Bread for…

After more than two weeks of UK, I think I am able to give you a good overview of my impressions. As you may have guessed, I have had a safe trip. At the airport, I met another Dutch guy and after we made the final arrangements for our rooms, we went into the city centre to do some serious shopping. As there was nothing in the kitchen nor in the bedroom (apart from the furniture of course), we looked for the cheapest shop in town to get plates, cutlery, and pans. After that, we went to a local shop to buy some food. As we both did not feel like cooking, we ate curry in a restaurant close to the campus, which is a famous dish in Bradford. Then we went to Student Central, which is the place-to-be for students in the university, where I ordered my first British pint. Back home, I noticed that the kitchen was a real mess, so I decided to clean it up a little and after that I went to bed, only to find the cleaners working in the kitchen the next morning (I should have known).

On Sunday, I planned to do some sightseeing in the City of Bradford. Eventually, I ended up in many different shops to get new items for my room. In the evening, the fire alarm went off and everybody in my flat went outside. After ten cold minutes, we could enter the building again and it turned out that some idiots had created a smokescreen with the oven.

The next morning, I joined a trip to discover the city centre, but it was in fact similar to my Sunday tour as our guides showed us the useful shops in town (which I already visited). In the afternoon, I attended an information session about the experiences of an international student and after that, I had lunch with some of my new friends: two Dutch and two Bulgarian guys. By the way, the Bulgarians told us that they had been the ones who caused the smoke in the building. What a coincidence! Or is it?

On Tuesday, I took part in a campus tour and met many nice girls from India. One of these girls invited me for lunch and she made me some delicious noodles. During our lunch, a cleaning woman came in and started talking with my friend in Hindi. As there had been many immigrants from Pakistan and similar countries a few decades ago, the number of ‘white Brits’ is almost equal to the other group, especially at the university where many international students study. My friend from India will therefore probably feel as much at home as I do. In the afternoon, I attended an information session about financial issues and in the evening, I went to the film night with some of my new friends. Unfortunately, the film night was cancelled, so we decided to discover the clubs in Bradford. After a very short stay in the local 80s bar, we went back to our halls. It appeared that my key card for the University Halls was not working anymore, so I looked for security outside on campus. After half an hour, I finally got into my room for some good rest.

On Wednesday, I attended several information sessions and I made a lot of new friends. One of my new friends invited me for a cup of tea at his place, because he wanted me to taste some real Pakistani tea. After an hour of talking about our (cultural) differences and similarities, one of his flatmates invited us for dinner and I enjoyed a typical Pakistani meal. After dinner, we watched the film ‘Braveheart’, although I have not seen much of the movie because of our very interesting conversations.

On Thursday, I went running in the afternoon and although I lost my way in the city, I really enjoyed my exercise on the steep hills of Bradford. In the evening, I met my friend from Pakistan again during a so-called International Student Get Together, during which everybody had to explain why their country is the best in the world. Because of the very informal atmosphere, I was brave enough to tell the Brits that Beatrix is prettier than their queen. I wonder whether they appreciated this…

My first Friday in Bradford was not very interesting, although I really enjoyed the Wii Night organised by the Students Union. The weekend, on the contrary, was a great experience, since I went on a day trip to see a castle and the beautiful Yorkshire landscape on Saturday and I went to the Saltaire Festival on Sunday. During this weekend, many new students arrived and for this reason the trip to Saltaire was the first time I got to know my flatmates. I have four flatmates and they are from France, Italy, Manchester, and Hong Kong. Because we all wanted to get to know other people, we went to the Freshers’ Welcome Party on Sunday. I found out, however, that I already knew many people from the first week and remembering all their names seems to be one of the main difficulties you will have as an exchange student. TIP: Write the names down, preferably in your mobile phone, so you can learn them by heart when you are home.

On Monday, I had to attend a Welcome Briefing for the Erasmus exchange students and formally enrol in the university. Thereafter, I went to the bowling centre and played two games with both international and UK students. To my surprise, the British students were rather shy and did not bother talking to people from other countries. In the Netherlands, I always thought that the English language is a barrier between Dutch and international students, but now I have learned that there seem to be more barriers than just the language. After the bowling, I went to a pub with a German friend and I had some delicious Fish & Chips. When we walked back to the university campus, he told me that he had to go to the shop for some Bradford tomorrow. I wondered what kind of local things he needed for the next day, but then he told me that he needed some “bread for tomorrow”. Maybe this was the barrier I was looking for; the so-called accent barrier, since everybody has a completely different accent. I always wonder what people think about my accent…

On Tuesday morning, I went to the School of Economics to enrol for a module and in the afternoon, I joined the Students Union for an ice skating event. One of my friends is from Canada and he has been playing ice hockey since he was a child. He taught me how to skate backwards and I taught him how to skate as fast as a Dutchman. In the evening, I met even more international students during an English-style picnic, which was actually my dinner for that day. At 19:00, there was a Comedy Night at Student Central and although one of the comedians talked incomprehensible (he had a terrible Scottish accent), the show was great. I think I fell in love with the British humour.

On Wednesday, I went to the Freshers’ Fayre on campus, which is a market where sports clubs, societies, charities, and religious groups can present themselves. I signed up for the Bradford University Real ale And Cider Society, which aims to introduce every student in the world of … (guess what). In the afternoon, I enrolled in two modules of the School of Engineering, Design, and Technology and listened to a hilarious presentation by one of the professors. He showed us many photos of his experiences at the university, on which he was sometimes wearing a purple suit, since this was the colour of the university where he graduated. He also had problems finding his wife on the photos, which led to amusing situations. In the evening, my flatmates and I went to see a film at the student cinema and thereafter went to a party in the city centre.

Thursday started with a bus trip and after that a full day at the School of Management, which is situated two miles from the university campus. It is a great place and I successfully enrolled for my last three modules. When I got back to the university, I went over to Student Central to enjoy a barbecue. Unfortunately, the barbecue was cancelled, but I did see a ‘fantastic circus performance’.

My second Friday in Bradford was, in contrast to the first one, very nice. During the day, I took some time to relax, but the evening consisted of watching the film ‘Avatar’ and thereafter a great party at Student Central, the so-called Friday Night Disco. During this party, the DJ threw T-shirts into the audience, and I was one of the lucky few to catch such a T-shirt.

All in all, my first few weeks in Bradford were a blast and I can promise you that there will be more exciting stories coming up, so stay tuned!

Yours truly,

Frans