As I sit here packing my bags for the long sought journey
back home, I realize the umpteenth time how wrong people are about living
abroad. When I share my views about how tough independent life is abroad, they
burst out and argue that life can never be tough in such a country. Speaking up and arguing is easy but realizing
and accepting the truth is what most of us lack. Living life in a new country is an exhilarating and rewarding experience; but it's an experience that isn't without its difficulties.
I’ve spent almost my entire life abroad. 15-years in Saudi
Arabia and now in the United Kingdom. Anyhow, I am just going to emphasize on my student life here. As mentioned in my earlier post, am currently studying BSc
Electrical and Electronic Engineering. It’s been 9 months since am here and
almost done with my 2nd semester. The main reason for writing this
post is to share my experience and give my fellow friends an idea of how a
student-independent life is here.
To start with, you’re never comfortable when you move out
and leave your family behind. Everything’s on your head and you start a new
journey. Our parents raise us teaching us what’s wrong and what’s right. This
is all to prepare us for this day. No
person likes leaving family behind but this is how life goes, this is how the
cycle revolves.
When you travel, remember
that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable...but to make
its own people comfortable - Clifton Fadiman
You move in to your university hall-room and the first
thought you get is “How busy was life back, I had my siblings always with me,
those joys and jokes” and then you just end up getting deep in them.
Homesickness, yes very common and happens. It’s one of the barriers that stand
in the way of many that decide to live abroad. Homesickness
is a form of anxiety that occurs when the world feels less stable around you.
But as time passes, you get indulged into activities and life gets so busy that
you finally adjust in. I had two housemates, an Italian, Ugo who was
studying Msc Gaming and secondly, a French guy who is studying Bsc Mechanical
Engineering. They both were great people to be with, we would mostly meet in
kitchen while cooking. (Italians are perfect at cooking pasta and pizza). Not
to forget, he's the biggest fan of my brownies! This all goes into the
memories, good old days
Once you get in, the real life begins. Waking up on time, preparing breakfast, making sure clothes are ironed and getting to lecture on time. Too much to start with? Not really. You attend the lectures all day, get back to room and lay down. You think someone’s getting lunch for you? Hah! Get your ass up and cook something. Cooking is the toughest thing to me, takes a lot of time and has no alternative. Advice #1: Learn cooking before you go abroad or-else you’re going to have quite a tough time. I just learnt few easy dishes, simple rice, chicken curry and pasta. And with days passing, I learnt baking brownies and pizzas.
Cooking is not the only thing. Washing clothes and keeping room clean are two other hectics. With time we all learn new ways to live and enjoy life. So did I. University life is not just about studying, being a book-worm or working hard for a good GPA. There’s a life apart from that, indulge into academic activities, volunteering work, parties and other student union events. Advice #2: It’s a must-do for international students to indulge into these events as it helps a lot in adjusting and getting used to the environment and people.
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| Octagon Building, Staffordshire |
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| Nelson Library, Staffordshire |
If someone asked me ‘what’s the best thing about universities’. I would answer libraries. They've academic books to novels, movies, and magazines. When I first arrived at university, I used to spend most of my time at the library. That’s where I met people and made new friends. And as nowadays, ‘A free wifi attracts everyone’. So to kill boredom, I used to spend most of my time there. Furthermore, I've been asked about racism and discrimination. To be honest, I didn't face any racism or anything such but discrimination, yes I did. I won’t go in depth but they did discriminate in grading my assignment and that’s nothing shocking. Level and difficulty of course, consider it like O-levels and A-levels. A-levels is the advanced side of O-levels and introduces you to a bit of new stuff. University follows the same criteria; it goes into dept of those topics you studied in A-levels, topics of your course
United Kingdom is mostly recognized for its education (amount and level of universities) and tourism. With universities that cost £20,000 to those costing £10,000, with those asking for A*s or A grades to those accepting you at B’s and C’s. You can easily find one that's best for you.
The university arranges trips to different cities and places just for us international students to enjoy and explore. With my first year about to end, I've visited Manchester, Harrogate, Ullswater and West-Midlands Safari Park all with my university team.Apart from travelling with university team, I've traveled on my own to Leeds, Bradford, Birmingham and London
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| Eithad Football Stadium, Manchester |
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| Lake district, Ullswater |
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| Central Harrogate |
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| African Tiger, WestMidlands Park |
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| Buckingham (Queen) Palace, London |
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| Leeds University |
If you would ask me for a good university suggestion in the
United Kingdom, I would say ‘any university in London, Birmingham, Manchester
or Leeds’. These are the big cities with good halal-food and asian people
around. My university is in a
locals-majority area so it was really tough for me. But as again, you experience and learn.
To end with, living alone has been a great experience. Never be afraid or deject yourself about it.
It is thorny in the start but you will for sure enjoy it once you get in.
Today, am excited going back home after a long 4 months. And why won’t I be, getting to eat all those
delicious stuff and relaxing. Time passes like wind, enjoy and cherish the
moments. You never know when you might leave.
Lost time is never found again – Benjamin Franklin
Cheers!
