Preparing for Durham, UK

From no passport to world traveller: March-August

It was the same-old, same-old at the beginning of 2011. Life was a simple continuation of the prior year, except I was taking graduate courses at the University of New Mexico (UNM) and working for the Federal Aviation Administration. I am not going to lie here, I was bored. This was not the life for me; something needed to change. It was time for some adventure in my life. Little did I know that every door would be opening to England. 

The idea of going abroad started with one of my good friends, Chelsea, who had been accepted for a semester abroad at the University of Leeds. I sat at work thinking to myself, "Let's be real, nothing is happening here in Albuquerque, and you have always wanted to leave New Mexico. Why not (study abroad)?" From that moment, every chance I had I would research my options and began by contacting the Study Abroad office at UNM. I was able to check out the available universities for student exchange. The University of Leeds was on the list and seemed like the ideal option. I would be following in Chelsea's footsteps the term after she would have gone. 

Chelsea and me at the Aria in Las Vegas, NV (hmmm maybe I should blog about that trip as well...)

A few days later, I get a message from my friend Jess, who got word that I wanted to study abroad in England. She told me that she had received a soccer, excuse me, I mean football scholarship to Durham University. She was applying for the Master's in Management program, which would take one year to complete. Durham University is a top 3 university in England, with a beautiful landscape, friendly locals, and diverse community.  It didn't take her long to convince me to apply for full admissions.

Jess and me at the New Inn

Once I knew what I wanted, I worked night and day to figure out the logistics of applying and travel to Durham. The first step in this adventure of mine was to get a passport. In years past, my traveling had been limited to the United States. I had been to Mexico once, when I was younger, but New Mexicans really don't consider a trip to Mexico as going to another country. I had also created a contact with Across the Pond, which is a great advisory tool to assist you in applying for overseas universities (both in EU and US). If you sign up online, you will be allocated a contact that will help answer your questions, remind you of visa deadlines, and work with the university to which you are applying to increase your chances of being accepted. The best part about this service is it's free! Free = my language!

Application for my passport was simple, but the visa was in a whole different ballpark! Not only does buying a passport cost you $140, but a UK Tier 4 student visa costs £255 ($404.02), and you must be sure you have filled out the application correctly! You are only given two chances to get the unorganized list of paperwork filled out and completed by the deadline, or the UK Border Agency will reject your application without a refund. To a poor college student, that is big bucks! After consulting with Across the Pond and looking over my completed paperwork countless times, I mailed my visa packet to the UK Border Agency in New York. Within days, I received an e-mail saying that my packet was incomplete and I needed to send the remaining materials ASAP, or my application would be rejected. I looked over the materials they were requesting and was hardly amused. They had asked that I send materials required from students from 'high-risk' countries, i.e. Mexico, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. The person who was dealing with my paperwork obviously needs a map of the United States. For all of those who do not know, including the dude working on my visa, New Mexico is in fact one of the 50 States.

After sending the requested information, along with an e-mail explaining the statehood of New Mexico to the UK Border Agency, I was issued my visa. I then had to play the waiting game with DU on my acceptance. About a month of waiting, I received an e-mail at work saying:

 Dear Alicia Barry

MA in Management

Thank you for your application for a place on the above MA Programme.

I am delighted to inform you that our Admissions Committee are happy to make you an offer of a place on the programme starting in October 2011.

Right then and there I got on Student Universe to book a one-way flight to Newcastle. There was no turning back.

Student Universe is a great website to find deals on flights. My flight to Newcastle was just over $700 (which is much less than competing sites).

September

I was scheduled to leave Albuquerque two days after my birthday. Of course my Dad was telling me it wasn't too late for me to change my mind on leaving for England. But nothing could change my mind, I needed an adventure, so I started to pack my life into three suitcases, one being a shoe-case.

The weekend before I left, I had one, final night out in the 505 to celebrate my birthday. This was the first time my brother, Marcus, has gone out with me since he turned 21 earlier that year, so I had to show him the splendor that is Nob Hill. We checked out the usual sites, Monte Vista and Imbibe. I saw many of my friends out, which was nice to see them all before I left.

Marcus and me at Imbibe

Theresa, Steph and me at Monte Vista

Craig and Enrique "Quique"

Staci and Me: The Birthday Girls!

Tarrah and Me: Big and Little

Cortney, Staci, Steven, Me, Aaron, Will S. and Will C.

Rey and I making a dramatic embrace at Monte Vista

Emma, Jaimee, Meg and Me at Monte Vista

Me, a couple of Marcus' friends, Marcus and Roxanne at Imbibe

Steph, Kayla and I at Imbibe

That Sunday before I left, my parents threw me a going away/birthday party. Family and friends came over to our house to hang out and have some grilled burgers and hot dogs. It was great to see so many people, I am so blessed!

My Daddy grilling (on his new grill)

Arielle, me, Jamie and baby Elijah

Made with love by Mom

Some of my friends who were able to stop by!

Steph and I summing up our friendship

September 27

Depart: Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ), 1100 September 27, 2011
Arrive: Newcastle International Airport (NCL), 1120 September 28, 2011

It was finally the day that I leave the good ol' U.S.A. We left our house at around 8:30am so that we could collect Marcus from UNM, he had a lecture that couldn't be missed. Once we got to the airport parking lot, I had to say goodbye to my Honda CR-V. This is the last time I would see my car. Sad days. It would be an entire year until I was able to see a car bigger than the size of golf cart, with the steering wheel on the left side, and actually drove on the right hand side of the road. I never knew I would miss driving so much. You have to walk everywhere in England, uphill, both ways, in the rain and snow... or just take the bus! ha!

Taking my stuff out of my Honda

I will miss this vehicle deeply

And we're walking into the Sunport...

Dad, me, and Marcus taking my bags into Albuquerque Sunport

Mom wanted a picture too!

Our photoshoot as we wait in a cafe before I leave to catch my flight...

The Barry Family

With Mommy and Daddy

The flight is ON TIME! 

Marcus and me (never realized how much taller he was than me.... not cool)

Welp... this is it... Good-bye Albuquerque... at least until September 2012...

Ready with my passport in hand!

And so my story begins...

DUBC

Durham University Boat Club (DUBC)

So, why on earth did I decide to join the rowing team? Truth be told, I never really heard about rowing until the Royal Wedding when I heard Kate Middleton rowed at St. Andrew's. When I heard this, I thought why not? Challenge accepted! 

Unfortunately for me, I am considered short, so I was a cox (I laughed too). It was great learning how to steer a boat using both the rudder and the rowers. I also faced many challenges with the infamous Elvet Bridge and competed in a few races. I got to participate in the training though which was great! I rowed in an 8 with the boys, got a chance to row in the tank, and participated in circuit training where I flipped big tires! Check out this link if you want to see me rowing in the Maiden Castle Rowing Tank. Plus me leading a tank session.

The River Wear

The River Wear is the river that flows through Durham. This is the river where we would train in coxed 4, sculling, and double boats. Sometimes we would train at 7 in the morning, and other times we would train in the afternoon. We basically trained whenever the coaches were available.

The straight part of the river

Below is the Prince Bishop. This is some kind of party cruise, bar ship deal. Anyway, it is always in the way when boats are trying to go through Elvet Bridge. Coxes try to get as close to this as possible in order to get the right angle to go through the arches of the bridge. 

The Prince Bishop

Many people know that I have gone for an unwanted swim in the River Wear, which resulted in me becoming ill for weeks. I would usually cox for the girls, but I was asked to cox for the guys so they could do some time pieces. Wade, the big guy in Maiden Castle was coaching us. Something had been off with the guys hand heights the entire time, so Wade was trying to fix this. We were preparing to begin a time piece from frontstops when we started to tip. One guy thought we were going in for sure (because he has fallen in before) and decided to lean toward the river. That move made us slowly flip the boat. You could literally see your fate coming at you. It is sad because we weren't even moving. Below is the bloody spot where it happened. 

The infamous spot where we flipped the boat... in front of Wade...

Below are some pictures of Elvet Bridge. I want to show these pictures because these arches are a pain to get through as a novice cox! Arch 1 is much easier, but because you have to stay to the right side of the river, so you must use arch 2 when going down to the bottom. I have made it through the number 2 arch twice without blades even touching the sides! We will not discuss other times... but coxing through these arches is just like a video game... so it's rather fun to do! Tip: try to line yourself up where the arch comes to a point. If you are even the slightest bit crooked, blades will touch the bridge.

Elvet Bridge

The 4x on the left went through arch 1, the double on the right is going through arch 2... they hit the bridge

A big thing in Durham is to dress up in crazy costumes and themes if you are going out with a group or club. DUBC is no exception. Here are some pics from the "Anything but clothes," "Bow vs. Stroke (vs. Cox)," and pre-season socials for the Freshers.

Anything But Clothes: Rachel H., Isobel, Rachel S., Kitty, & Me

George, Me, & Isobel

Bow (green) vs. Stroke (red) vs. Cox (yellow)

Hannah, Rachel H., Me & Mary in Grey's Bar

During this social, Seb, Kitty, and Amy were trying very hard to teach me proper English. Let's just say I need more practice. 

You may question what is going on in the picture directly below... but we were faced with the challenge to fit as many people into a phone booth as possible. My team won with 8 people! And rowers aren't small! 

Challenge Accepted.

You can see me on the top left of the booth. I was hugging Rachel Shaw and Rachel Howarth at the top!

We are a classy bunch. So once a year, DUBC dresses in their best for the DUBC formal. We have a few guest speakers, a nice meal, and a dance floor. It is a great night to hang out with everyone outside of their kit.

DUBC Formal

George, Seb, Helen, Kitty, Me, George, Rachel S. & Mary

The Boys

James A., Helen, & James H.

Fred and George

We are an accomplished bunch I would say! Not only are we attending a top university, but we also win gold medals! Click this link to see a bit from BUCS. It is a bow loader, so you can just barely see my head. Here are a few from our races in the Epiphany Term. One of our "trophies" was a wine glass. I say this one is rather useful! The other was a ribbonless medal.

1st place at Durham Head of the River

1st place 4+ at BUCS

My teammates were lovely! I loved each of the girls: Jo, Becky, Rachel S., Rachel H., Mary, Helen, Kitty, Hannah, Mel, Louisa, Amy, Anna, & Tilly. The boys were great as well! They were all like little brothers: Ginger George, Bodybuilder George, Seb, Ben M., James C., James A., James H., Rowan, Niel, Fred, Chris and Little Matt. The coaches were pretty chill too: Debbie and Matt.

Memes became really big while I was in Durham. Below is one that can describe coxing perfectly: 

Yea Durham! x