Arriving at the Univeristy of Sussex

Hi everyone,

In this post I will talk a little bit about tips for studying abroad in general as well as my experience arriving in England.

Congratulations, you have been accepted to study abroad! My first piece of advice is to book your flight as soon as possible. Your flight will likely be the most expensive cost (besides rent) and if you wait until the last minute it will be even more expensive. Also make sure that your passport is up to date. Make copies of all important documents to take with you in your carry-on luggage. Personally, I have a lot of experience with international travel, but if you don’t, fear not! It is not as challenging as you might think. If you can, book a direct flight so that you don’t have to worry about layovers and finding your gate in multiple different countries/airports. Once you arrive at your destination, you will likely have to take some sort of public transportation to your university. If you are unfamiliar with this I suggest booking a train or bus goes directly from the airport. This will make your life much easier and reduce the stress of changing trains with a lot of luggage. Of course taxis are also available but this can be quite expensive. Another tip I have is to make sure to read through all the emails that your school sends you about move-in. These will have information about where to check in and collect your key, as well as maps of the campus and wherever you are living. Reviewing these beforehand will help you feel prepared.

My arrival to England was a bit out of the ordinary as I had my family with me. Instead of flying straight to London, I went to Germany first. My grandparents live there and offered to help me move in. They actually drove me from Germany to England. This was great as I was able to pack all of my bedding and kitchen supplies in their car rather than buying it when I arrived. My grandparents also stayed in Brighton for a few days and helped me get settled in.

All in all, I think that travel can seem scarier than it actually is. Typically airports are easy to navigate and there is always someone to ask for help. Public transportation like trains and buses are quite reliable and affordable. Make sure you pack a phone charger (bring a portable charger if you can!) so that if anything goes wrong you can contact your family or your airline and do not have to worry about your phone dying. You can do it!

One of the first views I got of Brighton when we arrived! We were going into the city to get dinner.

This is an image of the inside of the Eurotunnel whcih we took to get from France to England.

This is a view of the beautiful landscape the surrounds the university. You can see some sheep in this picture!