A voyage across the pond to Hatfield, U.K.
Sean Finan (any) // Crew Writer
Sophia Filsoofi (she/they) // Illustrator
This semester, I decided to leave my homeland—sweet, lush, temperate Vancouver—and venture far beyond the borders of The Great White North to participate in Capilano University’s Study Abroad program. Exchanges are wonderful opportunities to explore alien cultures, learn new languages, experience amazing food and even get a break from the dreary Canadian weather. Knowing all of this, I somehow ended up in the United Kingdom. The land of beans, rain and Central Cee. It was not my first choice, nor was it a place I had ever planned on spending a quarter of a year. After being here for almost two weeks, I can say that it might be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, and I make really great decisions.
I’m living in campus dorms with 11 other exchange students. You might think that this would allow me to meet people from many different cultures and ethnicities but they are mostly all caucasian French boys. There are French people from Paris, Marseille, Quebec; you name it. I have a pseudo-alcoholic roommate named Maxence who is like a French vampire. He has drunken comas during the day, only waking at the most unholy hours of the night to make himself crepes and leaving behind only Nutella-stained dishes and a sweet, chocolatey scent. Other than the French guys, the dorm hosts people from Spain, Mexico, and New York. It’s amazing how quickly I’ve bonded with everyone and how kind they are.
Hatfield, the English town I’m staying in, is kind of like purgatory. It’s not bad, but it’s not much of anything. There are a few big roads with grassy fields and rows of cute stone houses. It’s sad to imagine how beautiful and cottage-core it used to be before it became industrialized. I think it’s good that there isn’t much to see in Hatfield because I’m constantly inspired to seek adventure elsewhere. I’m currently writing this on a bus to Brussels. More on that later.
The area itself is quiet and not too far from London, which I frequent every few days. The public transit here is shanking my wallet and bleeding me dry. It costs me roughly £10 ($18 CAD) to get to London and back. The cost of everything here is extremely high. Definitely something to keep in mind if you are on a tight budget.
Because the trips to London are pricey, I make the most of them. A hack for all of my night owls: the first and last trains of the day are free—so I have been going to raves and catching the 6 a.m. train home.
On one of my first few days here, I decided to go to a rave alone. My roommates aren’t big fans of techno or drum and bass, so I was left with the option of either going alone or staying home. I enjoy getting out of my comfort zone but I would also caution that this could be unsafe. Make sure you are sober, lucid and an adventurer if you do decide to go out by yourself.
At my first London rave, I arrived at Corsica Nightclub at 11 p.m. to find a lonely DJ spinning lowkey house tracks to an empty audience. I went upstairs to go to the ‘loo’ and didn’t even notice that there were no urinals in sight. When I emerged from the stall, I discovered a group of women talking and hanging out. When I apologized, they kindly let me know it was an all-gender bathroom. I then made friends with the group and found that they were all on exchange from America. I feel a strong kinship with anyone else from my continent which I’ve never felt before. The rest of the night was filled with a cast of interesting and lovely characters. I met a drug dealer named Walt Disney who had just about every kind of drug you could potentially do in a nightclub. I didn’t partake in Disney’s goods, but his kind energy stuck with me throughout the evening. I headed home on the train in the morning, watching the sunrise, realizing that this was the beginning of a monumentally cheeky journey.