my last bits of summer
A month has passed since I moved to the UK! Disregarding the time I was in quarantine, this month has flown by much faster than I thought. I’m currently in week 2 of my MA course at Oxford Brookes, and I’m finally adjusting to being a student again :) I’m fortunate to be surrounded by supportive staff and classmates, and although it feels like we jumped right into winter after a few weeks of nice warm and sunny afternoons, overall it’s been a good first month in my new home!
In the past month, I got to see bits and pieces of Cambridge, Ely, London, and Oxford so here’s a recap on what I’ve been up to so far.
Cambridge- This is the first place I went to directly from the airport! My sister Mina helped me lug my heavy suitcases all the way to her apartment where I spent my first 2 weeks in the UK. The first week went down the drain with me being quarantine, but after I was free to step foot outside, we walked around the city exploring its nice parks that spread far out and charity shops that make the city cozy and welcoming. Most places are accessible by foot or bicycle, and we spent a good amount of time outside enjoying the sun while we could :)
Ely- This is an even smaller city we visited for a day by train. It’s just northeast of Cambridge and we explored the symbolic cathedral and walked around the market town with fun shops and restaurants. It’s a cute getaway from the city if you want some time in a tranquil area. We got pizza for lunch, chilled by the cathedral, and later did a re-walk around the city.
London- We spent two nights in London on our way to Oxford. We visited Greenwich Market and the Royal Observatory, both lovely spots to spend an afternoon. My favorite was cycling the streets of London with the city bikes while enjoying key spots of London like the Tower bridge and Buckingham Palace. We also spent a day in an amusement park in the rain :)
Oxford- Our final destination was Oxford, my new home for the next year! The city encompasses more than 30 colleges of Oxford University and all the historic buildings I could stare at for hours. Unlike my time in Tochigi, my travelling companion is now my bicycle, which I ride down into the city center and uphill back home. I’ll do some more exploring before it gets too cold and hope to note down anything I discover. I especially have been loving my bike rides at night with all the streetlights glowing up the city :) More updates to come soon..!
