Cambridge Week 1

Before even going into my first year at Northeastern, I wanted to do a study abroad during my first summer. The timing is perfect, all my future summers at Northeastern will be mostly filled with co-op or engineering classes. Throughout the entire search for a study abroad program, my focus was on having the classes I would take count for as much as possible.

During my second semester, I was deciding between programs at Oxford and Cambridge, but decided on the Pembroke-Kings Programme (PKP) at Cambridge. I’m taking two classes (half a semester), History of the Modern Middle East and Shakespearean Drama, which fill my last two humanities requirements at Northeastern. I’m going to make a whole post later in the program about these classes, and why I chose them.

Without getting into the weird specific details of who I’m paying for what and how much, my costs for this program are covered by my Dean’s Scholarship and a GEO (Global Experience Office) Grant from Northeastern, and the YGL Scholarship from the Northeastern Young Global Leaders, an alumni group for “the globalization of [Northeastern].”

Getting to Cambridge

I flew from Newark to London Stansted with a layover in Copenhagen on SAS. Getting a train from Stansted to Cambridge was extremely streamlined, it probably wasn’t even necessary to buy my ticket in advance. The public transportation around the entire area is fantastic, and in the future it’s probably just as easy to fly to Heathrow or another larger airport and get to Cambridge.

Dorms

There are a couple different ‘bands’ of housing available on the program. The cheapest housing band was filled by the time I submitted my deposit, so I’m in the second cheapest housing option, and a week into the program I’m still genuinely shocked at how nice all of the rooms are.

Room in Pembroke College

I’m living at Pembroke College, in the dorm next to the Pembroke Chapel and across from the Pembroke Library.

View of Pembroke Library from my window

The Local Area

Pembroke College is absolutely gorgeous.

View of dorm, Pembroke Chappel, and Pembroke Library from the Library Lawn

There are too many courts, lawns, orchards, and greens to take pictures of. Unlike Northeastern where it’s an advertising point to talk about ‘hanging out on Centennial Common’ and the ‘Urban Oasis’ of Boston, there is a strict policy of not stepping on the grass at Cambridge, to the point where there are signs everywhere, in multiple languages, telling people not to step on the grass.

View of Old Court and the Porter’s Lodge

I really wanted to include a picture of the gigantic hall where we eat, but pictures aren’t allowed while students are eating and it’s locked otherwise. There are ‘official’ pictures of the Formal Halls sent later, so I’ll include those pictures when I get them.

Cambridge (the city)

I’ve spent a lot of my time so far just wandering around Cambridge, and in a lot of ways it really reminds me of downtown Boston. Old North Church surrounded by huge glass buildings is similar to churches from the 1300s next door to a Caffè Nero or Pizza Hut. Being a college town, there’s also the overwhelming amount of cafes and places to get coffee, to the point where I could probably get coffee from a different place every morning I’m here. There’s also the similar tiny streets and sidewalks flooded with tourists, which is something I didn’t miss. Even the Fitzwilliam Museum within view of Pembroke College really reminds me of the MFA, even down to the free admission and modern art on the lawn (although not as iconic as the baby heads).
Speaking of museums, my next post will be about what museums I’ve visited. Thanks for reading!