Sarcastic jokes and strange sayings: what an international student makes of Sussex

With students coming from over 120 countries, Sussex can’t deny it’s international reputation, especially as it likes to brag about it all the time.

The uni has a impressive accolade of around 25 per cent of its students being international, but what is it truly like for one of these students?

On the Brighton pier, enjoying a pretty nice sunset

Brighton is undeniably a great student city to live in, especially for internationals. The city isn’t too big, so as a new student it is easy to find a way around, meet friends and get familiar with the British transportation system. It is a pretty cool vibe as well and I cannot compare it to anywhere I have ever been before. The personality of this city is incredible and in all of my travels you cannot compare the liveliness of the city to anywhere else.

Having arrived here knowing no one, I felt only after a few days as I belonged here. Being able to interact with the professors as much as with other students is what surprised me on my first days in class. Plus, the special attention given by the lecturers is a real difference between Sussex and international universities. Back there, professors might, after months in their class, still ignore your name.

My wonderful team of fencing at Sussex

There is only one thing that I still struggle to get my head round, and that is the British culture. I have been welcomed into Britain with open arms and I feel like I belong, but every now and then I have to process everyday things that go on around me. For example, when I heard the expression “the dog’s bollocks”  I found it quite bizzare. I cannot be the only person thinking why on earth is this associated with something good.

At times, I find fitting in as an international student does require effort. Communicating to other people can be a obstacle. Imagine that you even have to change the way you say jokes for your potential British friends to understand. Sarcasm is very hard to pick up. Unfortunately, not sharing the same cultural background can be proofed to be the reason of not making local friends.

As an international student you can get paranoid that they might unconsciously judge you. Perhaps as time goes on I can adopt the mannerisms of this country and join in with the sarcastic jokes and the strange sayings.