My name’s Ellie Watkiss and I’m a third year student going into my fourth year. I study BA Music with the University of Southampton and have recently completed a year abroad where I studied at University College Cork in Southern Ireland.
A year abroad is simultaneously one of the hardest, but most rewarding experiences you can have at university both personally and academically. For me, a year abroad was a requirement and played a huge factor in determining my university, as I have always wanted to travel and knew this would be a brilliant opportunity to experience another culture on a deeper level than, per say, inter-railing or a family holiday. In this blog I will write about my day-to-day experiences and (hopefully) provide tips for those of you considering this opportunity.
Going on a year abroad provides an opportunity to explore activities which you may not think to consider during your home university experience. This is because living abroad can take you completely out of your comfort zone, especially for those, like me, who have never lived anywhere other than their home country. This drastic change provides a form of blank slate – you don’t know anyone and they don’t know you! It is an eye opening opportunity which can broaden your horizons both in and out the contexts of your degree.
For example, depending on your degree, you may be allowed to take modules outside of your core study – which is how I ended up taking modules in psychology, criminology and film studies alongside my music BA. This can give you a year where you simply explore other interests in an academic setting, for example, I personally want to be a film composer, so I did some modules in that course to gain a better understanding of the industry I wish to work in (the other two I just find interesting and wanted to give a go). However, even if this can’t be the case for you, you can still explore clubs and societies that may not be available in your home university, or they are just you’ve never considered them. Another example: I randomly went to a trampolining session of all things, ended up loving it, have competed in 4 competitions and have been to places such as Belfast and Edinbrugh on trips with now very close friends 😀
Some Tips:
Guaranteed I could’ve prepared better personally, and of course I had as much of the big information as I could, but when living abroad for an extended period of time, it’s the little things that catch you out. So, here’s a little section on some things I experienced and might help you in your preparation (if some seem obvious then that might be because I’m a bit of a moron and just didn’t think about it but here you go anyway :D):
- There is no 111 – For fellow UK citizens who also have a habit of acquiring an illness on a Friday at exactly 5pm, it might not even be a thought that there is really no service, apart from the emergency, that can prescribe medication or offer advice for out of hours situations. An example of this was my ability to have a horrendous wisdom tooth infection on a Friday night, and although there were out of hours dentists, they were not exactly that helpful (they wouldn’t pick up the phone). I now have an even more extended love of the NHS.
- Have cards on your phone, and get a phone number as soon as you can when you get to your receiving country – Fellas. You must. I had my coat stolen in a bar in the first two weeks of my arrival, and in that leather jacket was my wallet with all my cards, my house key, and airpods. I took a while to settle in due to complications with my modules so I put off getting a phone number and I never added my cards. By some miracle, I decided to keep a card in the back of my phone, but trying to contact the police, replace keys and cards etc was the opposite of relaxing with a phone that didn’t work in that country. I also then left my wallet on a bus about a week later and yes that was entirely my fault BUT it would’ve been better if I had taken more precautions.
- Travel – One thing I wish I did more of. It’s one thing to go to your receiving institution and experience life abroad, but that’s one part of it, and with most countries, there’s more to them than one spot. I visited Cobh, Dublin and Belfast (although I didn’t get to see much from Belfast aside from its university as it was on a trampolining trip), but there were so many other places I wanted to visit, particularly Kerry and Antrim.
- Try Everything – And I mean everything. As I do music, I took this into my studies by learning Irish traditional songs and how to play the Bodhrán which was amazing, and beautiful, but also gave me a key insight into some of the history and helped in my learning of the culture. But spread out: try extra curricula you would never think of normally, maybe you still hate sports but hey make sure, you’re not signing a contract, you might realise you now love them!
- Check conversion rates – Do not be like me who spent the year being continuously surprised by the prices. Of course everything is going up regardless, but in some places, more than others, the prices were already up. Although this shouldn’t (hopefully) have to be a factor in your decision, it can be very important to a lot of students, and even if this isn’t necessarily an immediate concern, being prepared is still a must in regards to finances.
