International students – Undergraduate Blog

My experience of moving to Sheffield

By Yijie Chen, BA Business Management

One year ago, I was dragging my luggage around Manchester Airport with a couple of new friends, ready for the intro week of my uni life. We were anxious, nervous and excited, and all of us were wondering if we chose the right university or not. At that moment, a gentleman wearing an orange t-shirt and holding a ‘Welcome to the University of Sheffield’ sign walked up to us. He introduced himself to us and helped us carry our luggage. That gentleman was a Student Ambassador of our university, responsible for the meet and greet service. To my surprise, he knew our names and flight numbers before we arrived there. At that moment and ever since we felt we belonged at The University of Sheffield.

I was born and bred in Xiamen, a fantastic coastal city in China. Before beginning a new era of going abroad, I successfully finished A-Level exams and IELTS tests. I used to think they are the most complicated challenges in my life, but now I gradually realised they are just the cornerstones of further education. I also spent the last high school summer holiday watching many videos about Sheffield and our university.

When I looked out of the bus window, the familiar and strange city view made me feel delighted and thrilled. We passed through Manchester and Peak District National Park. Honestly, the trip was always over hills. Sheffield was quite different from my hometown. I had been familiar with the ocean view, but I gradually fitted into the new environment. Currently, the city is my second hometown, which is a warm and ethnically diverse city.

After passing by Firth Court, Information Commons and the Diamond, I arrived at my accommodation, Allen Court. I met my flatmates from different countries such as Great Britain, India, Egypt and Malaysia. Welived in international surroundings, and we shared distinctive cultures that reflected the diverse surroundings of the entire campus.

Indeed, I did enjoy the intro week at the University of Sheffield. I took various lectures about modules chosen, SUMS and the university societies and clubs and planned hikes and trips with new friends.

Walking around Western Bank Park and Crookes Valley Park was my favourite activity after taking lectures. We went for trail walks around Hope Valley and Bamford. Also, we visited the famous Chatsworth House and Mayfield Alpacas Animal Park at the weekend. I do promise no one would ignore the attractiveness of the University of Sheffield and the city.

Applying to University – a horror story?

By Olivia Chavigny De Lachevrotiere, BA International Business Management

Hours, and hours, and hours of research. Documents. Eligibility. Studying. Financial planning. Research. Universities, courses, rankings, research. Studying, and again research.

Deciding to study in the UK wasn’t the easiest one. Moving abroad, figuring out how to afford the living, how to design my university experience and make the most out of it. Planning for so many details, yet little did I know how different the whole experience would be.

I was a strong person back in Poland, back home. I would always come up with the initiatives, offer my leadership and organise events. I knew I wanted something more for myself, I wanted to develop on more dimensions than it would ever be possible, had I stayed in the country. The decision wasn’t the easiest, because financially speaking, such a life turn wasn’t really feasible. The entire application process didn’t make it any easier, requiring so much organisation and planning – first, the choice of a course. Then, the universities (research, research, research). Finally, the accommodation, the finance, societies, finding my flatmates, walking through Sheffield on Google Maps so many times, trying to gauge the distance between student halls and my future department.

I didn’t have the opportunity to come to Sheffield, or any of my chosen universities, before actually moving here; but if you have that opportunity, please take it. For me, choosing the perfect place was like walking in the dark – I could see the general shapes and contours, but never the full detail. The University of Sheffield organises a few Open Days for the applicants throughout the year. The successful ones are also provided with a detailed brochure, which is sent over by post. It walked me through the rather difficult time of trying to understand the city and where everything is, the accommodation and the university facilities. The university offers help in all sorts of issues you might have during the application, but also once you arrive here or later in your studies – be it problems with your landlord, financial issues or job hunt. If you’re still hesitant, let me assure you – the university will welcome you, no matter which country or what family you come from. In the EU and UK in particular, you don’t have to be super wealthy to have access to the top higher education!

The whole process of taking exams, getting a language certificate, researching and organising might seem a little daunting, but the reward is worth it more than anything – so don’t give up! There is so much more awaiting you!

Zero-waste in Sheffield

By Serena Wong, BA International Business with Study Abroad

For my first blog post, I’ve decided to share with our fellow friends how I do zero-waste in Sheffield!

Back home in Malaysia, the closest zero waste store was an hour drive away with majority of the stores congregated in the Central Business District. This lack of access proved to be an inconvenience when I first started going zero-waste. It was also difficult to implement small, incremental changes in my household, as my parents deemed it easier and cheaper to buy plastic-packaged products. The biggest change I made back home was designating a recycling area at home.

Six months later- today, my flat mates and I compost, recycle, and we do not use kitchen rolls at all!

In just about every university building- the Sheffield Students’ Union, Information Commons, the Diamond, we can purchase food and drinks in recyclable packaging and then toss them out at the many and easily-available recycling bins. In addition, our Students’ Union has an outlet- Our Zero Waste Shop- dedicated to plastic-free wholefoods and environmentally friendly household goods.

One of the best aspects of the shop is the refilling station for both food and household liquids. You can refill your shampoo, conditioner, laundry detergent as well as rice and herbs. My personal favourite however, is refilling my empty jars with delicious sweets!

Its wide array of zero-waste products coupled with the affordable prices, makes Our Zero Waste Shop (https://www.facebook.com/OurZeroWasteShop/) one of its kind in Sheffield.

I am so proud to share that the store makes ZERO profit from their reusable pads and menstrual cups range. It’s incredibly heartwarming to know that our university prioritise making sanitary products both accessible and affordable for our students. As perfect alternatives to regular sanitary essentials, they make perfect gifts for ladies! Just last month, I bought a set of 6 with 1 wash bag, for just £15.76! If that’s not a bargain, I don’t know what is.

If you’re looking for an easy way to reduce your plastic consumption, why not ditch the cling film and grab bags, and head down to your local market for some fresh and cheap fruits and vegetables. I particularly enjoy doing my grocery shopping at the Moor Market for plastic-free fresh produce. From a plethora of cheeses, to freshly-baked scones, Moor is my go-to destination for fruits, vegetables, fresh poultry, free-range eggs and buttery scones! You can even find stores that stock oriental spices and sauces.

My zero-waste lifestyle will always be a work-in-progress, but to know and believe that our university isn’t just a supportive platform but rather the support, I have no doubts I will continuously lead the lifestyle that fills my heart and brings me happiness.

My first Christmas in the UK

By Serena Wong, BA International Business Management with Study Abroad

The holiday season is finally here- which means it’s time for all things red, green, merry and bright. However, that’s not all there is to this wondrous season of the year. Christmas is not only the perfect excuse to sate your appetite with mulled wine, honey-glazed gammon, and all the dessert one can possibly eat, it is also the perfect opportunity to spend quality time with your friends and family.

As an international student who’s not going home this Christmas holiday, I knew that this season of joy and giving can be equally lonesome if not for having friends to celebrate with! I am incredibly grateful to have commenced my winter break with a Christmas dinner together with my flatmates.

However close you are with your flatmates, it’s always a brilliant idea to gather everyone for a Christmas dinner. Since none of my flat mates mentioned having one, I decided to propose the idea. Lo and behold, everyone was so excited in the preparation for our dinner. We went grocery shopping, cooked, played some games, had some drinks and ate until we felt like throwing up!

Amidst the preparation, I had learned a little more about how cherished the Christmas spirit is in the UK. My friend and flat mate, Nicole, guided us in making many traditional English Christmas delicacies such as roast gammon, Yorkshire pudding and pigs-in-blankets. She taught us local games and traditions which everyone enjoyed learning. My highlight of the evening was seeing all our international friends embrace new delicacies and traditions because our first Christmas in the UK will forever be remembered.

If this is your first Christmas in the UK, I hope you will fill this time with new experiences, good food, and good company. It’s perfectly normal to miss home – more so if you’re an international student who’s not going home (like myself). But I truly believe, if you treat yourself to a good cup of hot chocolate at Sheffield’s Christmas Market or take a short trip to a different city, you’ll start feeling the Christmas spirit (and dance to Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You).

During this festive season of giving, let us take time to slow down and enjoy the simple things. May this wonderful time of the year touch your heart in a special way. Wishing you much happiness not just today, but throughout the New Year!

Why you shouldn’t be worried coming to Sheffield as an overseas student

By May Than Thar Cho, BA Accounting and Financial Management

Coming to university and starting afresh can be extremely daunting, especially when you are half a world away from home. Most times, your mind will wander and you’ll eventually start worrying about things. Here’s a list of some of the things that I worried about before I began, how I overcame them and why they should be the least of your concerns!

Making friends

The question on everyone’s minds. Will I like the people I meet? Will they like me? Will I make new friends? I kid you not – you’ll be making new friends before you even realise it. There are so many people coming in from all over the UK and all over the world. You’re in a position where you know nobody and nothing about the city. But everyone is in the same position too! Even if initiating conversations with people is out of your comfort zone, don’t hide away when someone approaches you (someone definitely will!) and you’ll find making new friends is as easy as ABC.

The university also runs an Orientation Week before term starts and I personally think it’s an amazing way to get settled in and meet new people (I’m still very good friends with so many people I met over Orientation Week). You can follow this link to find out more!

Being homesick

I’ll be honest, it’s easy to fall into homesickness. While calling your family and friends from home offers you comfort, you should also try finding other ways to help ease it. What I have found helpful is surrounding myself with new people. Spend a lot of time with your new friends, join societies and participate in the different activities arranged by the university. Soon, you’ll really start appreciating a new part of your life here and you’ll feel at home in no time!

Communication

When you are not from an English-speaking country, you may find it hard to fully express yourself or perhaps, you may even be feeling shy to talk to people. But don’t use this as an excuse to not speak English. Don’t be afraid to try! If anything, people will help you if you struggle and this way, it makes it a lot easier for you to pick up the language. ELTC at the university also offers English Language Support for users of all proficiencies you can follow this link to check it out!

Missing food

It’s very common to start missing your traditional food but worry not, Sheffield has a huge selection of international cuisines: from all types of Asian, European and Middle Eastern, so you’re bound to find something that satisfies your taste buds! Our Shop in the Students’ Union also has a wide selection of international products and there is also a load of supermarkets selling international products around the city so you can always try cooking your traditional meal by yourself!

Fitting in

You’re being thrown into a country with a completely different culture. It’s not surprising you are wondering how you would fit in the picture. But don’t let this hold you back from trying to socialise with people from different backgrounds. Instead, take this as an opportunity to explore cultures you otherwise would not have experienced. Just be yourself, share your culture, and learn theirs! Despite the cultural differences, another thing I have found is sharing similar hobbies or interests makes conversations more effortless and helps you blend in quicker!

Moving to Sheffield from another country

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!

My feelings on finishing university

By Vyugar Nadzhafov, BA International Business Management

Entering university in first year, people warned me that the three years would fly past. I can now attest to this, as I have now experienced my graduation and am waiting to enter the real world of work at the end of the summer. Despite the time going fast, looking back I am grateful that I got to achieve a lot of things, and I did this through prioritising. In your years at university, you’ll get many opportunities – perhaps to undertake a summer abroad, a placement, a part-time job or just a holiday with your flatmates. With all of these, it’s important to review your priorities, and how this opportunity fits in with your goals.

Leaving university and entering the world of work has provided me with a sense of perspective, and searching for a graduate job really makes you think about what you enjoy and what you would like to spend your time doing. From a young age, we all are trying to pursue the “game of society”, and the more time you spend with yourself, the more you start focusing on things you love. I love filming videos, talking to people and making people laugh. So I guess this is what I am going to try and spent the most of my time on. I also love risk-taking. I feel that this is the best time for me to try to take a risk and pursue entrepreneurship. In the world of evolving social media, it is much easier to establish your product or service, and this is what I am hoping to take advantage of.

For all students entering university this year, I advise you to figure out what you do not like. It is much easier to figure out what you do not like than what you like. For example, I am not really into maths, chemistry or physics, so I made sure I avoided these things at all costs. It will take time for you to figure out what you enjoy and have passion for, and do not panic if it doesn’t come quickly or naturally to you. It’s good to remember that your interests might evolve, change and completely turn around, but as long as you keep looking for what makes you get up in the morning, you will be fine.

My experience as an overseas student

Hi, I’m Yunzhou, and I am a BA Accounting and Financial Management student from China. Although I’m currently in my second year of study, I remember vividly what it was like to come to the UK as a first year student, and this is what I would like to talk to you about today.

Before I landed at London Heathrow, I was full of mixed emotions – scared, excited, nervous, and more. I was so happy to find that when I landed, instead of the uncertainty and loneliness that I thought I would feel, I found myself falling in love with the country immediately. Exploring London for the first time was incredible, and I was drawn to the grandeur of the Big Ben, the tranquillity of St James’ Park, the hustle and bustle of the financial hub and the jubilance of the theatres. I found myself surrounded by exciting cultural heritage, marking that finally I had arrived in the UK, the country I had seen thousands of times on films and TV.

For my first few weeks in the UK I communicated with locals through speaking with what English I had, and using wild gestures and sign language when my English wasn’t enough. When I got to Sheffield, I found I had a passion for exploring the city, and I fell in love with the parks, small independent shops and restaurants and finding out more about the history of the city. Most importantly, I was met with kindness in everyone I met.

One thing I love about the UK, and Sheffield in particular, is the multi-ethnic and multicultural environment! Here, you can find people of all cultures chatting and laughing together in bars and restaurants, and it is easy to find food and drink from all different cultures, which helps when you get homesick. Having been born and raised in rural China, I had limited knowledge what the UK would be like, although films and TV made me think it would be full of posh people drinking tea and moaning about the bad weather! However, when I eventually made it to the UK, I found that the British culture is so much more than this, which to me, shows the importance of exploring first-hand cultures and countries that you are interested in – they may hold great surprises for you! My experience of being an overseas student in Sheffield has been a great inspiration, encouraging me to become a global citizen and plan where I can travel to after I finish my degree next year. The world is a huge place, and thinking of my future fills me with excitement – I would recommend this experience to any student thinking of coming to study in Sheffield!

How I settled into University life- an international student perspective

Hello, my name is Titus Njoroge Kuhora. I am a second year BA Business Management student from Nairobi, Kenya. Coming to university is filled with a mixture of anxiety and excitement, even more so for international students. Being thousands of miles away from home in a foreign country is a daunting prospect. However, personally, all this changed when I joined the University of Sheffield. The friendly nature of the locals and the amazing support and social activities which the university has to offer helped me fit right in. I would like to talk about some of the activities I got involved in that helped me settle into university life.

Sheffield and its international nature

Coming to a foreign country as an international student, can sometimes be lonely. At these times all I wanted was someone I could talk to in Kiswahilli (Kenyan’s national language), or and I missed Ugali and Skuma (Kenyan delicacies). Thankfully, the diverse nature of the University of Sheffield allowed me to meet people from Kenya, through its East African Society. For me, being part of this society has had the greatest impact on university life. Knowing that you have people who share the same humour and viewpoints on life as you, can be very comforting.

However, the University of Sheffield also has many other societies such as the international student committee, which helped me meet other international students from around the world. With students from 125 countries, it has been a pleasure getting to understand different cultures, which is very important as the world is becoming even more globalised.

Support systems

The support systems provided both by the Management School and the University are incredible. It has been amazing to know that I have not come to a university where I am not a mere statistic, but where I am valued and supported.

Coming from so far away, there is a sense of expectation from parents that we should get the best grades possible. Such pressures can sometimes weigh us down, and make us crumble under pressure. However, with the support systems from friendly lecturers and the 301 Student Skills and Development Centre, I have been able to avoid such pressures and get the hang of university life. This support enabled me to understand what is expected academically and over time I have seen a significant improvement in my evaluative and critical thinking skills.

Coming to university is not easy. Being an international student can bring a lot of baggage (no pun intended), but hand-on-heart the University of Sheffield is an amazing place. It allows students- local or international – to express themselves, and be integrated into university life. Being in my second year of study, I have to say that I love this university and feel part of not just a student community, but a family! 😊