Forget Miami, I spent my Spring Break in Leeds

Last week, as my friends set off for Puerto Vallarta, Bahamas, St. Maarten (any beach destination imaginable), I packed my scarves and sweaters and headed for Leeds, England. By the time a sixth person had wished me a safe trip to London though, I didn’t waste my time correcting them and hoped I would come back with an experience much greater than a picture in front of Buckingham Palace and Big Ben. Everyone was initially skeptical about my rejection of shots in Cancun and partying on the beach, but after a week here in rainy Leeds it’s obvious that it not only exceeded the typical “Spring Break experience” – it blew me away.

Good old English food

Everyone talks about American food abroad, but they obviously haven’t been to Boss Burgers in Leeds. This small fast food restaurant will not disappoint. The cozy atmosphere (only two tables in here) and the walls painted with farm scenes and cows (oh the irony) add to the experience. Featured here is the Smokeback Mountain burger- a beef patty with smoked bacon, cheddar, lettuce, BBQ sauce, and house made mayo. Not featured: the incredible sweet potato fries. Well, “chips” I guess would be more appropriate. No, not Lays or Doritos, those are “crisps”. Glad, we got that out of the way.

Concerts

Next up- Ellie Goulding. My visit thankfully coincided with her tour around the U.K. The only part of the night more interesting than the Ellie Goulding savagery was the Uber ride home. Our driver told us about his strangest passengers including a man who left two pet turtles in his car and a cheeky couple who undressed in the back without him noticing. Unfortunately, this ride wasn’t as interesting.

Student nightlife 

I’m sorry to say it Georgetown, but the students at Leeds have the “work hard, play hard” mentality down much better than us. There isn’t a night where you couldn’t find something to do or someone to go out with. While our Mondays are spent crouched over last minute reading in Lau, they’re getting ready for pre drinks before going out. Getting “wasted” isn’t a thing here but “wankered”and “cunted” definitely is. (I still can’t say it out loud, it sounds too sexual).

The Otley Run

This is Leed’s famous pub crawl. Finish a pint at each pub and victory is yours. We could imagine how this night ends for most people.

The weather isn’t always shit 

Who said the sun doesn’t shine in England? Ignore the rain and clouds. I SWEAR TO GOD THERE’S SUN. 50 degrees? Basically Mexico.

Fucking Sainsbury’s man!

I don’t have a picture of an actual Sainsbury’s at the moment but here’s one of badly burned fish and chips by yours truly. Anyways, I have a very sane and rational obsession with this place. It’s just better than any other supermarket anywhere. I’m not going to try and explain why as I could never do it justice, but come on, you and I both know. It’s fucking Sainsbury’s man.

My own tour guide 

Coming from the rainforest of Brazil, where Mateo used to be a safari tour guide, he has now moved his enthusiasm and keen sense of direction to West Yorkshire where he has made a new name for himself. I can promise that you haven’t properly experienced Leeds if it wasn’t Mateo who personally showed you around.

Although the quintessential spring break trips looked like fun, I know these were nothing like my time in Leeds. Getting to experience the campus life here was the highlight of my trip, and I’ll definitely be going back soon.