Being an International Student at uni in London (UAL)
Starting at UAL in September? Starting University can be really scary, especially when you’re new to the country too. We spoke to first year Film Practice student Neli about her experiences of moving to London from Madrid, and settling at UAL.
Neli Urruela, 1st year BA Film Practice, London College of Communication
Giving up your comfort zone can be really scary. You know how to do the first steps; you pack up your things, say goodbye to your friends and family, and get in the plain. But then suddenly you’re in an empty room with a bunch of mixed feelings and emotions such as euphoria, fear, impatience, homesickness, panic… and you’re really not sure what to do next.
On your first day in London you’ll be completely lost. But seriously, don’t worry about it – that’s normal. When you move to a city like London you’ll have to get used to using transport a lot: you’ll get three buses, the tube, mind the gap and change two times to finally get on a flying dragon to get to college, and it’s impossible to learn all the tube routes in one day (Google Maps is your friend).
You might be late for your first lecture. Your uni calendar might not synchronise properly (damn wifi) so it looks like you’re supposed to be at three classes at the same time. And then you’ll probably end up attending a quantum physics lesson, when you’re supposed to be in photography 101, and by the time you realise this you’ll be too embarrassed to get up and leave.
And yet I promise you this: it’ll be fine.
Give yourself time. You’ll soon get used to speak in another language (fully understanding British accent will be like the level-up-special-combo), and you will meet loads of students in the same situation (and most of them will be really interesting cool people that you wouldn’t have met otherwise). With time you’ll feel proud of yourself for getting into a such an amazing adventure, and you should! It’s hard to live with strangers, whether you are in halls or not, and everyone knows it’s not easy working and studying at the same time, but it’s completely worth it and it does pay off.
Studying in London is an incredible experience. Not only will you be living in another country, but you’ll get to know lots of different cultures (not just British!) which will give you a much richer vision of the world. It will help you to get to know yourself better, and it’ll give you the connections and power to do anything you want to, and to believe so.
Any fear you experienced in the beginning will turn into confidence, and any struggle you face will temper your will. Adversity can be a great teacher that will help you solve anything life may throw your way.
But don’t forget to make the most of your student life, go to events, don’t be afraid of meeting new people and get involved in societies and communities! Unfortunately they won’t give you the information about those straight away, but if you ask anyone there you’ll surely find what you’re looking for.
Someone once told me, “If it excites you and scares the hell out of you at the same time you should probably do it.” I think they were right.”
Clarification - Sadly it looks like @arts-su is deleting their tumblr, and since so many people told me this piece I wrote a few years back really helped them, I decided to re-post it so it doesn’t disappear forever.
