What no one tells you about being an international student at Leicester

Arriving at GMS one day before the Freshers’ Festival was one of the most bizarre experiences of my life. The house was so creepy and empty I couldn’t sleep. Within the first few hours of meeting my housemates I’d been offered more cups of tea than I’d had in my entire life.

For an international student, Freshers’ Week can be so overwhelming. Not only have you just moved abroad, but the whole concept of British culture is a chapter of its own – being French and living in Luxembourg meant that I’d never even heard of Freshers’ before I arrived. It’s totally fine though – as soon as everyone moved in I was finally able to be the grown independent unicorn that I truly am and I couldn’t be happier.

You can’t have fun if you’re not 18 years old

In France and Luxembourg the age limit for drinking is pretty lax. In Leicester, it’s taken so seriously.

(I had to take a picture with the photographer – look at that beard though)

Drinking is taken very seriously too

Before coming in England, I thought the Brits were quiet and very reserved people who had tea parties at least twice a day. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Now that fairy tale will never enter my mind again – they’re extraverted people and have an infamous rep for drinking (not just tea of course).

I wasn’t expecting what happened in the first two weeks.  At 9:30 pm you won’t be able to escape the pres or drinking games. Then, after losing and by that I mean downing the mix of your housemates’ drinks in one big glass, you will be completely and utterly wasted. Expect nothing less.

The English you learnt at school isn’t the same as the English spoken at uni

Being the only French person I was so anxious for the first few days. The realisation how much the English I was taught in school or that I spoke everyday with my friends differed from the English I heard during Freshers’ made it even worse.

I’m always double thinking my words from French to English. I didn’t want to bother the people I was meeting by asking many questions about the meaning of some words and their pronunciation. The cool thing is  though that people are open minded and they won’t bite you if you make mistakes, we’re all here to learn anyway. It’s ok – they’re all your new English family and they totally have your back.

After all, ‘Baguette’ and ‘Croissant’ or introducing themselves are the only things they can say in French and I can’t wait to teach them more.

(“Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?”- Ah, we owe you Lady Marmelade.)

Nandos is really spicy

Nostalgic from Luxembourg and its large Portuguese community I was so ready to try Nandos after all my flatmates went on about how good it was. My heart melted when I saw the yellow rice and chicken, but my mind completely forgot that spicy food wasn’t for me. A few seconds later and my eyes were filled with tears. I was about to explode like the ruby-coloured dragon in Shrek.

(Free Nando’s during the Halloween Festival, I am so gonna try again)

You can’t expect to study like a native student

Yes, you managed to be accepted in this awesome study programme, you even had more than a good grade at your IELTS exam, but English is not your mother language.

At first I thought that I could work at the same speed as my housemates or my friends, but I was lying to myself. This year doesn’t really count for them but it does for me. It’s not just because of that: you need to do more research because obviously you won’t get every word and every concept in your course within the first few months or even the first year.

(Law is my shit now)

Bus passes or not, you’ll fall in love with Leicester’s parks and green spaces

Back in high school I took the bus everywhere and thought that because of the typical English weather Leicester wouldn’t be much different. I thought I wouldn’t bother walking round Leicester’s green spaces but I’ve been proved so wrong. After your lectures it’s the best thing to just walk around Vicky Park or explore Leicester University’s Botanic Gardens.

(I can’t wait to lay on the grass with some friends in Summer)

It’s always good to chill from time to time with people from your native country

 The only common thing that I’ve found between the Brits and the French are that they’re sorry for everything and nothing all the time.

Have you ever felt completely lost and useless when in the kitchen with your housemates, because your mind suddenly decides to be disconnected, not to translate from English to French or even to understand their way of speaking? Or just because they’re talking about some cultural or local thing and you can’t really bring something on the table, making you feel unintentionally excluded? Well I did, and it’s an awful feeling.

When there is an opportunity to feel like home again, don’t miss it.

 ( And it’s even better to gather in a French restaurant)

Yeah, you’ll miss home even though you won’t admit it. You’ll be lost mentally and physically at the beginning, but remind yourself of why you decided to study abroad. Tell yourself how lucky you are to live in a new environment, to learn another language and to discover another culture.

Not just anyone is given this opportunity and not everyone understands how important it is to be open minded to the point of leaving your comfort zone. Being an international student is an experience full of good and even bad surprises, but you shouldn’t regret even a second of it.

Photo credit to Rockstar Promotions.