thebradforddiaries

[thebradforddiaries]

12. Leaving

The time came when I only had one week in England before leaving. That week was extremely busy, I had to buy another suitcase because I bought so many stuff. I went to England with 22kg and came home with 36kg, oops.  I met two British girls I had classes with to catch up and say good bye. We went to Icestone’s and I had the best Nutella and strawberry waffels.  One day later, we celebrated the Finish girl’s birthday, it was a girly, all pink and glittery birthday party.  One of the Belgian girls had a great idea to have matching hoodies made. So we went to Primark, bought hoodies and took them to a shop where we had “Erasmus Squad Bradford 2017″ printed on them.  On the last Friday, I had my farewell party. I got really emotinal but I enjoyed every second of it. We head a wonderful time. By the time we got home, the sun was rising. After a few hours of sleep we met at noon and had a traditional English breakfast (for lunch). I couldn’t leave without one. We took pictures in our hoodies at the City Park and that was the last time I saw the majority of our squad.  Sunday evening, when my room was basically empty and I was in my bathrobe getting ready to take a shower, I realised I was going home the following day. I began to cry so hard, I called my mum and dad to tell them how unbelievably grateful I was that I could go to England and live there for 4 months. I was sobbing and I could hardly stop.  On my very last day, the Finish girl came to help me get to the airport. We talked a lot and I’m quite glad we didn’t cry at the airport. I know we’ll meet again one day. And I came home on 8 May at 15:45.  I wrote a long and emotional Instagram post (my profile is linked here, you can check it out) so I don’t really want to repeat myself. It was the best experience of my life, I’m so thankful for all the wonderful memories I made, places I saw and people I met who I can call my friends and second family. England is my second home. I’m also proud of myself for proving I can live in a foreign country. Oh, and I’m super happy I learnt to cook. I truly wish everyone had a chance to go live and study in a foreign country because we all deserve it. And the best thing is that no one can take this experience from us. xxx D

[thebradforddiaries]

11. Easter sickness & York

As soon as we got home from Dublin, I knew I caught a cold and I was right. I thought I’d get better by Easter but it didn’t happen. Therefore, I was helping my country-buddy preparing a traditional Easter meal for our country with a running nose. We cooked a big gammon, boiled eggs and baked a milk loaf. We invited over the members of our squad who didn’t go home for the holidays. We had a really nice time. However, thanks to my cold, my right ear began to ache and it got blocked. I took painkillers so the pain went away by Easter Monday but it was still blocked. I tried literally everything to unblock it but nothing helped. I was lucky that we lived next to the student health centre so I went down after Easter and got an appointment for a week later. I was quite angry even though I knew about this appointment system but still. It was annoying to be with a blocked ear. I took antibiotics I brought from home to prevent infection. When the doctor examined me the next week, she noted that my ear was slightly red but it was in a healing stage and she also saw some liquid but she said it would go away by itself. Because the body is self-healing. Moral of the story: don’t get sick in the UK. After all, my ear had been blocked for almost a month. I suppose it popped like a week before I came back to my country. The time was flinying incredibly fast, the date of my leaving got closer and closer. I went to York and it’s safe to say if I had to live on the north, I’d definitly live in York. Such a lovely town! The weather was amazing, the flowers were blooming and it was just perfect. Well, I also spent a lot of money I didn’t plan but whatever... It was so funny because two shop assistants thought I’m from the U.S. I mean, I know my English is pretty good (even if you can’t tell from this blog) but not that good. But I was flattered. And also that one time when a bus driver was trying to guess if I was from America or Canada. At the end of April, we celebrated the birthday of one of the Turkish boys. The next day, we went on a class trip to Harlow Carr with one of the Belgian girls and a Belgian boy, which was really fun.  xxx D

[thebradforddiaries]

10. Dublin & other things

After I came home, I went to the primary school on Friday because it was Red Nose Day. I was really looking forward to that day, I already bought my nose and a T-shirt. The kids were so cute, they were all wearing something red.  On Saturday, I celebrated my birthday with the Erasmus Squad, the French girls even baked me a cake! It was a delicious chocolate and fruit loaf. In the following days, I was struggling with my last assignment but luckily, I managed to finish it. We also went to see the Beauty and the Beast in the cinema, it was lovely. Next weekend, we had a beer pong tournament, it was the first time I played and me and my team won! Twice!  I also went to Haworth, the little village where the Bronte sisters lived. I visted their house, strolled down the main street and had a giant (literally) Yorkshire pudding for lunch. The waiter was so nice, he asked me where I was from and he said he had been to my country in the 80s. We had a nice chat.  Another week went by and it was finally time to go to Dublin! Our plane went at 6:30 am, so we took a taxi around 4 o’clock. It was a pleasant morning, so to say. The flight was extremely short, not more than 45 mins and we were in Dublin before 7:30. Our hostel was awesome, we dropped our bags then went to explore the city. After lunch, we went back to occupy our room, then, we activated our 48-hour hop on hop off bus tickets. So we went on a sightseeing tour. We saw literally everything that has to be seen in Dublin, e.g. Trinity College, St Patrick’s Cathedral and the Guinness Storehouse. It was cold on the bus after a while so we called it a day around dinner time. The next day, with the exception of the Belgian girls, we went to visit the Guinness Storehouse. It was impressive to see where and how the beer is made and at the top of the Storehouse, we could look down at the whole city. We were also given a pint of beer but I was the only one who drank lemonade instead of beer. We went back to our hostel to meet the others, and then went out for dinner. We found a really nice traditional Irish restaurant right next to the famous Temple Bar. We had a discount with our hop on hop off tickets and the food was delicious. (One of the waiters was from my country and he was rude, which made me and my country-buddy quite angry.) Later, we went to a bar where there were live music but one of the Belgian girls and I felt really tired so we went back to our hostel. On our last day, we had a traditional Irish breakfast in a cafe near our hostel, then we planned to go and see the port but it seemed quite industrial so eventually we didn’t hop off the bus. Afterwards,  we had a little shopping spree. The weather was much warmer than in the previous two days so it was unfortunate that we left. In conclusion, I really liked Dublin, especially those colourful doors. I also loved the fact how proud they are to be Irish, it was really inspiring to me. I’d really like to go back one day to see the countryside and the famous cliffs. xxx D

[thebradforddiaries]

9. Birthday in London

I can’t believe I wrote my last post in March. I’m so bad at this, although I tried to continue this blog but maybe I’m just too lazy. I can’t say I didn’t have time because then I’d lie. So let’s stick to lazy. However, here I am trying to catch up (with a hint of nagging of a friend and a promise that I finish this blog).  Back in March, my birthday week finally came so on a Thursday after a group project, I headed to London again. I was so glad I could finally wear my thick drape coat instead of my winter coat but as usual, the English weather tricked me. It was not that warm... When I got to London, I went to Stansted Airport to greet my mum. Oh boy, if you had seen us... Just a little bit of happy crying. We were utterly happy to see each other. Then, we went to our hotel in Clapham, so basically we had to cross the city because Stansted is on the north while Clapham is on the south. The room in the hotel was tinier than we thought, literally, we could barely move, moreover, the window had a view of a corridor. It just felt so suffocating so next day we tried to change rooms and luckily, we managed to do so. We got a nice, normal room.  We went to Brighton and the weather was colder than we thought, plus the wind was crazy so at the end of the day, we were frozen. But it’s a really nice town, we accidentally found a mini streed food festival where we had lunch and the Guiness marinated beef burger I ate was just de-li-cious. We went into the Pavilion and I was just stunned how beutiful it is. Can I live there? Thanks. We obviously went to the Pier too but the wind was blowing so hard that we could barely enjoy what we saw. I’d really like to go back when I won’t be frozen. The next day we were just strolling in London, went to see the Kensington Palace and I also saw someone “famous” on the Tube, dancer/blogger/vlogger Danielle Peazer (ex-girlfriend of Liam Payne of One Direction). I was so surprised to see her, I didn’t even have the courage to say hi to her.  Sunday was my brithdaaay. We had lunch at the same French restaurant in Soho as we had dinner at in February. Unfortunately, the French waitress wasn’t working that day. Then, we went to Camden, had a walk in Primrose Hill and I found it hard to decide if I liked Primrose Hill or Fulham better. All the lovely houses just charmed us. After climbing up the Hill, we walked through the Regent’s Park.  On Monday, we went to the Sky Garden, where the view was amazing. We had a nice cup of coffee and some cakes while we were looking down at the city. We took a long walk by the Tower, crossing the Tower Bridge and eventually just strolling by the south bank. We escaped from a shower by having lunch in a Pizza Express near the Globe Theater. We went to the British Museum because a friend of mine asked me to buy her a tote bag so that was the last mission of the day.  We spent our last day in Hampton Court, my mum is a huge fan of Henry VIII and she really wanted to go there. It was bloody cold even though the sun was shining bright. The palace was really impressive. We also had great hamburgers for lunch.  I had to say goodbye to my mum the next day, she went home and so did I. Luckily, I was already in Bradford when the Westminster Attack happened but a lot of friends wrote me if I was okay.  All in all, my birthday week was wonderful, I was beyond happy to spend some time with my mum. I was sad to leave London because I didn’t know when I would go again. I just love that city so much.  xxx D

[thebradforddiaries]

8. London & everything else

I know I’ve been slightly MIA recently but now here I am trying to catch up and remember what happened since my last post. We met other Erasmus students, so our squad got bigger and it seems to consist of the two Belgian girls, a Finnish girl, two Turkish boys and the girl from my country and I. We go out together and even had a Pizza Party Wednesday Night with pizzas from Domino’s, which were utterly delicious. On top of it, we’re going to Dublin in April together. (Except for the Finnish girl but she’s going to be missed.)  On the Saturday of the Pizza Party’s week, the time finally came for me to go to London. I was so excited because the last (and first) time I’ve been to London was 9 years ago. I went with Virgin Trains East Coast, which seemed pretty fancy even though it wasn’t frist class. The journey was 2 hours 50 minutes long but I got 20 minutes in Leeds to change for the other train heading to King’s Cross. Once I arrived, I went straight to my acquaintances who live in Fulham, which in my opinion, is the best area to live in London. Their flat is in a Victorian terraced house and I fell in love immediately. That day, I went to Bishop’s Park to see the River Thames, it was such a warm and sunny afternoon. In the evening, we went shopping, talked a lot because we haven’t seen each other for years, and watched a film together. They also have two cats and one of them is a real charmer. In the following days I went to Harrod’s to buy a teddy bear, strolled in Soho, Covent Garden and Oxford Street. I was disappointed when I saw that Picadilly Circus is getting rebuilt or I don’t know what was being done but it was covered with metal stuff. After three days, I moved to another acquaintance’s place, she lives in Bromley, 30 minutes south of London by train. While I was staying at her place, I went to visit Tate Modern, my main purpose was to drink a coffee in the restaurant on the 6th floor witht he view of the Millenial Bridge and St Paul’s Cathedral. Then, I walked through the bridge and went up to the top of the One New Change shopping centre to see the Cathedral up close. I also went to the British Museum because 9 years ago my mum and I only saw the Egyptian exhibition. I went to Leicester Square to M&M’s World, Chinatown and then the most random thing happened to me. I was walking without any purpose and I saw a theatre with the posters of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, then I walked past a group of smoking people who were wearing costumes and I realised they were the actors of the play! If I had seen the play, I would have definitely asked them for a picture.  The next day, my dad and his fiancée finally came to visit me. However, it was also the day of ‘Storm Doris’. Well, I wouldn’t have called it ‘storm’ because in Yorkshire we have strong winds like that every two weeks. So that is the main reason why I didn’t understand why the trains didn’t come. They don’t even have cables! But I understand that the landing was more thank risky and shaky as my dad told me, he is not the easy-to-be-scared type but he said he was scared as shit during the landing. Since the trains didn’t come from Luton Airport, I was waiting for them for more than 2 hours at King’s Cross. They took an Uber with other people, then I was really happy to see them. Still, as soon as we went down to the Tube, an alarm went off telling that everyone must leave the underground because there is an emergency. Great. Just great. Luckily, we didn’t swipe our Oysters at the gates. Then, we waited for 30 minutes for a bus to take us to Camden Town but it just didn’t come and by that time, the underground was open again. It was closed down due to overcrowding. So finally, around 7pm, we got to our accommodation in Camden. It was a pretty eventful day with lots and lots of waiting.  On Firday, we went to explore the city together. We basically saw everything, London Eye, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St James’s Park, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square and went into the National Gallery. In the evening, we met our acquaintances from Fulham, a couple, and had a few drinks in Soho at The Duck and Rice. I probably drank the fanciest gin tonic and best tequila of my life. After that, we went to have a late dinner in a great and affordable French restaurant called Cote Brasserie. The food was sooo delicius and the fries were seriously the best fries I’ve ever eaten. We sort of celebrated and said goodbye to the couple because they’re moving back to America. Oh, and I have to mention the French waitess because she was so kind to us that the world needs more people like her.  On the last day with my family, we went to the Tower and Greenwhich. Later, we just randomly walked in Camden, had dinner at Honest Burgers and I have to say, their fries are in competition with the ones in the French restaurant. But the burger was... Wow. The next day, I was sad that they are leaving and I didn’t want to come back to Yorkshire because I am in love with London and the weather was much better there. Even though I missed the Yorkshire accent. Since then, I’ve been volunteering in the primary school. This week, I made a crown for Queen Elsa and tried to protect my play-doh heart from a five-year-old boy. It is fun. In College, everything is good, I had my last classes and I’m going to miss those people I had lessons with. They are the nicest ones. Unfortunately, neither of them attend my new class which is Environmental Education. It is really, really interesting and I’m glad I chose it. Although the people don’t seem so friendly so far but there are some exceptions.  I also had a haircut at College, went to the cinema to watch Fifty Shades Darker with one of the Belgian girls and the Finnish girl. It was really good to see a film in a cinema without subtitle or being dubbed.  This week’s adventure was a trip to Ilkley on International Women’s Day. I climbed up a hill and just watched the sorrounding moors and the village. The English countryside is so beautiful, like a painting. When I’m not busy (or procastinating) writing my assignment, I can’t stop thinking about the fact that my mum is coming next week to London and we’re celebrating my 21st brithday there. Celebrating. My. Birthday. In. London. No biggie. Honestly cannot wait.  xxx D

[thebradforddiaries]

7. Volunteer work & other things

Last week, I had my first two days of volunteering in a primary school. To be honest, I was a bit reluctant because a) I’m not really a fan of kids (except my 4-year-old brother) and b) I’m not going to be a teacher. Me and the other girl from my country were asked to help two boys who are also from our country to tell them what is going on during class, basically to translate for them, sort of.  So, as I said, I’m not much of a children person but that kind of changed after I met one of the boys and took him to reception (a group of 4-5-year-old children). The first day was tiring as hell but it was worth it. To my biggest surprise, I loved being with the kids. They were so cute and being needed is one of the best things. I also like my “colleagues”, the real teachers, they are really nice people.  College is still fun, I genuinely like the people I have classes with. This week, one of them noted that my English has clearly improved after a month, not that it wasn’t good enough before, she made a compliment on my accent. The interesting thing is that I also noticed. But it felt so so good to hear it from her. Yet, I still think that I might sound slightly funny when I talk because I sound like a foreigner speaking standard British English pronouncing some words with the Yorkshire accent. Never mind.  Last Saturday, I went to Keighley to visit Cliffe Castle Museum. The sun was shining and I enjoyed being there, discovering all the exhibitions they had. The old rooms showing how rich people lived back then reminded me a bit of Bolling Hall. But there were exhibitions on crystals, animals and Egyptian pottery, etc. A staff member of the museum asked me where I was from and when I told him, he listed a few sportsmen from my country. With that little thing, he contributed a lot to make my day even better.  xxx D

[thebradforddiaries]

6. Week 4

Today is the day which marks the 4th week of me being here in England, exactly. It feels so unreal. Four whole weeks and at the same time it seems much longer.  My classes were really funny this week, we laughed a lot but I guess because everyone was pretty tired. The girl from my country and I went to visit the primary school where we’re going to do some volunteer work. It seemed really nice but it’ll turn out once we start working.  Friday evening was a lot of fun because we went over to one of the Belgian girls’ place to talk and drink. We even played drinking games. Yesterday, I went to Saltaire, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site village and I had a lovely day. There was a vintage fare in Victoria Hall and it was amazing. I loved all the old stuff and the music, it really had a special vibe. I also bought a nice bracelet only for 1 pund. Then I strolled in the park, it was cloudy and soon it began to rain. Since we’re talking about England, 10 minutes later the sun was shining but it kept raining. I guess that’s when wonders and magic happen. I felt so calm and safe, I’m unable to describe it precisely. When every little piece comes together and now they’re in a good place. When everything is in balance. However, in the middle of my deep philosophical thoughts, I realised I was hungry so I went to a place called Victoria Tea Rooms and I had a lovely toast and a vanilla latte for lunch.  Today, according to my country-mate, is cheat-day so we went out to have lunch in Five Guys, while the Erasmus Squad was working hard in the gym. Oops. But those burgers... One of the best ones I’ve ever eaten. They definitely worth their price.  Oh, and I also bought my train tickets to London, can’t wait to see my dad and stepmum in February! Now I only have to arrange a trip for my mum in March. xxx D

[thebradforddiaries]

5. Leeds No. 2

Last Saturday, one of my flatmates and I went to Leeds. It was good to finally go to another city. We had a nice day spent with shopping, oops. The Trinity shopping centre is one of the biggest ones I’ve ever been to. Despite spending quite a lot of money in Victoria’s Secret, I didn’t see much of the city.  But yesterday, the Erasmus Girl Squad went to explore Leeds. We saw most of the important buildings e.g. the City Hall and the Corn Exchange. Of course, we had a little shopping spree but I’m really proud of myself that I didn’t buy anything! Once we were walking on a street and I spotted a food stand selling a kind of food which is typical of my country and I was so happy! Next time, I’m definitely going to eat there. It was a really fun day.  Today, I cooked again and I succeeded! (Unlike last week but I didn’t want to mention that.) It was an easy Uncle Ben’s chicken with rice but it’s as good as if my mum had made it. After cooking, the Erasmus Squad went to the gym. It felt so good to do some exercises, I really needed it.  xxx D

[thebradforddiaries]

4. Compliments & New friends

I just wanted to dedicate a post to a few small but pretty meaningful things for me. I’ve been learning English since kindergarten (probably it’s not so obvious in my posts haha) and I kind of always knew that this language is the only thing I am good at. However, people rarely compliment on my English skills and pronounciation. But since I’m here, it has sort of changed. After my first class, one of my classmates said that my English is “fantastic” and also that teacher with the best sense of humor said it is “excellent”. I’m aware that they are clearly exaggerating but on the other hand, they are British and it feels so good to hear it from them. And slowly, I might begin to believe it. Also, my Spanish flatmate told me how well I speak. So, yeah, it just feels truly good and makes me happy. :)  In my previous post, I mentioned that I met a Belgian girl but actually, I got to know two other Belgians, a boy and a girl. So the three Belgians, the girl from my country and I founded the “Erasmus Squad” and I’m really glad we found each other. They seem to be nice so I’m looking forward to adventures together in the future.  xxx D

[thebradforddiaries]

3. First day of school

Last week, I had my first classes. I was really excited about them, I went to the College half an hour before the first one would start, just in case. The sort of funny thing was that first lesson was also attended by one of my flatmates, a Spanish girl, so I already knew someone, which was a good starting point. We were sitting at a round table and the majority of our table-buddies were adults. (I can’t really consider myself an adult, though I’m turning 21 soon. Jesus.) But they were so nice and I felt really comfortable. I could always befriend people who are older than me easily.  So, this first class seemed interesting but on the other hand, it was kind of boring. The teacher is a lovely lady, yet, somehow her method of presentation is slightly boring. Although, I genuinely like her.  The second class is my favourite. The teacher is a young man and he has the greatest sense of humor. Plus, he’s been to my country several times! I’m really glad that I chose his module.  All in all, the first day was great, I really like the people around me. This week, I was joined by another girl who came from my country and a Belgian girl, we had lunch together at school. I grabbed a cup of coffee from the cafe located on the floor I have my classes, and I was surprised it tasted relly good. That’s an A+ from me. xxx D

[thebradforddiaries]

2. First week

The next day, my dad and I went to check in my accommodation. My room is in a huge building so the view is really beautiful. However, the kitchen was in a mess when I arrived and it was bloody cold in the bathroom. But never mind. Then, we went on a major shopping spree, I needed a lot of things.  Do you know that moment when you need pans and a duvet but the first section you stop at Asda Living is toys? Yeah, basically that’s what happened to us but we had a great excuse: I have a four-year-old brother. Then, we went on to what is necessary.  After the exhausting shopping (poor us), we had lunch at Nando’s. I’ve wanted to go there for ages and I was so happy it finally happened. The food was amazing and the waiters were really kind so it was worth waiting for.  On Tuesday, after my first night in my accommodation, I finally met my next door neighbour, a really nice girl from the Netherlands. I went to enroll at the College (my dad accompanied me), the Erasmus coordinator, who was also really nice, showed us around and I was truly amazed by the building I would study in. It was huge, really modern and just... Awesome. I was looking forward to having my classes next week as they were cancelled that day.  My dad went home after lunch and making a quick visit in the National Media Museum. So, I was all by myself. And the Dutch girl next door.  In the following days I went shopping again, there was always something I needed. I had my first meal at Taco Bell and I fell in love. I saw the Cathedral and went to Lister Park to visit the Cartwright Hall Art Gallery.  My accommodation has a cinema room, so my Dutch neighbour and I went down to watch Harry Potter and it was fun, we talked a lot. Slowly, the rest of my flatmates came back and it wasn’t just the two of us.  Perhaps one of the best things that happened during my first week was when I cooked a proper meal for the first time in my life. It was a simple dish but it was so good that even my Dutch neighbour wanted some. I was so happy. Before I’d forget, just one last thing. The Yorkshire accent. I’ve never thought it would be this difficult to understand but I have to ask back at least three times when I communicate, even though I think my English is pretty good. I’m an English Major, by the way. But this accent is like another language. However, it was a small thing but it made my day when an employee in Asda asked “anything else, love?” In conclusion, I think I’ll be fine. I hope.  xxx D  

[thebradforddiaries]

1. Arrival

Have you ever had a New Year’s Eve party in a club, then on New Year’s Day you said goodbye to your loved ones in tears at the airport, and flew 2 and a half hours to a foreign country so that you can study there for 4 months? I have. Casual start of 2017. That’s how my dad and I got to Manchester at 8pm on New Year’s Day. At first, I was glad that it wasn’t that cold in England as in my country but soon I realised it didn’t matter if it was minus degrees or not, it was bloody cold. Full stop. A guy from the car rental service came and picked us up. Then, I began to pray for our lives. My dad has never been to England before, let alone drive on the other side of the road. However, he’s a very experienced driver and I knew everything would be fine. We got an amazing, huge Toyota hybrid, we immediately fell in love with the vehicle. And then my dad began to drive. On the other side of the road. And we almost shat ourselves. No kidding, it was hella scary. I had approximately 150 minor heart attacks until we got to Bradford. And let’s not talk about the roundabouts...  So once we arrived, I was relieved. We found the apartment that my dad booked on Airbnb easily, thanks to the GPS in the car. But then again, it was bloody cold in the tiny flat. Yet, we were there, in a good place and most importantly, we survived the journey. Yay!  xxx D