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!