The first week at UMD proved to be a very good one. The university’s international student services made the adjustment to American life very, very smooth.

On the first day we were given an orientation into life at the university and in Minnesota. The university itself is home to about 15 000 students which just under half of Birmingham’s 36 000. Therefore, the international class was also on the small side. We were informed that there were students from 20 different countries attending UMD this semester/year including people from: Germany, Sweden, China and Korea. It was much nicer to have a smaller international group. The international students were the only students on campus in our first week so having a smaller group meant that we could really get to know each other and form friendships before classes started.

The first day was a day for sorting things out! The university’s student staff took us to: the University’s free store, Target, the campus bank and phone shop.

I was very impressed with the Free Store! The basic concept is that at the end of term any student who wishes to not take their personal belongings home can donate them to the store where they are sorted and cleaned. Items include, cooking equipment, bedding, cushions and furniture. Then when new international students arrive they can select any items that they may need for their term ahead. It is a very efficient and sustainable initiative and I endeavor to inform the University of Birmingham about it! I managed to find a duvet, coat hangers, bedside table, iron as well as two saucepans, tupperware and a colander. It was a particularly interesting experience at the free store as the local Fox News TV crew were also in attendance to film us to promote the scheme. It was quite mad to find that I featured on the local news one day after arriving in the state! The news clip can hopefully be found by clicking on the following link: https://www.fox21online.com/2019/08/19/umd-international-students-buy-furniture-at-campus-free-store/ .

The bank was also a very smooth experience and from signing up to a checking account I managed to receive a free UMD hoodie. I was on my way to having the full merchandise to support the Bulldogs (the university’s mascot)!

The phone shop however was a very different story. For those that know me well, I do not have much success when it comes to phone contracts. On entering the shop I was informed that I would have to pay $35 a month (on top of my phone contract at home) to purchase the basic SIM card that would allow me to text and call in the States. After being ripped off multiple times by O2, I was in no rush to sign up for this. So, after ensuring my friend Meg that we would not be conned by evil phone companies we decided to find a cheaper solution. This paid off and we eventually found (after 2 weeks of research) a contract for $20 that included a lot more in the package. It was a slight stress not having a phone for the first two weeks as we were told that we had to provide a valid US phone number in the first 20 days to sign up for online banking, receive our health insurance and not be taxed by the government.

Target was a very American experience. Everything was super-sized, expensive and certain food products could only be described as plastic. I obtained the essentials for my flat such as, a shower curtain (unfortunately not provided already), a bath mat and other essentials as well as a lot of cleaning products. The latter was because I had promised myself that after living with a un-hygienic Welsh girl for the past year, that I would enforce cleanliness on my future flatmates. The Target shop was a rather expensive one with items such as a mattress topper and a kettle but I justified it as it would be better to be comfortable when far away from home and in Arctic conditions.

The rest of the week consisted of cultural lessons so that we would know what to expect when the Americans descended on us. This mainly involved the international staff telling us that we should not drink alcohol during our stay. We were given many lectures on the dangers of drinking and the implications of drinking. For the majority of the room this was rather patronising considering that 61% of the world’s nations have a drinking age of 18 or under. What I thought was particularly interesting is that all of our talks on personal safety were focussed around alcohol. Yet, nobody seemed to mention the high rate of sexual assault on American campuses or gun crime… As of September 1st 2019, the toll for mass shootings was at 283. So, as someone who is aware of my limits when it comes to alcohol I think I would have benefitted more from hearing what to do in case that toll increases further in the state I was in.

Aside from health and safety, we also discussed a lot the negative stereotypes of American people. ‘Annoying, dumb and fat’. It was safe to say that certain Europeans did not hold back. I particularly liked the way that one of the international staff described the differences between Americans and other nations. She told us to imagine a peach and a coconut. American people are like peaches. They are soft on the outside – happy and willing to help you at any cost. However, on the inside they are hard and really don’t actually want to get too involved with you. Europeans and other nations are more like coconuts. They won’t talk to you on a bus or smile at you in the street but if you are their friend then they will care for you and want the best for you! I personally think that it is much better being a coconut as when you meet new people you know where you stand. There is no need to be overtly friendly and smiley to someone that you know you’re not going to like. I found in my first week of classes that I would sit next to someone, they would smile and chat but then when the class ended they would be out of their seats before you could say ‘bye’, never to be seen again. All in all, I think that the peach way of life could be described rather suitably as ‘Fake News’.

Midweek we had one session where we had to team up with American students and go on a scavenger hunt and find out information about the campus. By the end I decided that I would have to develop a calming strategy to stop myself getting annoyed when I heard the phrase ‘Good Job’, ‘Go Team’ or just a general celebration at the simplest of tasks. The culture classes had taught me before but now I understood fully, Americans are far too enthusiastic! I told myself after that activity that I would not let myself become one of them and I would hold onto my ‘Britishness’ at all costs.

Keep your eyes open, ears open and don’t get arrested.

— Parting words with Papa d.

After a very emotional goodbye with Lawrence the previous Friday, the day had finally come to say goodbye to my parents. At 6am on Sunday 18th August, we set off for London Gatwick airport armed with my two well-packed suitcases.

Gatwick was packed! We had come at the prime time for flying and so were met with great swathes of people rushing to check in for their holiday’s. Luckily, the Aer Lingus check in desk was very quiet. It was a nervous moment for all as Pops loaded my suitcases onto the weigh in, but, by some miracle I ended up being 0.01kg under the required weight. So, my father happily put his wallet away and it was time to say goodbye 😦

The thought of not seeing my parents, Lawrence or the greatest country in the land for four months was not a pleasant one. But, I was excited for what lay ahead and even though I knew I would miss my loved ones terribly, it was important to make the most of the opportunity that had come my way!

So with a final hug goodbye, I was off alone to America!

I enjoyed a relatively pleasant flight to Dublin. I had purchased the newspaper at Gatwick so as I flew away from the UK, I happily sat and read about the political doom and gloom that I was leaving behind. Although, it is safe to say that I wasn’t exactly heading for a better nation…

As we began the procedures for landing, I checked my boarding pass to see what gate I needed to get to next for my second flight. However, I was very alarmed to find that it said that the gate would close in 5 minutes. After frantically attracting the attention of the air hostess, I found out that the airline states that gates close earlier than they do to encourage passengers to be on time. I made a mental note to inform Aer Lingus that I thought that this was a very cruel move. A mild panic attack did not make for enjoyable on-flight entertainment.

The next stress was border control.

As I had flown via Dublin, I was required to go through American customs whilst still technically in Europe. My first impression of Americans is that they don’t really seem to want you to come into their country. After taking off my shoes, jackets, all of my bags and quickly eating an apple (without choking) after realising that no fruit was allowed, I made it through security.

I was then faced with an hour and a half to go before my flight and a very long queue to check my visa and passport. I noted that the man at the desk had a very strong American accent and seemed to slightly dislike his job. He checked all of my necessary documents and took my passport but then informed me that I would have to go through to secondary questioning. I mentioned the small fact that I had to board a plane very soon to which he replied ‘Hm, yes you do.’ Very unhelpful. The secondary questioning room was a small room filled with lots of people, including my good friend Meg who was also on the way to Duluth. After 20 minutes of waiting, Meg was called for her interview and I was left to anxiously wait. Another 10 minutes passed and I asked one of the officers, in a very polite fashion, if there was anyway that I could have my interview sooner rather than later otherwise there would be no point even having an interview as I would have missed my flight. The officer replied that I could either take my passport and go travel around in Ireland or I could sit and wait.

I am very aware that security checks take a while having travelled to China this summer but the Americans take this to the extreme. I am not a threatening character. Yes, I was wearing lots of layers which may have looked suspicious but that is purely down to the fact that I cannot travel light. I could not understand why after waiting for weeks to get my online visa request confirmed, 4 hours at the embassy in London and a further week of processing after my initial visa interview, I had to wait another 45 minutes for them to ‘double check’ it again. I told Meg to stop the plane whatever it took and hoped for the best.

Luckily my prayers were answered and I was called up. I made it just in time for the final boarding call and settled down for a long 8 and half hour flight.

My first impressions of the America as a landmass is that it is divided up very neatly. There were endless patches of square farms all perfectly separated. Lake Superior could have easily have been mistaken for the sea from 30 000 feet.

After two films, one rather unpleasant meal and a long snooze, we finally landed in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I’m not entirely sure why but I was quite surprised to hear so many American accents when I got off the plane, I think I was expecting to hear British voices…

Anyway, Meg and I reunited and had a very nice catch up as we waited to be joined by our fellow Brit Olivia and to board the shuttle to the university.

The shuttle driver was very American. Very happy and very large. He delighted in our British accents and asked all the stereotypical questions including: Do we drink tea everyday? Do we know the Queen? Do we drink tea with out little finger up? He was quite easy to keep entertained once we informed him that the answer was yes to all of the above questions.

During our journey we were introduced to “Minnesota Nice”. This essentially means that the people of Minnesota are considered to be very friendly. So, halfway through our journey we took a short stop at a petrol station. The driver then offered to buy us anything we wanted. In the UK, this would not be seen as a kind thing to do. It would probably be seen as a mild form of grooming… However, I reminded myself that we were in America. Americans (except for the immigration official) were on the whole quite friendly and so I let the driver buy me a cookie (after checking that it was a sealed item so he couldn’t have tampered with it)!

It took another hour to finally arrive at the University of Minnesota, Duluth and I spent a good majority of the journey on a sugar high. It was eerily quiet on campus and I couldn’t help but think that I had walked on set of High School Musical. Meg, Liv and I walked around trying to find the correct office for a good half an hour until we were finally rescued by one of the international students who had been designated the role of taking us to our accommodation.

I must admit, the organisation from UMD was not the best on our first night. Meg, Liv and I all lived very close together in Oakland Apartments so we were all dropped outside and left to find our way. I presumed this would be quite straight forward, but I was wrong… It was impossible to find my way around the apartment block. There were no signs, no numbers on main doors and ultimately no help! After climbing multiple sets of stairs with my large suitcases, I realised that the numbers on the doors did not correspond to location in the way that I previously might have thought. Luckily, just before I decided to move in with Meg or Liv for the night, I came across my apartment.

I was met with a bare, cold flat! However, exhaustion had definitely set in so I made my bed, unpacked my night time essentials, messaged my parents and Lawrence and snuggled down for my first night alone in foreign lands!

My name is Katherine d’Apice otherwise known as ‘Little Pudding’ to my close family members. On the 18th August 2019, I travelled 3842 miles from my beloved home in Lopcombe Corner to the University of Minnesota, Duluth (UMD) to begin my year abroad in the USA.

My original plan when deciding where to go for my year abroad was sunny Jamaica. I envisaged spending a year on white beaches in the Caribbean sunshine whilst attending my classes in a very relaxed environment. However, this did not go quite to plan and I chose Duluth, Minnesota as an alternative.

I have been told multiple times since my arrival that Duluth is going to get cold. Not just chilly but – 37.5°C. My roommate informed me that last year on my birthday (April 11th), the campus was closed due to the snow, people remained indoors for weeks and cars wouldn’t start. So, apart from the potential risk of death from being outside for more than 10 minutes there are many positives about studying in Duluth.

• The natural environment.
  Duluth is a major port city set in St Louis county. It is the second largest city on Lake Superior and has numerous natural parks. It is considered to be a very popular tourist spot within America due to the beautiful natural scenery and they receive 3.5 million tourists per year. There are lots of opportunities for hiking, sailing, swimming and in the winter months, skiing and snowboarding.
• The education.
  The classes on offer are rather appealing. This semester I am taking a 2 credit module called ‘Outdoor Skills I’ which will give me practice in skills such as hunting, kayaking, camping and orienteering. So, basically a class in DofE but with rifles! I am also looking to further my knowledge in geology and earth based sciences which I have not studied in depth since A levels and first year uni. The main aim of this year is to decide what I would like to do for my dissertation. I am going to treat the two semesters a bit like an academic gap year where I can also focus on ideas for post uni.
• Extra curricular opportunities.
  I am keen to get back into sailing and make the most of Lake Superior. I also want to make the most of the snowy weather and improve my skiing ability and as UMD is famous for their ice hockey team, who knows maybe I will grab a stick and join in!
• Survival skills.
  Considering the fact that the weather will be significantly below freezing, it is a good opportunity to test my survival skills. My outdoor skills class will test my chances at making it out alive if faced with a hungry bear preparing for hibernation whilst the general winter conditions may finally mean that I can leave the house in weather appropriate clothing (I have been told to always leave with dry hair after a shower otherwise it may freeze and snap off)!
  

This blog will be password protected so that I can give a brutally honest truth about my opinions throughout the year! So, if you are reading it now then congratulations, I clearly deem you trustworthy enough to not tell the Americans what I think about them!

So without further ado, here’s to the year ahead!