A year abroad…the best year of your life?

‘The best year of my life’ is a phrase you will hear a lot from people who have studied abroad during their degree. Attend any lectures on the subject at Exeter and you will generally be introduced to some smiley, tanned, worryingly enthusiastic twenty-something year-old who studied abroad at some time in the past and enjoyed it so much that they now spend their time going around telling other people how amazing it was.

Having been studying at the University of New South Wales in Sydney for about three months now, I hope I can offer a rather more balanced insight into what it is like to study abroad. For myself, being abroad has been both terrifying – read the distressing lack of fruit ‘n’ fibre in Australia – and incredibly exciting; whilst some things have simply been different. What students should know is that there are things about studying abroad that are difficult, as well as the long list of stuff that is great.

Firstly, is doing a year abroad worthwhile academically? The good people at Exeter who coordinate the whole study abroad package will tell you that taking a year in foreign lands is a fantastic opportunity for you to not only experience something completely new, but also to increase your attractiveness to future employers. The ‘with study abroad’ tagline that gets stuck onto the end of your degree title, they will assure you, will give an extra edge in the job market.

Personally, I am rather sceptical of this. Doing a year abroad sounds a lot like swanning off for a year rather than adding something to the CV. Undoubtedly, for those studying languages, time spent amongst native speakers can only be invaluable. For myself, a History and Politics student, a year abroad is perhaps less impressive. Whether or not I, or anyone else, will enjoy a more rewarding career because of taking a year abroad remains to be seen.

What doing a year abroad does allow, and what was a key motivation for myself in heading out of Exeter for a bit, is for you to spend a whole year extra in university. A whole year to put off writing that dissertation. A year to avoid having to enter the ‘real world’ of employment and the drudgery of a proper job. And a year which, for most courses, only counts for one-seventh of your degree. With the job market still pretty stale in the UK, the knowledge that you have extra time before scraping around to find a job is pretty nice. And you get to do it somewhere new, exciting, and somewhere with better weather than Exeter (probably).

What’s not to love? Cockroaches, for one thing. But other than that, and various other less disgusting but more deadly creatures commonly found in Australia, going abroad can be difficult. Leaving behind friends, family and the places where you feel comfortable is, of course, difficult. Making new friends is not easy for everyone, struggling to stay in touch with people because of the time difference and various other reasons is inevitable, and simply feeling detached and separate, both physically and emotionally, from home is only natural.

The effect of these difficulties will vary from person to person. If you are one of the grinning, outgoing, excitable people, like those who give the talks, you may well find yourself quickly forgetting Britain even exists. If you are, like me, in many ways the complete opposite, things can seem a bit depressing at times.

Image Credit: Kellogg’s

This is not to say that I have not had some amazing times so far in Australia, or that it won’t be the ‘best year of my life’. Whilst getting over that pinch of sadness every morning when I realise I won’t be having my favourite cereal for another nine months is a challenge, the majority of the time (post-breakfast) is full of things that make it worth such difficulties. And anyway, I chose the place furthest away from home. If you choose to study in Europe, or even a little further afield, you can always get a flight home at Christmas or another time.

So, will this be the best year of my life? I don’t yet know. Could studying abroad be one of the best things you ever do? Quite possibly. There’s only one way to find out. And besides, you might never get the chance again.

 

Sam Davies

Freshers’: The best week of your university career?

With the benefit of hindsight, Emma Lock and Deputy Editor Clara Plackett try to decide whether Freshers’ week can live up to everything it promises to be.

YAY, Freshers’ Week! It’s the best week of your life – or so you’re constantly told. Anyone who’s ever heard anything about this fabled week is clamouring to tell you that this is the week you’ll discover your true self, make the best friends you’ll ever have, and meet the love of your life. All that amounts to a lot of pressure – at a time when you’re probably feeling more than a little confused by all the things suddenly being thrown at you from all directions. If it gets to Thursday and you’re hungover, can’t remember the name of anyone you met last night, and there’s STILL no sign of your future husband, it’s natural to find yourself worrying that you’re somehow ‘doing it wrong’. I know I did.

“Not having the best week of your life doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t mean you’re boring; it doesn’t mean you’re not fitting in; it doesn’t mean you’re not ‘doing it right’. It simply means that you’re not having the best week of your life – and you’re definitely not alone.”
Photo Credit: marfis75 via Compfight cc

The truth is that Freshers Week is a victim of its own hype. Some people find that it’s the best week of their lives, while others absolutely hate it and drink/snog/cry their way through every miserable minute. Many people are somewhere in the middle – not hating it, but feeling a vague sense of nervousness and unease. The important thing to remember is that Freshers Week is exactly that – one week. While some people do have the most amazing week of their lives, it’s worth bearing in mind that these people often don’t have a university experience any better than those who spent the week feeling a little bit scared and lonely. Not having the best week of your life doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t mean you’re boring; it doesn’t mean you’re not fitting in; it doesn’t mean you’re not ‘doing it right’. It simply means that you’re not having the best week of your life – and you’re definitely not alone.

At a student support training session at the end of my second year, we were asked whether Freshers really was the best week of our lives. Out of the group of thirty people, two people said it was. Two people out of thirty. These are the kind of statistics all that hype and all that pressure is based on. So, if this week is the best week of your life, that’s fantastic. If it isn’t, don’t worry. This is only the beginning of your time at Exeter – and there are some truly amazing times waiting for you.

Emma Lock

OKAY, freshers’ week wasn’t the best week of my life. It was exhausting, and sometimes quite stressful, but I did still have a great time, and a very memorable week. I was lucky to have been placed in Birks Grange on a floor of very sociable people, and though going out every night for seven days – sometimes not getting in anywhere and opting for a Timepiece burger before heading home at 11pm – was not really my preferred choice of activity, I am still friends with a fair few of those who also thought clubbing in a zebra onesie was a fabulous idea. Halls can be a bit hit and miss, but we definitely made the most of everything. 5am fire alarms and constant noise were low points after a while, but amongst mass beach outings, battle of the halls and the ninja pub crawl I made friends who continued to entertain me for the year.

The only slight hardship I felt was due to English being the only subject to hold “study skills” sessions throughout the week. If I remember correctly this resulted in three 9am hikes up Cardiac and hours spent desperately trying not to look hung over. In fairness, the English department has not demanded this level of attendance from me since, and after Freshers’ Week was over I quickly found a job to keep me occupied in between my six contact hours per week. Making friends from my course is also something I have found essential in order to enjoy my degree, and again, some of my closest friends are from my “Beginnings” group. I’m mainly living with other English students this year and I’m definitely relying on them to keep me sane (good luck, girls).

Yes, approaching freshers’ week with the expectation that it will simply be seven days of fun is probably a bad idea, but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t find people you get a long with, and be able to enjoy campus and the city – and that doesn’t have to mean clubbing every night. I don’t think I know anyone from my halls who had an awful time, and I’m sure that with all the improvements in and around Exeter over the past year the new Freshers’ can easily have a great week.

Clara Plackett, Deputy Editor

What did you make of your Freshers’ week? Is it possible for it to live up to the hype? Leave a comment below or write to the Comment team at the Exeposé Comment Facebook Group or on Twitter @CommentExepose.