While I was abroad, I saw some of the world’s most renown architecture and travelled to the most beautiful countries. I tried some of the most spectacular foods and climbed the most incredible mountains. Despite all the amazingness, those were not my favourite moments abroad. My favourite memories while I was in Plymouth were the little everyday moments that I got to experience with all the unforgettable people I had only just met, but knew would be in my life forever.

The day it snowed was like a breath of fresh air. I was told it never snowed in Plymouth. Yet, here I was one month in and the snow managed to follow me halfway across the world. To me, an inch of snow was nothing. Just a casual dusting that I would’ve normally never thought twice about. But not in Plymouth. It hadn’t snowed there in almost 10 years. This was a big deal. School was cancelled for days and it took three weeks before there was even bread in the grocery stores again. All it took was one inch of snow.

I’ll never forget the looks on my flatmates’ faces when they saw the snow blowing outside our window. It was like Christmas day. Some of them hadn’t seen snow since they were little kids. I’ll never forget the snowball fight we had outside in the courtyard of our building. The whole city seemed to have just paused. Everywhere you went, people were out laughing and enjoying this little bit of snow. I’ll never forget the tiny snowman we built by the ocean with palm trees at our sides. The snow was something I had never expected in Plymouth, but it was by far one of my favourite moments there.

My advice to anyone going abroad is to go on all the big adventures and see the grandest of things, but also pay attention to the little details along the way. Sitting by the ocean skipping rocks in the water. The countless train rides to new unknown places. The nights we decided to stay in and watch movies and eat far too much Swiss chocolate. Learning how to make a proper cuppa. The daily walk to class past the Co-op store and my favourite bakery. Taking pictures of my friends at the most beautiful sunsets. The day it snowed.

When I look back to my study abroad semester, these are the moments I think about; these simple memories with all my new friends and amazing people I met were what made my experience so incredible.