Harley Botte- Blog Abroad

Blog #1

September 2025

"I am not unfamiliar with the United Kingdom, it is a place I have been coming to since I was eight years old to visit my grandparents, yet it is still a place that surprises me...” 

As I write this, I am sitting in my slightly unpacked flat in the city of Sheffield waiting for my next burst of motivation to hit so I can finish the task at hand. It's harder than I thought it would be, especially since I am not necessarily new to this part of the world. I think it has set in that this is real– that this is my life until next June. I do not feel any regret whatsoever. I have actually never felt as sure  of anything before. I am a person who likes to consider herself certain of nothing, which could seem like a disconcerting way to go through life for some, but for me it simply is how I work. That is how I know I made the correct decision in studying abroad as it all happened in accordance with the way I have led my life, which is mostly by chance. 

Less than three weeks away from the late deadline I applied for the program, not thinking anything of it, but simply relying on my good feeling about the whole situation. When I got in, it felt like a breath of fresh air and like I could actually start to breathe. I essentially chose a random university in a city where I only had heard of musicians who came from there and decided that this was the place I had to be. My formative years were blessed with the sounds of the Arctic Monkeys and the odd lyrics of Pulp, each forming the person I am today. It felt like a sign. I would get to walk in the very same place of those who had shaped me and that sounded like an opportunity that could not be missed. 

Sheffield is an interesting place with even more interesting people. Unlike London or closer places like Manchester, Sheffield isn't a place that you feel small in. It has a way of pulling you into the lives that are led in a cool place like this–the so-called ‘Steel City’ is many peoples’ kryptonite. Studying abroad for some reason always felt so impossible to me prior, but the process of it all was definitely less daunting and not as scary as I anticipated. I think something that was unexpected was the food. Here it is insanely good, contrary to the popular beliefs about food from within England. In my week in Sheffield I have seen so many interesting and good options in terms of types of food as well. Sheffield is an incredibly diverse place, and the many restaurant options here display that. An easy favorite of mine has been this amazing pizza place found by my mother that I later went to with my boyfriend. It was one of the many places he and I explored while he came up to help me settle in after my parents left. It's a very loveable city. My boyfriend Bailey and I found this out quickly on our walks to dinner and around the area exploring. 

On the note of Sheffield, as a history student it is an excellent place to be. The location’s history is interesting, and you will be almost certainly overwhelmed with it. The culture in Sheffield is also so unique to itself being a city with mainly a university age demographic with a lot of it feeling catered to the student population, which is so cool. The culture is different as well in terms of where we are located, while Northern England has its many differences that make it noteworthy, Sheffield feels catching in other ways. It is seemingly a dream place for me. I have always yearned for an environment like the one Sheffield provides me as it makes me feel as if my favorite Fall playlist has come to life every single time I leave my flat to walk around the gorgeous city. I have never been one for picture-taking, always seeing it as a tedious task and loving the idea of living in the moment, one could say, but Sheffield pulls me in the direction of wanting to capture its unique beauty. It feels unmatched.

Having not done much besides unpacking and wandering, there is not too much to ‘write home about,’ but I will say that I have absolutely no regrets about my decision to come to Sheffield. Unlike somewhere like London, and I know that the experiences that will be provided in this city will feel so incredibly unique and I cannot wait to see what parts of myself will develop and what things will change for the better because of my choice to study abroad for a year at the University of Sheffield. No matter how scary it could feel at times being basically alone in a new country, I still would not take back my decision to do this. Sheffield feels like me, and I could not ask for much else in a destination.

Blog #2

October 2025

I feel like I have officially settled in at the University of Sheffield, now having been here for a little short of two months. I haven’t really done much besides the favorite pastime of many young university students: going out and eating. I have gotten comfortable in Sheffield; it is a city that makes that easy. I only have classes twice a week. I try to fit other activities into every other day so that I am not busy, but the courseload here is heavy. I do not say that to scare anyone out of a fun time abroad, but do prepare for the work you will have to do. It is a lot different in a way than you may have at UNM, as I find the scheduling here so unique, and it can be a lot to adjust to.

For many of the courses here, you will not have any assignments during the semester, but instead an exam, presentation, or essay at the very end, with your only assignments really being to show up and do the readings during the semester. It makes it almost harder for me. It is something I am not used to at all, my only grade being reliant on one big assignment. So, you really need to take good notes and save all of your supplemental readings to revisit when the time comes for the project that your grade will rely on. I have found myself preferring the structure. It puts pressure on you, sure, but I feel like it fosters a certain type of productivity that you must maintain in order to succeed here in your semester or year abroad. I feel like I will have gotten the hang of this all next term, or I hope so!

I do feel like, especially in my modules, the classes are decently niche, so I find that the lecturers are closer with the students and you can really get a seminar-type learning experience where everyone talks about the readings and what is going on at this point in what we learn. I find this nice. I feel like in the smaller settings, and being able to frame my classes as conversations with my peers and my professors, has made it easier for me to absorb the information I am learning. Nothing much has happened lately. I am hoping that since I am more settled in, I will be able to do more around the city and country, but even the mundane things become more exciting when you are abroad.

Blog #3

November 2025

The beginning of the term absolutely flew by, and suddenly now there is a week long break to either catch up or laze about. Even with my settling in, I miss my family a lot. Luckily, my grandmother was able to come and we made the trip to London for the week, and it was absolutely amazing. I had already been to London this past summer, but I did not do any of the touristy things, so this time around I got the opportunity to.

I took the train down to London from Sheffield, and it went by so quickly and was so worth it. Unfortunately, rail travel from the North of England to the South can become pretty costly (funnily enough, sometimes it's cheaper to fly within the country than it is to travel by train!), but I find it to be worth it for the experiences. I took the tube to collect my grandma from the airport and we took it all the way to our rented flat. I love the convenience of public transport here.

Our first night was not much, but it was excellent. We found a small pub and enjoyed a lovely meal and just explored the area we were staying in. The first real day of our trip was the next. We went to the large department store Harrods, which was so nice, but it was really funny that absolutely nothing had price tags on it. Definitely not a place for a “normal” person to shop. The cafe was honestly the highlight of the store. The food and drinks were very good and made for a nice lunch. 

We made our way back to the flat and then rested before going out again, this time to see a musical in the West End: Cabaret. The musical was absolutely fantastic (I even got brought up onstage, and the experience was unforgettable and insane), and we had food and drinks throughout. The rest of the week followed in how good it was.

We went to Stonehenge, many great steakhouses, the Tower of London, and of course Buckingham Palace. My boyfriend took the train up the night we saw Cabaret and did all of this with us. It was cool to have someone who was from the UK to kind of explain certain things to us. I even got to explain things I had learned about England within the classes I am taking in university. 

All in all, I wouldn’t have been able to see this on just a random week if I wasn’t studying abroad in England, and it’s so cool that I have the opportunity to do this. Any regret and feelings of being scared drift away so quickly when you realize how many new opportunities you get from being here.

Blog #4

November 2025

After coming back from reading week, I had to get back into an academic mindset, which was easy since I had a sort of midterm due a few days after returning from the break. I was nervous, this being my first academic assignment here after all, but I hoped I would at least do decently. I did okay on it (yay!), but I definitely now know what the professors here are looking for in terms of essays, so it will help with my overall growth here and as a student in general.

I have hung out with my friends since coming back from reading week. We see each other a bit less now as we have to focus on what our finals are going to be and how we are going to prepare, so every time I see the friends that I have made here, I cherish it. Our hanging out really consists of just sitting with each other and chatting, and it's nice. I was scared I wasn’t going to make any friends, and I by no means have a lot, but I am very grateful for the ones that I do have. Quality over quantity, in my opinion.

I have been hyper-focused on my classes, and they're still really interesting. My class count has gone down, though. One of my teachers is on strike, so I will not have that class for the rest of the term. I am worried about that final a bit. I hope the lack of class due to the strike doesn’t affect what I’ve learned, since I haven't been in the class since the strike started almost three weeks ago now. I am just studying what we have already learned and hoping for the best.

Concerts are some of my favorite things, and Sheffield is not short on choices. One of my favorite bands, Irish rap trio Kneecap, was performing in Sheffield, so I obviously had to go. I am glad because I would not have been able to see them living in the States. Their US tour got cancelled because of visa issues, so I am very happy for the opportunity to see one of my favorites again. The concert was amazing, even better than the last.

The next day, my boyfriend and I went to Manchester for a concert of his choosing, a band called Pintglass. I had never really listened to them, but the gig was so good. As a person who heavily participates in the hardcore and metal music scene in Albuquerque, the UK can really give us a run for our money. It is interesting to see the differences in what the music talks about as well. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it.

At almost the end of my first semester abroad, all I can really say is how fast it went. I thought everyone was just saying that, but no, it genuinely goes so quickly, and time runs away from you. You truly have to make the most of it while you're here, or by the time you go home, you’ll have done nothing and will regret it immensely.

Blog #5

December 2025

As I come up on my final week of the first semester here in England, I am honestly excited for what the next semester is going to bring. I did not do much travel-wise this term; in fact, I feel like I did not do much at all. There seems to be an assumption around studying abroad that you’re meant to be doing an insane amount of things for fun, which can make you beat yourself up when you end up not doing them. For me, this semester was really about becoming comfortable in a new country and making a routine for myself here, which I did, and I am very, very happy about that.

With this final week, the strikes have ended, so I am looking forward to the class that had been on hiatus due to the strike. This week is really going to be about getting all of my things together to go on Christmas break, which I have been looking forward to because I get to go to Ireland to visit my grandparents. It’ll be a quiet week, so I am planning to take it one day at a time while also trying to get a head start on my exams, which are essays. I would love to have a good chunk of them written before I go back to America the day after Christmas, so I can just visit with my family and friends without any worries.

Since this week looks to be quiet, I went out with my friends over the weekend, knowing I won’t see them again until they return to school in February. It was a great night out and an excellent end to the semester. During the day, we walked around the Christmas market in Sheffield, which is really lovely. The food was great, and the Sheffield-based souvenirs were all very unique. We also made so many plans for the next term, which gives me something to look forward to. I have a few things to get off my bucket list for my study abroad, and I am excited to tick those off come February and March.

Sheffield has been beyond welcoming to me, and I love it here. It is insane how quickly this semester has gone, and it has been a decent challenge figuring out the differences between UNM and the University of Sheffield. I know I will miss it when I am back in Albuquerque for the break; I definitely think the reverse culture shock will hit me. I never could have imagined my life without coming here, and I am so glad for my spontaneous decision to apply to go abroad. In this season of thankfulness and gratitude, I am immensely grateful for this opportunity, for UNM, and for those who make this possible.

Till next semester,
Harley x

Blog #6

February 2026

Hello again!

It has been a while since we last spoke, so I thought I would catch you up on what I have been up to since I got back to England after the winter holiday. I feel as if it has been incredibly eventful, even if it has not been that long. First, I got married! It was incredibly spontaneous, but it was also one of the best decisions I have ever made. Secondly, for a ‘honeymoon,’ we went to Rome, which was absolutely incredible. I absolutely love the opportunity I have for really easy travel while being in the United Kingdom. Lastly, I feel like I have been really finding myself here and establishing a nice routine in England. I really do not want to leave. I have fallen in love with it over the past few months, and it really feels like home.

The start of the semester felt slow because it did not begin until early February. I was very busy with exams, multiple essays, and one in-person writing exam, so all I was really doing was studying and writing for what felt like ages. When it was done, I was so relieved! I have never been a good test taker, and I won’t know my results until early March, so… fingers crossed!

After exams, there was an impromptu honeymoon and post-exam treat: Rome. The weather, in my opinion, was lovely; it rained a bit, but overall it was sunny without being sweltering. The crowds were not bad either, which I quite enjoyed, and we were able to do everything we wanted on our four-day trip. I would say the highlight was going to the Vatican and getting blessed by the Pope — a once-in-a-lifetime, amazing experience. The food was mind-blowing. Italian cuisine has always been my favorite, so I took full advantage of being there.

After we got back, we had to settle into our routine, and I had to prepare for my upcoming lectures and seminars. I enjoy the content of my modules; it’s very interesting, and there are some things I have never heard of before. I have been hanging out with my closest friend here, doing random things that almost always involve a coffee shop date, followed by returning to our accommodation to cook and catch up. Everything feels settled in a way, and I feel so comfortable here. Recently, we went on a nice night out, and now we’re fine for a few months.

I think a big challenge in England is not being a big drinker. So many activities that are ingrained into the culture involve drinking in some way, shape, or form. My friend and I have been searching for sober social things to do, and we have made a good list that I am sure you all will hear about later when we try them, once the weather warms up and the winter blues fade. I also got a tattoo at a lovely shop here in Sheffield — something to signify my time here while also being meaningful to me. I will definitely end up getting one that is specific to something I did here or related to Yorkshire.

Now I believe that we are all caught up. Today I have minimal lectures and am planning on doing a quick spring clean and cooking a good dinner. Every day is not wild and exciting — some can be mundane — but I think that is the beauty of going abroad. You can learn to get comfortable and just live your life.

Talk soon,
Harley xx