… by Tanya / from Bangalore, India / MA Economics and Mathematics / 2nd Year (UG)
Being an international student can be a daunting experience. While most European or British students know what they’re getting into before coming to university, international students do not have this privilege. As an Indian student, I couldn’t visit the University because it just wasn’t financially feasible. All my perception of the University- the city, the teaching, the buildings and everything was built on what I saw on Google, University ranking pages and most importantly, the Student Room. Despite having an image built into my mind, I was scared to walk into university. Somehow, along with the excitement, the idea of moving to foreign land with a culture extremely different from mine and being all alone was extremely scary. What if I hated the city or the university even worse, the course? What if everyone was unfriendly? At school, I had known everyone for the last nine years and now I wasn’t just moving to an unknown city but an unknown country. But as it is for international students, we have to blindly walk into it. And I did as well.
Fast forward to freshers week. In India, especially in my family, drinking was not encouraged. I had tasted alcohol before but I wasn’t a rebellious teenager who thought it was cool to drink. It tasted horrible, what was the point of it even? Before moving to Edinburgh, I also heard that Britain had quite an existent drinking culture.
On arrival, it seemed that most of the activities I came across during Welcome Week involved alcohol in one way or the other. In the beginning, I really felt like I did not fit in this place at all.
However, to me, university was about more than having fun. I expected to earn a name for myself in the world; it had to be a stepping stone to success. I joined all the academic societies that related to my course and soon enough, I also received emails from the Mathematics Outreach Team and an opportunity to become the School of Mathematics Ambassador. Both of allowed me share my passion for Mathematics with a large demographic of people. I created fun events to demonstrate mathematics such as making mathematical jewellery or explaining maths through baking. I also took up several Edinburgh Awards, which helped me improve my transferable skills. I became a class representative and became actively involved with volunteering at a charity store. Even though I did not necessarily enjoy the typical social aspect of University, I enjoyed what I was doing and that I was learning from world class professors in my favourite subjects – Economics and Mathematics. Not one lesson was boring and they always encouraged and kept me wanting to learn more. Even in a large class, I felt the individual impact because of their lecturing prowess.
Now I am a second year at University, I am a nerd and my friends are nerds who share a common passion for Mathematics. I am on the committees of two societies and I am a School Convenor. In the beginning, I felt like I didn’t fit in. I never let peer pressure overcome me though. I stayed motivated and never forgot my goal. Just because students are shown as people who go out a lot, you don’t have to be like that. It’s important to stay grounded and remember the real reason you’re where you are and also how you got there.
Being at University has been one of the greatest testing periods of my life but I’ve learned so much more in two years than I could’ve imagined. Moving to Edinburgh gave me a lot of independence and control over my life. While most people were a few hours away from home and went back on the weekend if they wished, I couldn’t. No one ever mentioned how difficult it was to move away from home or how difficult it would be to do all my chores on my own but no one mentioned how fulfilling an experience this would be and how proud I would be of how far I have come.