Photography and Heritage at Nottingham Trent University

If you are considering doing a global short program, I urge you, do it! I can’t promise a completely  glamorous experience by any means. I missed a connecting flight, and after hours of stressed emails and rebooking travel, I somehow stumbled off the 4-hour bus ride into the streets of Nottingham at midnight. I managed to somehow effectively communicate with the reception of my accommodation and finally dragged myself and my bags into my dorm.

I remember looking out my window and feeling a wave of excitement as it hit me about what I had achieved and the experience I was about to embark on. The weeks went far too quickly. Every day consisted of a coffee and a pastry in the morning, laughing our way down the street to our class 5 minutes before it started. During the first week, we got bussed out to historic locations close to Nottingham to take photos. Myself and my classmates, dubbed lovingly “you horrible lot”, by our tutors, moved between pottering, chatting and eating, and falling into zones of concentration, trying to get good shots of the scenery. By the second day, our tutors diligently specified if there was a cafe where we were going, in the morning brief for the field trips.

Nighttime was for a classic British pub feed, or a communal dinner in our shared kitchen, followed by a night out in the town. Sprinting between our dorms and Tesco because we forgot our ID to buy drinks was a common occurrence. We also had the opportunity for many social activities organised by Nottingham Trent University, including a day trip to York, where we got to roam the medieval streets, and take our time sitting in narrow 3-storey teahouses watching the rain on the window panes. The people definitely made the experience as good as it was.

I was so lucky to have met a lovely lot of people, mostly Australians from UTS and Canadians, who were equally as energised to explore as I was and always knew how to have a good time. There is so much to share but not nearly enough time to share it all. The experience of being a student overseas in such a condensed time meant that every day was lived out very intentionally. As a result, I was able to make so many amazing lasting memories.

Aoife Brazil
Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building
Photography and Heritage at Nottingham Trent University, UK
Global Short Programs Travel Scholarship recipient