So what's it like to live, work and learn in an entirely new country? Students share tales of exhilaration, revelation and humiliation from their studies in exotic climes...

China

Blair Sugarman, Chinese & Russian, 3rd year

My general understanding of Chinese had gone from nodding my head and mumbling a few incoherent words to every suggestion.Unfortunately, it was this method of conversing that got me into a strange situation in the week that my studies first started. The following conversation had just taken place in my class.

'So this verb means to become acquainted with a person.' My teacher said, giving the entire class a huge smile. No one shared her enthusiasm.'Which one of you can use this verb in a sentence?' She had spotted me and singled me out. I looked down at my work, but it was already too late. She was determined to get me to talk.'You, the handsome young man in the first row,' she said, beaming, 'can you use this verb in a sentence?,'Well…I…acquainted.' I said, hoping that she would feel sorry enough to move on to a different victim.She clearly didn't.'That's not a sentence.''Oh.''Have you got acquainted with your classmate?' she asked, pointing to the person sitting next to me, trying to throw me a life line.I panicked and nodded my head, indicating that I knew the person sitting next to me, who was in fact, a complete stranger. I was just as 'acquainted' with this person as I am with particle physics. Please. Don't flatter me; I think protons are something found in fish and red meat. I smiled at the person next to me, willing them silently to help me out. They clearly didn't decipher my message - they were too busy worrying about how I knew them, and why they didn't know me. I hoped to God that the teacher would move on, but she wasn't done torturing me yet.

'So did you meet them at university?' she asked.'Ummm, kind of, maybe, no, yes, shoelace.'She looked confused and turned towards my classmate, a rather large Japanese girl.'So how did you two meet each other?' my teacher asked for the second time.'I don't know,' the girl next to me replied.'You don't understand the question?''No. I actually don't know how we met.'She looked at me again thoroughly confused, and asked for a third time. 'Have you got acquainted with your classmate yet?' 'Oh, is that what that means.' I said, finally understanding. 'In that case, I...fridge...cat...'

The teacher moved on.

Russia

Natasha Slater, Russian & French, 3r year

I approached with a mixture of excitement and terror. How would I ever find my place in a city of 15 million people? Would I ever be able to make myself understood with the minimal amount of Russian I actually knew? And what on earth would they say when I revealed that I was vegetarian?

I arrived on a gloomy February day. It was minus twenty. When I arrived at the flat I would be sharing with Olga, a fifty year old Russian, my fears immediately seemed justified. I didn’t understand a word she said.
The first thing that struck me about Russians was that they reserved their smiles for occasions when they were either genuinely amused or pleased with you. If someone wasn’t smiling, they were merely neutral towards what was going on around them. One thing I did struggle to come to terms with was the brutal honesty. People did not hesitate in telling me that I spoke badly. But Russians are very aware that their language is immensely difficult, and take genuine pleasure from the fact that anyone might choose to learn it. When they said I spoke badly, all they meant was that I clearly had a long way to go before I reached a level which would be of any use to me in the real world.

On the issue of vegetarianism, the mentality in Moscow is simple: animals are there to be eaten; their fur is to keep you warm. A meat stew will warm you up after the bitter cold of the street, and no man-made fibre will ever protect you from the wind like a fur coat will.
By the end of my trip, I was left with an overwhelmingly positive view of Russia. Generous to the extreme, once you are friends with a Russian, they will help you in any way they can. Their drinking capacity is frankly unbelievable and their honesty is a refreshing change. I cannot wait to go back.

Italy

Sophie Green, Italian & English Literature, 3rd year

Milan is a great place to be a student. Before arriving in September, I did question myself as to my decision to study abroad for year. Why start all over again? But the 24 hour culture is seductive. Getting an ice cream past midnight is easy, restaurants are open until 2 in the morning and clubs are open until they decide to close, normally around 6 am. Even after that you can still find a panini stand to hover outside.

AS for attending university in Milan, there are other clear differences from what we’re used to in Edinburgh. Lectures are all two hours long but it is perfectly acceptable here to arrive thirty minutes before the end, leave half-way through, or nip out for a coffee, and Italian universities have bo essays to be written during the semester, only an oral exam at the end.

USA

Claire L. Jarvis, Chemistry, 4th year

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