Moving to a different country for 5 months is not the easiest transition, but having a space to come home to after a long day makes a tremendous difference. I made my home away from home for only 13£ (that's about $18).
As many of you may know, decorating is like therapy for me. That may sound a bit dramatic but seriously, if were to change my major, I would choose interior design, no doubt. When packing my suitcases for England it felt rather odd to know that I wouldn't have all of my DIY crafts, paintings, and other decor (the only things that make moving bearable). All that I packed for decorating was my American flag and about 20 photographs I took and had printed last year.
Nothing makes a place feel more 'homey' than all your pictures from back home surrounding you. They're also great conversation starters for anyone happening by. I went to the pound store (the equivalent to the dollar store in the States) and bought some yarn and clothes pins to string from one end of my room to the other.
I then went to Primark (which we don't have in the States but is rather similar to Target but bigger) and got 3 sets of string lights for only 2£ each. I wove them behind my flag and in out of the photos around the room and that basically did the trick. My room also came with a little mood-light, you can see it on the back wall that really all seemed to bring the place together.
The pound store also had little plants for a pound each. They added quite a bit of color and fun. I'm just hoping they make it longer than the plants I've had back home...
My bulletin board is practically full (already yikes!) with an old map of Europe, a map of Newcastle, and random tickets and brochures and such I've gotten here and there. I also happened into a music store where I thought I could purchase a poster of Coldplay or London Grammar. He handed me a whole box of music posters and said to come back by anytime! They're apparently free each Monday- you know I took advantage of that. ;)
I really lucked out on my room. Great flatmates, my own room and bathroom, full kitchen and living room and not to mention the view. From my window I can see the front of the university (they always just say uni for short here). The living room has the same view along with the main bridge to uni. Probably the best part is that Camden Court is central to literally everything. Not just campus but the whole city. Just over the bridge in a 10-15 minuet walk I can get to the market, mall, cinema, concert halls, and most every type of food imaginable.
I could go on and on with the details but all in all, I couldn't feel more at home here at Northumbria. I'm in my third week here and the days are blending into the next, but in the best way possible. I've bought my ticket for our first weekend trip outside of England which I could not be more excited about. Saturday me and a group of 10 are taking a megabus to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. I'll stop myself there though and save that for my next post!
Until then,
Madeline
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