Interviews

Hi everyone, here there are my interviews at whole because last week I only put one of them. I hope the article will be interesting for you.

INTERVIEWS

Have you ever felt as a stranger? Have you ever thought that this was not your place? A lot of international students come to Sussex every year, how they feel here? And English students? What they do to make them to feel at home?

The following interviews with both an international and an English student try to answer these questions deepening into their opinions and feelings. We do not try to give general answers just to show some personal experiences at Sussex.

AYA

Name: Aya Takatsuki

Age: 29

Nationality: Japanese

Studies: At the moment she is studying English and next year she’ll study a MA in Social Development.

Who do you live with?

I live with an English host family, Michael and Penny. He is 70 years old and she 65 years old.

And, where do you live?

I live in the north of Brighton. It is take one hour from the University.

Is it hard for you living so far from the University?

No really. I can a book during my trip to the University.

How is your life with your host family?

They treated me as a daughter… probably a granddaughter. My host mother likes doing everything, cooking and washing, she enjoys a lot. She is very good at cooking. And when a have a problem they always ask me: everything is OK? They say trust me and I trust them, so we have a very good relationship. Moreover my host mother used to be an English teacher and she worked with international students. It is very good advantage for me because I ask her to correct my English and sometimes I do with her proofreading. I like my host family and it is very comfortable.

Do you have any international classmates?

Yes, every classmate is international because I am at an English pre-master course.

Do you have any relationship with English students?

Yes, sometimes but no frequently. Sometimes I am going to the pub with English students to drink something, but usually I go out with international students. Now, I have a part time job in a restaurant as a waitress, so… I have one colleague, English student, who does not belong to Sussex University but when I go outside…it is difficult to go with British students. I do not have many English students as friends.

Do you feel integrated in the English university life at Sussex?

I think that Sussex University is very kind because…when I was at the University of London…I am Asian and Asian people are discriminated. But here, everybody is so kind and I have close friends so easily, so Sussex University is very good for foreign students. The students are more friendly here than in London.

LAURA

Name: Laura Cook

Age:22

Nationality: English

Studies: English and Spanish.

Who do you live with? And where?

I live with my friend who I met in the first year of the university. Her name is Joanna and we have a flat in Brighton.

Do you have any international classmates?

Yes, there are few in my Spanish class. A couple of girls from France and a girl from Luxemburg .But in my English class there are none.

Do you have any relationships with international students?

Yes, I meet with a Spanish girl called Laura to practise Spanish with and also another Spanish man called Javier.

Do you feel integrated in the university life?

No really. I am not a member of any sports teams. I am not a member of any societies. But I do enjoy university life and I go to the gym when I can on campus and… I enjoy it here.

Why do not you belong to any team or societies?

It is quite competitive, it is quite difficult to become a member of these teams. I am not a sporty person.

Do you have any experiences abroad?

Yes, I went to Spain last year for a few months to learn Spanish and I was working in a school with children in Madrid.

How did you feel there?

Everyone in Spain was very nice to me, very helpful at the school. They used to involve me in their parties, and at Christmas we did a present giving ceremony and we went to dinners and things like that.

But I did fell like a foreigner there. People used to look at me on the train, they used to stare and… they used to listen to our conversation in English quite a lot. But on the whole I felt comfortable.

At the beginning it was said that it is not possible to generalize but, anyway, we can extract some conclusions from these two interviews.

Everyone fell like a stranger and foreigner in another country, in the university or in a job, but in general you can always meet with friendly people who help you to have a better time in that country. Therefore, if you sometimes fell alone here, going out to know people is the first step. Think of that as your personal challenge for this year.

Good luck!