Hello, my name is Marlen, I’ve 29 years old and I’m from Mexico. I arrived to UK one month ago and started a MA in Design Management at the University of Southampton. I live in the city of Southampton but take classes at Winchester School of Art which is 45 minutes by bus. I decided to live in Southampton because the main campus is here and until now it has been easy to take part of societies and different kind of events, also because my husband who also lives with me in Southampton, studies there. In this post I will let you know the good things that I love about Southampton and Winchester and how my experience has been so far. I hope you enjoy it.
1. Winchester & The School of Art
My campus is located in Winchester, a beautiful english town. I love the city centre where you can find local markets and lots of coffee shops. The School of Art is 10 minute walk from the city centre, it has a lake near and it is surrounded by green areas and beautiful landscapes. I like being at Winchester School of Art, the environment is very relaxed. I also like the quality of the lecturers and that they always start the lectures and seminars on time. The teaching system at the University have helped me to improve my learning skills and to be more independent and responsible about my own learning.
2. Societies
Highfield is the main campus of University of Southampton, it has lots of facilities such places to eat, amazing green areas, a library, a gym, some stores to buy groceries or books. I do not take classes here but I come very often specially to events or to meet societies. In my first days in the University I joined the Hillwalking society and the Catholic Society. Hillwalking society organise journeys every weekend to amazing natural places; I went with them to a 4 hours walk in the New Forest, which is 30 minutes by train from Southampton; it was a great opportunity to enjoy beautiful landscapes and fresh air. The Catholic Society organise Sunday Masses, retreats, journeys and so many other events, I joined them on my first Sunday for a Holy Mass at Highfield Campus and for a trip to London to an event called Night Fever. I’ve enjoyed being part of these societies and of sharing my hobbies and my spiritual beliefs.
3. Cultural Diversity
The first thing that impressed me in my first day in the University was to see that my classmates were from abroad and almost all of them from China. At the beginning I was shocked because their culture and language is very different from mine, but I realised that I needed to be more open with them, so I started learning from our differences. I can tell that it has been very rewarding so far.
4. Living my dream of studying abroad
Coming to study to a city abroad has required me a lot of effort. But when finally I get here I´ve could feel that everything that I did was worth do it. Now I have in front of me a bunch of adventures to live. Well, and talking about adventures… Southampton is near to London so it is easy to plan a day trip to there. Recently I went with my classmates to the Victoria & Albert Museum (which is free) and then with my husband to a trip through the city.
5. And finally… the view from my window.
I live In a studio flat in the University Halls with my husband, I think we’ve been lucky to get the flat with the most amazing view, to the clock tower and to the sea. I enjoy it every day.
