Getting to UEA - A Journey

As this is my very first post on this blog I figured I should start by telling you all about my journey and arrival to UEA. I am in other words a first year student, and arrived at the university on September 21^st, 2016.

I had been awaiting this day for a very long time. I started packing weeks in advance, eager as I was, and I could barely believe the day had finally arrived. I got up that morning, had breakfast, packed the last few things, and then I closed all of my three suitcases, as well as my hand luggage and my backpack. No, you did not misread that – I actually did bring that many suitcases. However, my attitude was positive as always, and I convinced myself it would be no problem at all.

My mum drove me to the train station, and I managed to say good-bye with no tears! Of course, the only reason for that is because I knew my family was coming to visit me two weeks later. When they left after their visit, however… Well, that is a whole different story!

The train to the airport took an hour from my hometown to Oslo Airport, as it always does, and as soon as I got out, I got a trolley – as you can imagine, it was much needed. I took the elevator upstairs, checked in on one of the machines, and dropped my suitcases at the bag-drop – I was rid of the luggage! At least for a while…

A few hours later, and I was finally in England! The next step of my journey was to go from London to Norwich, and, organized as I am, I had booked my transportation months in advance: I had signed up for a Meet &Greet-service arranged by UEA. I was to meet in Terminal 3 at Heathrow airport, and then get on a bus that would take me straight to the university! Brilliant, yes? There was only one problem…

My plane had landed in Terminal 2, so my mission was to get from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3. First, I had to go through passport control and such, and then I had to get my luggage. Again I got a trolley, and all of my suitcases came quite fast, one by one. I stacked them up neatly on the trolley, backpack on my back – no complications yet! Then I started walking. Did I mention the total weight of all my suitcases and my hand luggage? No? Well, it was about 90 kilograms. As if that was not bad enough; to get to Terminal 3 I had to take an elevator down into the underground system. Did you know that it is very hot in the underground system? Well, it is. So, there I was, pushing a trolley with a weight of 90 kilograms through many a hot hallway in the underground system. The good thing was that there were many signs, so finding the way was easy. The bad thing was that just before I reached my destination, the floor went from flat to uphill. I looked around. Nope, no elevators. There were stairs, however, but that was obviously not helpful. With a deep and loud sigh, I began the ascent. It was heavy. It was warm. I was miserable. Then I reached the top – of the first uphill. I turned the trolley. Here I go again. Heavy. Heat. Misery. Then I reached the top again, and this time there were no more hills – I had reached Terminal 3, at last.

The misery was not over, however, as I was sweating like a pig; not the way I had planned to meet some of my fellow international students. I went straight for the bathroom, hoping to have a quick makeshift ‘shower’ with the use of paper and water from the sink.

Feeling slightly refreshed, I exited the toilets, and then I checked my phone. My Swedish flat mate had messaged me, saying that they had left to go to the bus. WHAT?! Silent panic. I rushed towards the meeting place and looked around frantically. Oh sweet relief! Directly in front of me was a guy wearing a UEA T-shirt, and I called out to him. He turned around, smiled and asked if I was going to UEA. Yes, yes, yes! He made me follow him, and then he led me outside, to a group of other international students. Everything was fine, I was where I was supposed to be – I could relax.

About a half hour later I was on the bus, next to my Swedish flat mate. We talked for a bit, and then I fell asleep; I was exhausted. Those hills were not kind.

Three hours later the bus arrived on campus. Finally; after nine months of waiting, I was here at last! I got off the bus, found my luggage, and went into the Congregation Hall to register and get the key to my room. This took about an hour, because of queing and such, and then we were led outside to a van that would take us up to the Village. I was happy and excited, having completely recovered from my journey from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3.

There was a loud noise, and suddenly my hand luggage was dragging behind me. What now? I looked down, and groaned. One of the wheels had fallen off. Great. Superb. Why do these things always happen to me? I suppose that is what I get for overestimating the strength of the wheels by overloading such a little suitcase. Oh well. I was almost at my final destination; nothing was going to ruin my good mood. I lifted the hand luggage, put it in the trunk of the van, and claimed my seat inside. About fifteen minutes later, after some confusion as to where we were actually going, we finally arrived at Pine house; my new home. 

I got help carrying all my suitcases up the staircase, and then my Swedish flat mate and I entered our flat. After pulling all my suitcases with me to my room, I put the key in the lock, turned it, and opened the door. I was in shock. It was so nice! So much nicer than I had imagined! I knew the house had been refurbished over the summer, but the results exceeded my wildest expectations! The bathroom was bigger than I thought it would be, and the room in general just looked so new and modern. I was super happy; I knew I would feel at home there, and can assure you now that I do.

The next thing I did was order kebabs for myself and my Swedish flat mate. While waiting for our food we started unpacking. I was already picturing how my room would look when fully decorated – I will write about that in another post!

About an hour later the food arrived, and it was amazing! Delicious! In other words, I highly recommend the Special Chicken Kebab at Norwich Pizza and Fish Bar!

After our late dinner we kept unpacking – I stayed up until 2 AM. There was still plenty to do, but I had at least emptied all my suitcases. It was starting to settle in me; the fact that I was here, that I had arrived at UEA, that I was about to begin my life in Norwich, England. The imaginings and the dreams were finally real and palpable, and as I was falling asleep I could not help but smile.

Christina - UEA Norwegian Student Ambassador

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ueanorway/
Email: norwegianstudents@uea.ac.uk