My time in Wilmington, North Carolina

My name is Carlos, I am an third year MSci Marine Biology student who studied for a semester at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. In this blog, I will give you an insight into what life is like in the USA!

I moved to North Carolina in mid-August as UNCW starts its semester much earlier than UoS. I flew from my home country of Gibraltar, which took 3 flights and over a day and a half of travel, so when I arrived, I was shattered. Upon arrival, I was greeted by staff who kindly drove me from the airport to campus. When I arrived, I had this fear for the future as I realised this was going to be my life for the next four months, and now was a critical period to get involved with clubs and for me to form the friendships that would help shape my study abroad experience. After catching up on much-needed sleep, I attended my international orientation, where I made my first friends.

Every day life for me consisted of having classes on Mondays through Thursdays and celebrating long weekends consisting of dinners with my friends and going to houses and bars to socialise. People in the United States, especially in the South, are very friendly and helpful, which was useful, especially in my first few weeks, when finding my way around campus was hard. My classes were much smaller than I imagined, with around just 20 students per class. This meant I could ask questions and expand on topics I was unsure about, whilst still leaving enough class time for other students to ask questions. My classes were easier in difficulty yet harder in workload, with my lessons often requiring significant amounts of pre-reading. 

What made me want to take part in this opportunity was the incredible opportunity to live in a different part of the world for four months, as well as being able to appreciate different teaching styles from different places, as I found that there are large differences in the way universities teach, which opened my eyes to different ways to learn. I also saw this semester abroad as an opportunity to take classes that I wouldn’t normally be able to take, such as “Coral Crisis: an introduction to Coral Diseases and the Pathogens that Cause Them.” These classes provided a unique experience which otherwise would not have been possible in Southampton, as well as potentially be useful to future employers if you find a specific class that you think will benefit you. 

I also really enjoyed the tourism aspect of being in a new continent, as it allowed me to visit different places I wouldn’t normally get the chance to, such as the Bahamas, New York, Fort Lauderdale, Charlotte, Myrtle Beach, and Raleigh,h just to name a few. My tip for students wanting to do a semester abroad is don’t worry about not making friends, as you will find that life has a way of working itself out, and if you truly want to make more friends, you will put yourself out there as UNCW caters greatly to international students and provide lots of events for students to attend and meet new people. I really recommend those who get a chance to study abroad, as it was a wonderful experience which broadened my horizons, leaving me with wonderful memories, new friends, and more knowledge about the world!