Kalyn Flores- Blog Abroad

Blog #1

From Cactus to Coast 

October 2025

Hiya, reader.

A few weeks in, and I’m happy to report there has been more sun than rain, but not a lot of seasoning on the food (with the exception of Nando’s). Now, please fasten your seatbelt as we descend into my semester abroad at the University of Sussex (US).

A few months ago, this was just a “what if…” for me. But here I am, living in a cool coastal town that has more shades of green than brown, and where I’ve swapped mountains for the beach (though it’s harder to figure out which way is east here). Before this, I had never been outside of the U.S., and the idea of this being my first time abroad was really intimidating. As it turns out, the hardest part was just going for it (though it does help to know the language).

Let’s do a quick recap for those of you catching your first “proof of life” from me. I made it to England (yay!). My first week consisted of welcome events since classes didn’t start until week two. I got to meet lots of people and explore both Brighton and campus. Some of the first things I noticed are that people here are super friendly, and they really like to drink. Pub culture is huge here. The university also has a big international community. Nearly a third of two of my classes are made up of students from abroad.

Classes are also structured a bit differently here. “Lectures” and “seminars” are separate within the same class, different people teach throughout the term, and final assessments happen after the holidays, mostly turned in online. So far, my art history class has been my favorite. We just took a “field trip” to the Royal Pavilion, a late 1700’s palace in town that served as King George IV’s party house back when he was a prince. Afterwards, I wandered down the street to the pebble beach, which is honestly great for avoiding taking half the beach home in your pockets like you do with sand and is surprisingly comfortable to sit on. The sunsets here, while not quite as good as New Mexico’s, are still pretty stunning.

You can get to a lot of places on foot, though it’s not always the most efficient. Most people don’t drive. There’s hardly any parking, and many students don’t even have their licenses (they start drinking younger than they start driving, which is a bit different than in the U.S.). The public transportation system is solid though. I’ve used trains and coaches, but the bus is my go-to. And guess what? They’re all double-decker and drive on the “wrong” side of the road, just like in the movies.

Public transportation can feel inconvenient when you’re used to having a car and leaving whenever you want, but I’m adapting. I’m also learning how to live somewhere temporarily. Knowing I’ll leave in a few months makes me feel a bit guilty whenever I’m just sitting around, even though I know I’m still just getting settled. That guilt has eased a bit though, especially after my first big trip to London.

I took a tour bus and even a boat on the River Thames and got to see all the classic sights like Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the London Eye, Tower Bridge, and so forth. One thing I absolutely loved about London was the architecture. I probably took way too many photos of random houses and buildings. I have no idea what most of them are, but they were all so picturesque. I saw a lot, and yet it still feels like I barely scratched the surface, so I’ll probably head back soon since it’s so close.

This post is starting to get long, so I’ll wrap it up by telling you that part of this blog was written from a castle (how cool is that?). The beautiful town of Lewes has been my most recent adventure during my day off this week, just 30 minutes from campus by bus.

All this to say, I’m really enjoying my time here so far. I’ll catch you next time to tell you about my next adventure. Also, I’m still getting used to the British slang here, so I’ve attached a glossary of words I’ve encountered here for both your sake and mine.

Cheers!