By Alice Lando, BA International Business Management
Are you thinking about coming to Sheffield but wondering what it would be like moving from another country? Don’t worry, it is probably going to be the best decision you have ever made!
I came to Sheffield from Italy over three months ago and I have not
regret it ever since. I chose The University of Sheffield because it offers the course I had always pictured in my mind; a degree in Business Management with the opportunity to study one year abroad. Coming to Sheffield, I have found that the community created by the Students’ Union and the students themselves have strengthened my decision. Sheffield is truly an international city, filled with open-minded people from all around the world, which makes the experience a lot easier.
Even though I tried not to visualise how my life would be here in Sheffield before arriving, I can definitely say that my experience here has exceeded my expectations. I have made more friends than I thought I would, I have tried so many different activities and I have always felt supported in regards to both my studies and my social life. Lecturers are always available 
if you need them and there is a wide range of sports and activities that you can try. I joined the University volleyball team; this gave me the chance to go to different cities to play games, but more importantly I met a lot of new people from around the world with who I now spend time with on a daily basis.
As with every experience, I did face some challenges. Sometimes I felt like
there were too many new things I wanted to try, and balancing social life and study was a little bit hard. At the beginning language was another barrier since everyone has a different accent, but I got used to it fairly soon. In regards to how to prepare for such a change in your life, my advice would be to work on your mentality as it will be what is going to support you during this journey. You will have the greatest days, but it’s inevitable that you will also have some bad ones too. Be open to new things, new people, new traditions and you will overcome all cultural differences. Practically speaking, packing and bringing your stuff are probably the most stressful parts. My advice is to pack the essentials, all the things you can not buy in Sheffield or that you need for the first few weeks, especially if you will travel alone. Once you are here, you will have to sort out some things such as a bank account, a UK phone number and health insurance but the University can help you with all of that!
Final tips I would like to give you as I found them useful during these three
months:
- Enjoy your last days in your home country, you are very likely to miss that feeling
- Take photos that you can look through when you feel homesick, but also learn a ‘traditional activity’ to always feel at home. In my case, a part of Italy is with me when I cook.
- Lastly, once you are in Sheffield, enjoy every single moment without letting cultural differences stop you or take you down.
I hope Sheffield will be a home far from home for you as it is for me!