‘The Odd One Out’: The International Student’s First Year Experience - A blog from Jovana Cuxac
Every international student has the same experience: packing up and arriving to our first-year accommodation with one or two suitcases. Some get there in a car, driven by a family member; some get there in their own car, some come by train and have the displeasure of dealing with carrying heavy suitcases up and down stairways; and some arrive by plane, with their family or only accompanied by their bags.
Either way, at some point the good excitement fades, and we all end up alone. The feeling hits after all the magic of freshers' week or immediately after we’ve dragged our things into our room. We sit at the edge of the bed and stare at the wall; we all experience a sense of loneliness where we are forced to face the start of a new chapter and the end of the last. Loneliness is just one of the problems; culture, distance, and alienation become our reality all at once, even more so for those who do not hold English as their first language. You can’t take a train to go home; you have to consider time differences, the taste of home cooking is not readily available, it can be difficult to find people who speak your language, and you can feel like you have to figure things out on your own.
The panic sets in; questions and issues arise: ‘There’s a million things I need to do! How do I open a bank account? What do you mean I need a UK phone number? How do I pay for the bus? Is it really worth buying the whole year pass? (Usually not…). Why is Waitrose so expensive? Is there a cheaper supermarket? How do I apply for tax exemption? I’m so overwhelmed! How do I pick which society to join?’
Let’s be honest, we’ve all been there; we’ve all had these questions.
Speaking of panic, let me tell you about my own first-year experience. I arrived in 2022 at Heathrow Airport, never having set foot in the UK before. There were no flights to Bristol from Belgrade; I had to crawl from London to Bath with two very heavy suitcases. When I arrived, I unpacked to make my room feel nicer and broke down on the bed. To say that I was terrified would be an understatement. Little did I know that this would be one of MANY moves. In total, I have packed and unpacked boxes about 8 times in the last 4 years…
Freshers' week came, and I tried to blend in and socialise, attending different events with flatmates, which helped me feel less alone. Then classes started, and I completely felt out of place. I felt like I didn’t belong, like coming here was a mistake, and that the admissions office must have misread my application. I desperately borrowed books from the library, stayed up late studying to try and catch up to some imaginary standard I set for myself, and yet still managed to write essays only a day before submission, fuelled on energy drinks from 23:00 - 09:00. Lesson number 1: don’t be like me, because you are not alone.
Looking back, I can honestly say that my biggest issue wasn’t being in a different country; it was not being aware of the support available on time. Thankfully, I had people around me kind enough to show me the ropes, but had I been aware of the support available, I wouldn’t have struggled figuring things out as much. Later, I met a lot of people who had a similar experience. Some struggled in the academic field, some with finding social circles, some with both! If you walked around campus in your first year with question marks peeping out of your ears, then know that many of us share this experience.
If you would allow me to put my degree to good use, there is a very straightforward explanation for this paralysis and feeling of incapacity when faced with stressful situations, such as moving to a new country. Stress is a survival response meant to save us from physical emergencies: imagine you are picking berries in the forest and hear the hungry growl of a bear behind you! You drop your basket and run in the opposite direction. Short-term stress is beneficial, long-term, not so much. Conditions that make stress less damaging are (1) having an outlet, (2) whether events feel predictable, (3) having a sense of control, and (4) social support (Sapolsky, 2007)
In my second year, I became involved with the SU and started teaching French thanks to the Language PAL scheme; the year after that I became a Senior Leader, and kept the position until I graduated. Worried as I was in my first year, I never considered enhancing my university experience by trying something new, so it took me almost two full years to explore the opportunities available at the SU. Needless to say, I am extremely happy that I did so. In my third year, I attended the International PAL conference during which an amazing group of students presented a scheme similar to PAL but tailored to international students.
‘Wait a minute… why don’t we have this at Bath?’
I am happy to announce that we now do!
Global Connect was slowly crafted by us at The SU: a scheme to help international students settle in, especially during the initial transition period. Similar to peer mentoring, but less focused on academics. Thanks to students who shared my experience, we built a scheme to lend a hand to students who feel out of place. It’s not a small feat navigating a new country; you are going to panic, and you will feel lost. But there are things we can control, and we can give ourselves the necessary support to begin our new adventure. Global Connect is a scheme that is there to help students know that support is available.
Had you told me four years ago that I would ever be able to put my name to such an amazing project, I’d laugh, given I didn’t believe I’d even be able to put my name on a degree. I am not the only one who had the same experience; I know countless international students who questioned themselves from the start, struggled to make friends, to understand what’s going on, and they have all passed their degrees with flying colours and are heading towards amazing new projects. Bath does tend to have that effect on people… 😉
Point being, my experience, and that of many others, has helped bring Global Connect to campus in the hopes of alleviating some of the pressures we have faced. Get out of your comfort zone, get involved, try new things, and make the most of all the amazing things the University of Bath has to offer. And if you are in your second, third, fourth, or TENTH year of studies, it is never too late, as many people at The SU can testify from their own experience.
For some motivation and to thank you all for reading this far, here are my top 5 Bath tips:
- The cheapest coffee in Bath is at the Plug & Tub.
- The Plug & Tub also has a great Pub Quiz on Tuesdays (be careful, I’ve seen people cheat!) or, for an in-town option, try out the Bath Brew House.
- Like movies? The Little Theatre offers memberships to students, giving you discounts off both movies and snacks!
- In winter, cosy up next to a warm fire at the Star Inn; I hear there’s free cheese on cheeseboard day…
- Down for some jazz and a dance? Don’t hesitate to check out what The Grapes has planned every week.
P.S.: If it wasn’t clear, I did, in fact, graduate. To all those who have felt like frauds, if it’s of any consolation, so did I, but they still gave a cool hat in the end!
Bibliography
Sapolsky, R. M. (2007). Why zebras don't get ulcers: Stress, metabolism, and liquidating your assets. The Praeger handbook on stress and coping, 3, 181-97.