By Sarah Amu
I started making plans for school from February 2020, months before the global pandemic became a thing. I had so much expectations and plans for my master’s program and stay in the United Kingdom. Looking back, I can’t say all my expectations have been met or plans ticked from my journal. However, the little things and lessons have made my stay worth the while, the highs and the lows regardless.
I arrived the UK in January 2021 and it was a lonely ride for weeks; I constantly asked myself ‘so what next’, ‘where did all the excitement go to’? ‘How do I remain at the centre of why I am here’? So many questions I asked myself and still asking. Of course some I have answers to right now cause I’ve learnt to take things one step at a time.
Studying in the UK as an International student has not been the easiest phase I have walked into despite being within a system that is well structured. Postgraduate school is short hence, things go by so fast. And you just must adapt to things as quickly as possible to avoid being left behind and feeling choked eventually. I wish I knew enough and asked questions before commencing my first semester.
Having been a student for about seven months, one thing I struggled with initially was independence in terms of learning. I am an independent person however this experience was a whole new level of independence. I completed a whole semester from Nigeria with a 9-5 job by the side. In addition, I joined three weeks after online classes began. I honestly struggled because I was in the middle of deciding to defer till January or continue regardless. Thankfully, my course advisor was very helpful and was able to put me on the right track before things got really frustrating for me. A month in, I started to find my balance again and on track with assignments, classes and attendance.
While I studied from Nigeria in my first semester, I ensured that I never missed any class. Of course my 9-5 job suffered for a while until I got a balance, while I attended classes. I tried to be in my virtual class ten or fifteen minutes before the scheduled class so I was able to speak to people who were kind enough to share links to group chats and assignments updates. I started to feel like I was part of an institution this time around. And, I began to connect with my course mates more and got advice as I prepared to arrive at school.
When I eventually arrived towards the end of January 2021, it was a ‘phew’ moment. I was on two weeks isolation, and everything felt still as I was literally eating and doing the same things every day. Lectures were going to commence later, so there wasn’t so much to prepare for at the time. I tried to stay busy by keeping in touch with friends and family as much as I could. I also watched movies as much as I could to avoid becoming too lonely.
As my isolation period drew close to an end, I started getting other things in place. I commenced part time job applications, got a UK line as well as a National Insurance number. Soon enough, lectures began and I was quite excited about my modules for the second semester. My timetable was less choking than the first semester so I had enough time to learn other skills. I took some certification course in Child Education and the Art of Writing as I really wanted to research on this topic for my dissertation and get better at writing for my essays.
After a while, I checked Instagram for a community where I could meet people from my country or my undergraduate university and I came across Outliers Circle. I am excited about what the community stands for and what it is about. I have gotten a reasonable amount of help, information and guidance from the organizers.
Frankly speaking, I wouldn’t say I have had the best experience studying as an international student in a pandemic. This is because I had expectations for practical knowledge in the humanitarian sector but this was short-lived due to pandemic and lockdown. Initially, I wanted to do a placement where I go on a field trip but that did not happen. Having completed my course work with no physical learning, I have learnt to be more independent and see the good regardless. I am happy that I made friends, and that the semester went by very fast with little stress. Also, I am happy that my course advisor was extremely supportive and the course coordinators I had were always willing to offer help and support anyway they could.
Currently, I volunteer as an education advisor for my school and I am excited for those coming behind. I hope things will be quite normal, and they will have more physical classes in the coming session. I wish that could be me. However, I am happy that I am almost rounding up and I honestly look forward to everything coming ahead of me. This experience has indeed prepared me for the next phase and I can only be thankful for the blessing and little things I count as miracles.
P.S: If I am offered another opportunity to be in a learning environment without a pandemic, I will jump on it trust me.
Over to you now, how has your experience been so far as an international student? Let’s chat in the comments.
Photo by Kojo Kwarteng on Unsplash