001: An (overdue) introduction

There are only a handful of times in life where you have the opportunity to start completely anew. University is one of them.

And so, you can probably imagine the strange combination of emotions — namely apprehension and excitement — I felt as I stood in the security line at JFK International Airport, catching what I knew would be my last glimpse of my parents until Christmas.

The line shuffled forward, I followed, and they were no longer in sight. For the first time in my life, I was well and truly alone. I allowed myself a moment to let that fact sink in, and judging by the TSA officer’s annoyance, even that was too long.

Those of us in the security line, once adept at hastily removing belts and shoes, were admittedly a bit out of practice. A pandemic can have that effect on you.

The road to JFK

Just making it to the gate, boarding pass in one hand, carry-on suitcase in the other, was a journey in itself.

In short, I needed to renew my passport. I knew I would have to, but only in the general sense. Eventually, not before I left for the UK. To make matters worse, there was a pandemic-induced backlog of passport applications, and we would have to purchase every expediting option available if I wanted my passport back in time (we complied). And, of course, I needed my new passport number before I could submit my UK student visa application.

The situation wasn’t all too promising; a delayed passport meant a delayed visa, which meant pushing my flight back — I’d likely have to miss freshers’ week (September 27 through October 1) and maybe even the first few days of classes, which started on October 4.

As luck would have it, after weeks of scrolling through r/ukvisa, comparing my application timeline with others (whilst regretting my decision not to purchase the £500 priority visa package), and moving my flight 3 separate times, I got the notification.

The visa application for GWF ref no. GWF061672910 was received at the UK Processing Centre on Fri Sep 24 2021. Your processed visa application will be dispatched via the provided UPS shipping label.

The processed visa application GWF ref no. GWF061672910 is dispatched via the provided UPS shipping label Fri Sep 24 2021.

It was 6:25 PM on Friday, September 24. Within the hour, my flight was moved back up to Monday, September 27, my PCR test was booked for the following morning (we miraculously got an appointment at a local CVS), and my Day 2 COVID test (for when I arrived in England) was ordered.

I was going! There was a date I could circle on the calendar, count down the days to. No more uncertainty — at the very least, it was now reduced to a tolerable amount. Now I just needed to pack, and pray I didn’t get COVID.

Landing in London

I landed at Heathrow on September 28, at 6:06 AM. During my 3 hour connection, I succeeded in booking a taxi to take me from my next destination, Newcastle Airport, to Durham — quite a feat without any mobile data.

London, 5:57 AM.

The flight to Newcastle was only an hour, and it was obvious that most of the passengers were Durham students. I spoke to the two who sat beside me, Camden and Francesca, both of whom were also freshers.

My first impression of Durham was that it was even more beautiful in person. And if you’ve seen pictures of the city before, you’ll know that that’s saying something.

My taxi driver, John, was amused by my fascination with everything. We drove on the left side of the road; he sat in the driver’s seat (on the right side of the car!). For someone who’d been dreaming of England for a long time, longer than I care to admit, I was thoroughly charmed.

One of my favorite footpaths, this one along the River Wear provides great views of Durham Cathedral.

After spending two months here, I’m happy to report that I remain thoroughly charmed. I hope to share some of the wonderful minutiae of life in Durham and the university experience with you through this newsletter.

A few notes

In true Kaylyn fashion (I’m terribly prone to procrastination, especially when it comes to writing), this issue is long overdue. Know that this first post is a little out of the ordinary; I’ll figure out a better structure moving forward. Let me know if you have any ideas, or topics you want to hear about :).

Here’s a quick introduction, for those of you I haven’t met.

• Who am I? Hi there, I’m Kaylyn. I’m originally from the USA (New Jersey, to be exact), but for the next 3 years, I’ll be writing to you from Durham, England.

• What am I studying? I’m studying Philosophy, Politics & Economics (PPE) at Durham University. You’ll hear more about my degree (and specific topics I’m learning about) in later issues.

• Anything else you should know? For some reason, I’ve always had a bit of a…let’s say unique writing style. Unless you were an English teacher of mine (especially you, Ms. Halligan), you’ll probably find this jarring for the first couple of issues — my apologies!

Thanks for reading this far, and I’ll be back in your inbox with the next issue soon! A reply (even just to say how you’re doing) is always appreciated.

Look forward to hearing from you,
Kaylyn

P.S. Happy Thanksgiving!