I
had known from the beginning of my university degree at Adelaide Uni that I
would spend a semester studying abroad. However the actual experience I have
found in Sheffield, my chosen exchange University, has been completely
different than I originally expected.When I first arrived I was both incredibly excited and absolutely terrified. On my
first day I managed to accidentally get off my bus a few stops too early and
walk in the completely wrong direction. I remember wandering through the misty
streets of this Northern England city, dragging my suitcase behind, thinking
how beautiful it was and feeling so incredibly scared and frustrated at how
lost I was. I spent a lot of time in those first few weeks getting lost.
Eventually I found my way to Endcliffe Village, the main area for student accommodation,
where I received a key to my flat and a welcome package.
Starting University in England is such a different experience to the one I had in Australia. Everyone seems to attend university in a different city and they spend their first year living in halls before moving into various share houses and apartments. I share a flat with 7 other exchange students here, and they come from various parts of Europe: Germany, France, Spain and Belgium. I think that the people I have met through the exchange program are partly what have made this experience so invaluable for me. It’s crazy how quickly complete strangers, with different native languages, can be thrown together to form something like a family. Exchange has taught me that anywhere can become home.
I feel as if I should write about the educational advantages of doing an Exchange, because my classes here and my lecturers really are great. The classes are smaller, more intimate and more interactive. However for me, the biggest education has been moving away from home for the first time. Leaving my family and friends and learning to budget for myself. To remember the small things like buying toilet paper and milk; I mean I spent my first week here with absolutely no cutlery or crockery. I ate mostly microwave soup with a gelato spoon I’d found in the bottom of my bag. In the second week I stole plastic cutlery from the food court. Eventually we started working on kitting out our kitchen, we even have a cheese grater now! But since starting uni here I have drank vodka from a bowl, cooked pasta in a fry-pan and eaten cereal from a sauce pan.
It’s been interesting I suppose, other than my unusual use of crockery and cutlery (or lack of) I have taken full advantage of Sheffield University’s amazing Student’s Union. It is the best SU in England and I completely understand why. I have joined the English Society which has been a great way to meet and interact with more British students and to gain insight into the Dos and Don’ts of Sheffield. Overall I’m only partway through my exchange but so far it has been without a doubt the best experience of my life. It was definitely worth the long, tiring and sometimes frustrating application process. I would completely recommend an overseas exchange to every University student ever.
Starting University in England is such a different experience to the one I had in Australia. Everyone seems to attend university in a different city and they spend their first year living in halls before moving into various share houses and apartments. I share a flat with 7 other exchange students here, and they come from various parts of Europe: Germany, France, Spain and Belgium. I think that the people I have met through the exchange program are partly what have made this experience so invaluable for me. It’s crazy how quickly complete strangers, with different native languages, can be thrown together to form something like a family. Exchange has taught me that anywhere can become home.
I feel as if I should write about the educational advantages of doing an Exchange, because my classes here and my lecturers really are great. The classes are smaller, more intimate and more interactive. However for me, the biggest education has been moving away from home for the first time. Leaving my family and friends and learning to budget for myself. To remember the small things like buying toilet paper and milk; I mean I spent my first week here with absolutely no cutlery or crockery. I ate mostly microwave soup with a gelato spoon I’d found in the bottom of my bag. In the second week I stole plastic cutlery from the food court. Eventually we started working on kitting out our kitchen, we even have a cheese grater now! But since starting uni here I have drank vodka from a bowl, cooked pasta in a fry-pan and eaten cereal from a sauce pan.
It’s been interesting I suppose, other than my unusual use of crockery and cutlery (or lack of) I have taken full advantage of Sheffield University’s amazing Student’s Union. It is the best SU in England and I completely understand why. I have joined the English Society which has been a great way to meet and interact with more British students and to gain insight into the Dos and Don’ts of Sheffield. Overall I’m only partway through my exchange but so far it has been without a doubt the best experience of my life. It was definitely worth the long, tiring and sometimes frustrating application process. I would completely recommend an overseas exchange to every University student ever.
