My Exchange at University of Leeds
The 360 International program really changed my life for the better, I have never been so glad that I did something and I obviously loved it so much that I added another semester to my exchange. My accomodation was an old hall that was like a classic British house, my dorm was huge and I remember being so shocked about this with my mum. I felt quite nervous being in a new country, not knowing anyone and I was scared that I wouldn’t find any friends, as I was fretting about this I walked into the common room and immediately got introduced to three students who were living in the same accomodation and I became so close with them through my time there at Leeds. I made the best group of friends and we still regularly talk and I look forward to when I can meet up with them again, they were also from other countries as it was an international dorm. It was so interesting to listen to their stories, what it was like to live in their country and their culture. I developed a family, and we all went to meal together, opened up to each other, travelled together and we made such great memories together. University of Leeds is a beautiful campus throughout all the months, with autumn leaves paired with the red brick buildings, the snow that fell on the campus Christmas tree, and the green trees that lined the campus in the Spring – it was such a welcoming space to be in with heaps to do for students in the area with fresher week and the dorms private events. Some of the highlights was walking to the cafeteria for dinner and it had been snowing all day, my friends and I were playing around in the snow and throwing snowballs – as my friend grabbed a piece of snow to throw at me the second she tried to she slipped in the snow and fell down. We were out of breath laughing. The hardest part about the exchange was leaving, my friends had begged me to stay another semester and so I did but when it came to the end of my second semester it was impossible to stay longer. I’d found such close friends in such a short amount of time and we had a little routine together in our dorm, it was hard knowing that I had to go back and that they also had to leave and we wouldn’t see each other for a while. As well as not only leaving my friends but the country, I really became attached to the United Kingdom and I’d travelled around so much of it and fell in love with the people there, the architecture, the history.
Q&A
What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?
The difference in classes was the most interesting, instead of doing New Zealand based designs I was challenged to do UK based designs which has different demands and requirements which was a nice challenge and good change of pace for my usual work.
Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?
Really get involved in fresher week, that’s where you gain the most friends and all the events are so interesting and really well planned out and they put a lot of of effort into them. As well as doing pub quizzes they are such a fun activity to do every one or two weeks and you always have a good laugh with your group.
What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?
- Step outside of your comfort zone, I’m a shy person by nature so I had to step out and introduce myself and be confident and this really made my experience so much better as I gained the best friend group through this. This can be through university events or just hanging in the common room. Having a good group of friends makes the experience the best.
- It’s hard being homesick but still try to do stuff if you are feeling homesick, whether it’s a walk, going outside, hanging with your friends there. Don’t dwell on the feeling cause you want to make good use of the little time you have there.
- Walk around the area you are in, get to know the city you are staying in. You’ll find little coffee shops or stores that you’ll love and get a good feel of the city and it will make you feel so much more comfortable in the new environment your in.
How much did you budget for your exchange? Was this enough? Were there any lessons learned that would help future students budget for their own exchange?
I saved for quite a few years before doing this, I had enough but it didn’t leave me with much after. You have to plan for little things that might add up or big changes you make, I didn’t plan to stay for 2 semester, only 1 so I thankfully had enough to allow me to stay for longer because I really just saved, saved, saved. My recommendation is just save and work as much as you can so that you are comfortable in your budget and if any big or small things happen your prepared for it.
What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?
I really became independent, this was my first time living away from home and it was so far away from home. It really made me independent and learn to things for myself, which taught me so many lessons that will be helpful for later years. It’s such a good experience to live by yourself in a new city or country and I gained so many experiences I wouldn’t have if I stayed living at home.
Do you want to share anything about travels you did outside your host city/country?
With being in Europe, it’s so easy and way cheaper to travel abroad so I took advantage of it. I travelled by myself for a month before I started University around Italy, Austria, Switzerland, France and I travelled in holidays or when i had weekends off to places like Germany, Slovenia and Croatia. I learned so much about different countries and their cultures at met so many amazing people. Travelling by myself was one of the best experiences of my life and you gain so many stories from it and friends, and then when I met people in my dorm at my uni we travelled together to the Lake District, Edinburgh, Italy, Spain.
Final Comments
Make the most of it, you will miss it so much and you’ll be telling everyone how great of an experience it was and how you want to go back so bad. Do things you don’t usually do because you get great stories out of it, my favourite part was telling stories to my friends back home and they were always so shocked.