International students and halls
Comments from students...
International students can have additional problems. These two comments illustrate that we should maybe be aware of problems international students suffer on a regular basis:
“I had friends who were in first year university halls and two of them got on really well. Then there were four international students and a girl who was like a recluse, so they had a proper mix-match. English wasn’t the first language of the four international students, so the communication just wasn’t there. They were friends with a group of our friends who lived downstairs, directly below them, where they spent a lot of time. But they found it really difficult because of the way the university had put them there. If they hadn’t known each other or got on that would have been hard.”
“I used to live in Whitendale halls in first year. There were about four of us. Three of us got along really well, and we had a guy from Liverpool. I mean, English is not my first language and it was quite hard to understand him when he was talking. When he was looking at you it was ok. But when he was turning his back to you, I just didn’t get that.”
Note from the TAG Team: Living in halls is pot luck when it comes to flat mates and it can be difficult share a home with a stranger and yes there can be language barriers with international students or even students from a different part of the UK from you, but this is all part of the university experience. Communication can be difficult but persevere and you might just find you are living with some really interesting people! If however, you do find yourself unhappy in your halls talk to the accommodation service, you might not be able to change halls but they can help you tackle through the problems.
