so far I have enjoyed the city very much. its a fairly handsome city with lots of shops & weird/interesting stores. one of the things that has striken me the most is that you dont see a lot of people in the streets. but it might just be that i’ve done that at odd time and/or the weekend.

These nights I’ve been staying at the Glasgow Hostel while I look for a flat. Great place really. Friendly staff & convenient facilities. This being said though, CANNOT wait until I find my own place. You cant really beat having you own room. I also learned that the single most important thing to bring to a hostel is: EARPLUGS!. Please if you dont know this, never forget. Because you can either get the super-loud snoring-person or the stay-up-late-and-make-lots-of-noise-person or the laugh-while-sleeping person (which is really, really freaky).

Ok, well, all in all, I just wanted to drop a few lines to say how things are going. Im slowly adapting to the change. Although I really miss my friends & my ladyfriend Amelie, I try to take things day by day.

Ok ok greetings from glasgow & I will write a bit more soon. until then,

juan

On that day, I was named Juan because, according to my father, of my close resemblance to my grandpa. A few years after this day, my family decided to move to a small town in the northern part of the country called Tilaran. I remember that as a kid, I was always fascinated by the fact that such named in aboriginal tongue meant “land of wind and rain”. And yes, it definitely was. I have many memories of waking up to the chaos and confusion that the overnight rain-storm had brought to my family. I would usually get up and join my dad and my mom in astonishment that the storm had flooded the backyard and almost broken in half the last standing palm tree.

So for about 18 years, I lived in this place and surprisingly enough I became used to (and even casually enjoy) the constant rain and unpredictable wind. There, I attended Maurilio Alvarado Vargas for high school years were the years rolled by one after another peacefully and almost too fast. Upon graduation, I felt like a needed a big change so along with my father’s excitement and my mother’s angst, I boarded a plain to Mexico City to attend Med school at the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico.

I couldn’t say much about the time that I spent at this university since…well, I just really didn’t. It wasn’t long before I realized that maybe medicine was not my cup of tea exactly. So I would usually spend my class time (and in between) running around the city visiting every kind of museum and gallery that there was. After a few months of this, it finally hit me so I decided to come back and pursue a career in the arts field. Since there wasn’t any fine arts program, I enrolled in architecture holding on to the rumor that the University would be opening a fine arts program soon. Two years later, the rumour had just become a rumour so I began searching for a way out. I finally found the opportunity to come to Montreal, Canada. After a few months of preparations and hard work I applied and was accepted into the sculpture program at Concordia University.

Today precisely, four years have gone by since that day and now I’m here writing this introductory blog. I finally managed to graduate with a Bachelors degree in Fine Art, (with great distinction , and I’m only a couple of weeks away from taking a plain to Glasgow to begin my graduate studies. Ohh yes, a few months ago, tinged with an incredible amount of happiness and surprise, I received a letter that I had been accepted into The Glasgow School of Art to pursue a Master degree in Fine Art. The rest after this, I will be telling you soon…

juan.

The InternationalStudent.com team would like to thank Stephen for all his hard work blogging over the last year and wish him the very best of luck with his continuing studies. If you ever need anything, you can always drop us a line and we are happy to try and help you!

So, many of you will be wondering what is going to happen with the blog now – and it is with great anticipation that we can announce a brand new student blogger to the InternationalStudent.com community. Juan Ortiz-Apuy is our brand new study in the uk student blogger – coming from Costa Rica and pursuing his masters in fine art from the Glasgow School of Art.

I will let Juan introduce himself and give you some background about him when he blogs his first post, so Juan – over to you!

Looking back I can realise how lucky I really was. During the 10 months away, I’ve been able to take part in much of the international student experience. But unlike those there for their entire degree, I had the comfort of returning home to family and friends before a year was up. I can’t imagine the commitment it must take to make the decision to spend 3-4 years study in another country, and what it must be like to move your entire life there for that period. For me it felt more like my life in Australia was on hold for the time I was away, and it was always there to return to afterwards.

When I arrived in Leeds, I was a bit annoyed that there were two days that I had to find accommodation for before I could move into the student accommodation that we were provided with. I’ve since spoken to people from Leeds who have just arrived in Brisbane, and had to stay in hostels until they could find a flat to move into – with no guarantees regarding the proximity to the university or pricing. I was shocked at the contrast that choosing a different university can make.

That being said, studying in the UK is such a life-changing opportunity that I would recommend it to anyone. The independence, social insight and fun that can be gained whilst meeting study commitments is enormous, and offers the perfect opportunity to see another part of the world.

Tomorrow is the start of the next semester back home in Brisbane. It’s exciting to be back at this university, but there’s so much I’ll miss about Leeds – from the rich history of the UK to the excitement of student life so close to campus. It’s strange to think that I’ve studied in Leeds for only one semester less than in Brisbane, it feels like a home a way from home now. Before I know it, I’ll be stuck into the semester’s work – but there’s always the next adventure to look forward to.

I’ll be more than happy to answer any questions regarding my time in the UK, but until then good luck!

It’ll be hard sorting through the possessions I’ve picked up throughout the year, but obviously there’s only so much that can make it back. There’s also a load of academic work to go through and decide what’ll be needed in the future. Hopefully by the end of the coming week my room will consist of a box for the shipping company to take and a packed backpack ready for the next adventure. Before I head home I’m flying over to Denmark, and heading through Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary on the way to Austria, where I’ll fly back to London. After 5 days in London (including one Radiohead gig) I’ll begin the long trip back home.

Though it’s sad to be leaving the place I’ve come to live and love, it’s also exciting to be just over 5 weeks away from home. After 10 months of living out of either a backpack or a solitary room, I’m sure the home comforts will be very relaxing. I’ve heard about how reverse culture shock can be, so it will be interesting to see how things feel in the first few after arriving home. I’ll keep things updated here as to how the transition back home goes.

If anyone has any questions about how the experience has been throughout the year here in the UK, feel free to ask!

All good things must come to an end though, and I returned to uni to a torrent of assessment and tests. It was quite a load to deal with, especially having not touched the books in a month. The work continues this week with 3 assignments and an exam. Things will let up next week, but just for a week being the last week of term.

I was quite astonished on the weekend when I discovered that I only had 8 days of classes remaining. Today, that number is down to 6, which seems tiny compared to the time I’ve spent here in Leeds. Even so, its a strange feeling considering the fact that it’s still just over 2 months before I fly home. I think once classes finish the journey home will seem much closer, but for now I’m more concerned with exam preparations.

What’s left for me after this week? One more week of term, a week study break, 2 weeks of exams and then a month of travel before heading back to Australia. As much as it seems to be coming to an end, i don’t like to admit it – I still hope to pack as much fun and adventure into the next two months as possible.

– For the same trip, travel can range from the ridiculously cheap to obscenely expensive. 
– Despite being 20 degrees colder, people still where the same clothes clubbing.
 - It really doesn’t snow as much as you’d hope.
 - Pints soon become just as easy to get through as schooners.
 - You wake up every morning knowing that it’s quite unlikely that you’re going to see the sun.
 - Dinner time becomes 6pm, on the dot.
 - Every kind of Pasty/Pastry is available, but still no authentic meat pies.
 - Newspapers are even more tabloidal then back home.
 - Accents vary a ridiculous amount considering how close everyone is to each other.
 - Metric really hasn’t taken off yet, despite conversion discussions starting in 1818.
 - Jaywalking is rampant and not policed. Glance and run!
 - A Full English Breakfast is an amazing start to the day.
 - Where ever you go, it’s likely you’ll find an old castle or church.
 - Fancy dress is a fact of life for going out.
 - Rain becomes so normal you hardly notice it.
 - Basins come with two options, scorching hot or ice cold.
 - Potatoes become part of your staple diet.
 - Libraries become much more use to students when their only a short walk away.
 - You notice all the slight differences in vocabulary
– “Hoover vs. Vacuum, Duvet vs. Doona, Squash vs. Cordial”, just to name a few.
 - There’s no limit to the amount of tea you can pack into a day.
 - Terraced houses are everywhere, no Queenslanders here.
 - “You alright?” almost completely replaces “How’s it going?”
 - There’s someone asleep in every lecture.
 - Radiators are capable of turning any cold room into an Australian summer.
 - Traffic lights go yellow through both green to red and reverse.
 - Even on a sunny day you’re bound to find a cloud up there in the sky somewhere.
 - Supermarket branded alcohol is fit for consumption.

Lectures are usually quite helpful when needed, but might need a reminder for any action to take place. Back home I’d hadn’t needed to consult my lecturers much, but study abroad can bring issues like timetable clashes and subjects that assume knowledge that you may not have covered.

One lecturer understood the difficulty in taking a mainstream subject as an elective without it’s predecessors and kindly provided a bunch extra material for catching up on the class. Another was aware of timetable clashes for the exchange students in the class, and when requested ensured that any materials where made available.

Lecturers are generally approachable, and happy to answer any questions after class or in their office time. Sometimes lecturers can seem surprised to have exchange students present in their classes, but making yourself known to them is important. They will be more open to any requests you may have when they understand the situation.

Last week we attended a function a the university for students who were from Australia, and those studying there in the next semester. It was a great chance to meet up with students from Leeds coming to the University of Queensland (about 20!), and they got to ask loads of questions regarding accommodation, the city and uni. Since then they’ve set up a facebook group to stay in touch, something I’d highly recommend if you know anyone else doing the same exchange program as you.

The next semester is now underway, starting a few days after the exams finished. It looks to be a good semester, with interesting subjects and a bit less study load. I haven’t done any further travel since the semester started up, but hope to see more of the UK soon. Over the Easter break I’m planning on traveling to Wales, Ireland and Italy. Should be great fun, and there’s always plenty more to do before heading back home in July.

In keeping with the theme of my last post, here are my top 5 post-arrival tips. Hope they’re of some help

1. Get in early. Most likely you will have arrived early as an international student, as universities often have an International orientation week before Fresher’s week. Make the most of it and beat the queues by sorting out subjects, bank accounts and registration in that first week. It’s also a great opportunity to explore the more deserted campus, so that you know the layout by the time busy fresher’s week comes around.
2. Be social. The first couple of weeks at university are quite unique, and a new place brings new faces for everyone. Small things like leaving your door open (when you’re around!) and chatting with neighbors are great ways of meeting new people. The friends you make during those first few weeks are often the ones you’ll stick with throughout the first year, so you don’t want to miss out no matter how bad the jet lag is.
3. Join groups. During Fresher’s week you’ll find out about lots of clubs, societies and groups through the university’s union. Ranging from sports, hobbies and cultural, these groups offer the opportunity to meet domestic and international students at the university, as well as engage in great activities.
4. Be prepared for change. The change in country obvious brings out differences to what you’re used to at home. At university it might be the expected study load, structure of lectures or layout of campus. In life, it might be the living conditions away from family, shopping in stores you’ve never heard of before (with strange currency too) or weather that is completely different to back home. Whilst you’ll quickly get used to the differences, over the first few weeks they can be quite a shock – so research what to expect before leaving.
5. Explore. With the study load of university, there’s always the temptation of staying close to uni and keeping on top of work. Don’t forget how far you’ve come to be there: make the most of it – get out there and see the world!