of your comfort zone, but it is absolutely worth it, in my opinion.

Not only will you get to have all the tourist adventures and travel around a lot, but you will meet so many new people, new cultures, and I really do feel that it changes the way you view and value certain things, in a good way. I think the independence of it all also makes you more mature by the end of the experience, because it pushes you to be bolder and to really take initiative on your own to do things. I can honestly say that I’ve learned a lot more about being an adult through studying abroad than I do while being back home.
I hope these entries have been educational or intriguing in some way or another! I’ve enjoyed getting to share some of my experiences through this blog, and really do hope it has sparked an interest to study abroad for some of you. I know that thinking back on it, this has definitely been one of the most memorable years of my life, and I’m already planning on doing this again.
This is me, signing off from England 🙂