The Beginning of a New Life Époque

Even though it would be much more comfortable and quicker to travel by plane, I had decided to choose a train and a coach to get there, mainly due to financial reasons. The journey with two twenty-five kilograms heavy suitcases took approximately forty hours; you know, the journey from a small town in the western part of my country to a much bigger city in Scotland is very lengthy. Firstly, I took a train to Prague, where I changed to a coach with the final destination in London. After arrival to London, I was waiting for three hours to get a coach directly to Glasgow, which was quite tiring after the previous trip from Prague. Fortunately, the three-hour break passed relatively quickly thanks to the “Psychology” magazine that I carried in my suitcase. Unfortunately, on the coach to long-desired Glasgow, an unpleasantly cold gentle wind was blowing on me, bringing about goose bumps on the majority of the journey. Considering a company of a co-passenger, listening to music, and a gentle sleep, the time passed faster. At the end, I felt like the whole journey took much less than it had appeared. However, I missed a warm welcoming of my neighbours, as it was already 1 a.m. and all of them were mostly partying hard at many of the flat parties. Thus, I had to fall asleep still like a stranger in a place that was supposed to be my second home for the following year.

According to stories I was told, the halls where I live once served as a jail. In real, they really sometimes have those features, but on the other hand, I cannot complain about anything (apart from the walls, through which we can hear almost every word said in the adjacent room). I have not been that cold yet, as I had expected, and I do not even have to wear loads of clothes as I had been told. Therefore, from this point of view, I am absolutely satisfied. I live here with another nine students; some of them come from UK, but there is also a Bulgarian, French, Greek, Australian-German, and even another Czech. Despite the fact that all of us have different subjects and time schedule, we still find a way to spend some time together (for instance, during meals). I have to admit that I definitely miss already prepared food in the school dining hall, but the shopping and food preparation/cooking can be actually magical and fun.

The first week after my arrival consisted of a rich “Freshers’ Week” programme. During the day, we could visit various clubs (extracurricular activities) and societies. This should somehow direct us towards our hobbies and what we would like to get to know or learn. There was really a lot to offer, but the day is too short to engage only in entertainment and fun. Because of that I decided to participate only in dance classes, as dance has been my passion since ever. Alternatively, if I find some more free time, I can go swimming, exercise in the school gym, or go to sauna; the permanent pass was included in the price of accommodation. Moreover, since I do not want to forget about and miss my birth country or region, I have become integrated into a Czech-Slovak society.

The week full of fun finished, and we had to settle down to the real academic life here. In comparison to Open Gate, I could visibly see a huge difference at the university; the Psychology and Earth Science lectures are held in large classes filled with approximately one hundred students. Although the lecturers make jokes and are amusing, the atmosphere is not as family like as at Open Gate. At least, at tutorials and Spanish lectures the amount of students lowers. Maybe you are asking, what these subjects have in common. The answer is “nothing”. My major subject is Psychology, from which I hope to get a degree. However, for the first two years we have to study another two subjects; the students may decide to change their degree in the second year according to the subjects they have. Therefore, even though I had chosen Psychology degree, I still may potentially decide to switch to another one. Earth Science seemed interesting to me mainly because of a second part of its curriculum; exploring the processes of volcanism and earthquakes has always attracted my attention. In case of Spanish, it is worthy learning another foreign language in this multicultural world. At Open Gate, I focused on English and French, so here, I wanted to broaden my language skills in Spanish. The requirements at the University of Glasgow are really high, and so I have a lot of work to do. In four weeks, I will take my first exam.

Certainly, the life here is not that easy (I had to leave my family, my friends, great Czech food, etc.), but I believe that a hard work brings desired results. When I get used to the lack of sunlight, which tires me very quickly, everything will get better, and I will (I hope) be proud of having a Psychology degree completed at the end of the fourth year. Finally, I would like to mention a quote by Sasha Azevedo, who said: “Too many people go through life waiting for things to happen instead of making them happen!” I completely agree, because we have to go towards our dreams to make them real, and so I will try to do my best.