Letter from Home: My Story
Today a friend of mine forwarded a link to me which I really liked. It is a letter written by an Iranian student who has finished her studies in Britain and gone back home. Reading her story reminded me of all the good times and nice experiences I had during my student life, as if she has written her story on my behalf. Although she has been much luckier than me in one thing: she has almost travelled all around the UK. I didn't really think of travlling that much during my MSc, and let me tell you that it was my BIGGEST mistake. My advice to you is to travel whenever you have free time. Even in the north west (Manchester area) there are so many different places to see. Distances are relatively short in Britain, but there is a great deal of variety in there. Moreover you get student discounts everywhere you go. I only visited a few cities in west and north west of England with my friends which was a lot of fun but neither visited east nor wales nor north! I missed the highlands of scotland! what kind of Harry Potter fan am I?
Anyway I've chosen parts of her letter to put here in case you're too lazy to download the file and read it yourself. These are the parts where she speaks my (nostalgic) mind — apart from the travelling bits that I envy. If you like to read the whole letter, get the PDF file and go to page 7.
I came from Heathrow with thousands of contrasting thoughts in my mind: ‘Visiting glorious scenes’, ‘Hopes for the future’, ‘Studying abroad: an enviable position’, ‘Carry an umbrella all the time!’, ‘The British people are so cold’, ‘A tiny room in a small flat.’
I had once heard that being homesick would be missing home or missing those most dear to you and your friends, but it was more than this, it was a serious fear about whether I would be able to adapt to the British way of life. How could I survive? The answer, however, did not appear overnight. It was hidden behind one year of persistent effort.
The first challenge was learning the art of making friends. This was not very hard to do. Everyday somebody went out of their way to be my friend: in the bus station, restaurant, library, or even laundry. Each of them brightened my time here in their own way: a warm smile in a cloudy day, giving me a hand to carry my bags, a short text message on a Sunday evening, or surprising me with a present on Christmas Eve or Easter day. Spending time with people different from my origin enhanced my world view, offering a unique window to various cultures.
My preconception of the British was shattered almost immediately. They have been kind and approachable; even complete strangers smile at you while passing in the street. I can’t count how many people helped me in this country. From my tutors to classmates, from shop assistants to friends and flatmates, from staff to bus drivers they have always been ready to help.
Also, I liked going out with a group of tutors and students after finishing every unit. I learned a lot from the style of sessions, which is in the form of discussions rather than lectures. Exchanging of ideas and experiences was a major benefit of this kind of classes. They pay great attention to the background, origin and culture of overseas students. For example, with their encouragement and support, I had a chance to publish an article about the role of computers in my country.
The academic life was just a part of my experiences, there was much more to learn and see in a year. I’ve been lucky enough to explore many places which I had only read about in stories: Cambridge, Winchester, Stonehenge, Brighton, Salisbury, Bristol, Edinburgh, Loch Lomond, Bath, Glasgow, The Highlands, Portsmouth, Chichester, Rushden, Surrey, and London.
Nice letter!!! :-) I can see you already miss here ;-) Apart from the university education, for me the most important things were socialising and making friends, travelling (I did quite a bit of travelling with friends) and getting to know about history of the country which I really enjoyed.
Enjoying the student life is one side of the coin. We should open our eyes to "learn" from it.
(at July 17, 2004 12:50 AM)
ya ok the point is she went to london at the end, that's why she enjoyed her stay in uk so much
(at July 17, 2004 09:44 AM)
It is the first time i heard somebody loved british way of life :) none of my friends could stay in britain for a long time.
(at July 18, 2004 06:17 AM)
reminded me of my feelings when i first arrived in cambridge: excitement, fear, freedom, loneliness. but then i spent the best 3 years of my life there. i had my ups and downs like everyone else, but all together it was a wonderful period of time. those memories are always with me. it's amazing that i ended up in cambridge again after marriage, but this time in massachusetts!
(psst: intellectual people in harvard usually try to immitate the british accent ;))
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