As I sit here writing this blog, it is 1.46am UK time and I have just submitted by final ever essay to the University of the West Indies Law Faculty. After a long nine months, my year abroad has officially (although I landed back in the UK over a week ago, lol) ended. A sense of nostalgia is slowly filling me up as I sit here on my sofa, reminiscing on such an incredible year. I feel so privileged to have had the opportunity to experience something so surreal and exciting, and I could not recommend it more.
My year abroad fills me with so many emotions (rare, I know) thinking back, that knowing where to start with this blog seems like an impossible task. How on earth, do I even begin to describe that experience through mere words on a screen? But as I sit here, I know it’s important to get out into words, just how special the past 9 months of my life has been to me, both mentally and emotionally.
Leaving
When I arrived at the airport, way back in August, with my bags packed ready to fly off to Jamaica, dread and panic overtook my excitement for my next adventure. I’d never been apart from my family for such a long time, and after the awful years preceding this event, my bond with my family was so strong, it almost made me want to stop and yell, “NO! I don’t want to go anymore! Let me stay home!” But I bit my lip, swallowed my fear and said my goodbyes to my family. I’m not ashamed to admit, I did cry. I was terrified to not have my Dad just a couple of hours away if I needed him. I was scared to actually have to deal with problems on my own, away from people that could make the biggest fear seem like something to laugh at. But as I walked away through security, with Az at my side, I wiped away the tears and tried to let the excitement take over.
Arriving
Arriving in Jamaica, it was late and dark, but my nerves were soon settled when my taxi arrived to take me to my new home – the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica. Arriving on hall, I was greeted by a student, shown to my room, and finally the excitement hit me. I was in fucking Jamaica! I had an entire year ahead of me to experience an entirely new country, culture and way of learning. As I unpacked (sweating profusely, not used to the summer heat), I tried to imagine what the near future would bring.
Semester 1
The two semesters I spent in Jamaica were very different, and so I think it important to separate them, to fully explain how I felt through each phase.
Semester one was the semester I was prepared for. It began with getting used to being back on hall instead of living in a house in Selly Oak. I was placed in a flat with other international students, from countries all over Europe. We clung together, equally terrified and ecstatic to explore Jamaica. We spent the semester visiting numerous beaches, waterfalls, towns and parishes. We saw the beautiful white sands of Negril, and climbed the slippery waterfalls across the country. We jumped down the infamous rabbit hole at Reach Falls, and explored the scenic beauty of the Blue Lagoon. We travelled to Ocho Rios numerous times, as the Knutsfood Express became our best friend. We visited the Bob Marley Museum and learnt about his life. We climbed Blue Mountain and drank Jamaica’s finest coffee. We went for ice-cream at Devon House and tried every restaurant and bar in a two-mile radius.
Semester one was filled with wanderlust, new friendships, and adventure. The bonds I made in semester one will hopefully stay with me through my adult years. I met crazy (Nina Laine and Moa Kornblad), intelligent people that opened my mind to other countries and different ways of life.
But I cannot forget my first semester at the Law Faculty. Walking to school that first day I was nervous as shit. Going into third year classes, I knew everyone would already have their friendship groups. I would be the new girl all over again, and the idea of that alone filled me with anxiety. But my anxiety was squashed the moment I made friends with three, beautiful souls: Destiny Bennett, Beth Campbell and Karina Maxbrown. Those girls made my first semester at the Law Faculty a dream. Their warm smiles, welcoming hearts and infectious laughs made me feel so at home, and I can’t thank them enough for welcoming me and helping me through that semester. Though I made other friends too, those three stand out to me as friends I will cherish forever.
As exams rolled around, my old friend anxiety reared its ugly head, but the friends I’d made helped me through, and soon it was time to finally see my family for a week at Christmas. Being able to say, “I’ll see you tomorrow” on facetime to my Dad was possibly one of the most elated feelings I’ve ever felt – i’d missed them all so much and my heart was so full and ready to see their little faces.
Semester 2
As semester two rolled around, I felt bittersweet. I’d spent three weeks surprising and catching up with friends and family from home, and although I could not wait to get back to Jamaica, the girls I’d called my flatmates for a month were no longer going to be there when I returned, after only spending a semester in Jamaica. But the beautiful power of Jamaica surprised me yet again, as I met new flatmates, that I am happy to say made my semester 2 complete. Abi, Monique, Uche, Chelsea and Katie – the five girls that made that Jamaican hall really feel like home made semester two just as excellent an experience the second time around.
Semester two had a different level of meaning to semester one. I was finally beginning to feel so settled and before I knew it, the semester was almost over. I’d spent so much time getting caught up on meeting more friendly faces at the law faculty, while simultaneously enjoying my time with the friends I’d made in first semester from England and the US (who i’ll most definitely be seeing again, and with whom I have made incredible friends with), I didn’t realise how fast the year was going.
Semester two taught me more about the Jamaican culture. It opened my mind to the way my friends had been raised, the ideas they had, the aspirations they wished to achieve. I was blessed and inspired by so many people, and I honestly believe that that kind of experience in a culture so very different to your own is something everyone should experience. It’s so easy to get caught up in your own bubble, and your own ideologies, that it’s easy to forget that other opinions and ideas exist outside of your own. It’s so important to hear these opinions and ideas. The think about things from someone else’s perspective. To listen to the voice of someone that has been raised in a completely different way from you. I can truly say that the friends I made on my year abroad opened my mind (and I always believed myself to be extremely open-minded).
Overview
My year abroad was a surreal experience. The words I write down will never ever explain how I feel about my year abroad, but I hope the light in my eyes when I talk about it to people who are interested expresses just how much of an impact it had on me. The relationships I built with people that are so different from me have filled my heart with so much love. I met people that I will never forget, and I hope never forget me. I met people that have had such a huge impact on me that I hope years from now, I can stroll back into Jamaica and saying hello to them will feel like I never left. I know I don’t need to name every single person that helped me through that year; you know who you are. So let me leave this blog with this little message to you guys.
I want to say thank you. Thank you for making me a better person. Thank you for making my experience so incredible that I’ll probably be saying, “well, when I was in jamaica…” for the rest of my life. Thank you, especially, after such a difficult couple of years, for reminding me how to love and be loved with every inch of me. Thank you for blessing my eyes with your beautiful surroundings and people, for blessing my ears with your uplifting music, and for blessing my heart with a constant smile when I think back to the past nine months of my life.
Thank you Jamaica, and all the people you encompass, for building me as a person. And thank you, for allowing me into your beautiful country to experience everything you have to offer.
Nine months was never enough, but I will be back.
What she said 