Edinburgh Global have produced a series of videos aimed at international students about adjusting to life in a new city.

The videos are made up of clips of interviews with current students from a wide range of places, from Austria, to Chile, to Macao and beyond, studying in many different disciplines, and from undergraduate level to PhD students. They reflect on their fears before coming to Edinburgh, their experiences of the university and give their own pieces of advice for prospective students.

Each video has been released on a CC BY Attribution licence.

 

Main concerns before coming to Edinburgh

“My main concern before coming to Edinburgh was that I wouldn’t have any friends… and I was a bit scared but my concern didn’t materialise, because I actually met my best friend on my first day.”

 

Making new friends

“I found making new friends wasn’t that hard, because there’s so many other international students and they all have the same struggle to make new friends, so you just sit next to them in a lecture and talk to them.”

 

Adapting to life in Edinburgh

“I think it also takes time for you to actually settle into a place… and now I feel like Edinburgh is my second home.”

 

Adapting to the academic style in Edinburgh

“Before coming here I wish I had known that I wouldn’t have any trouble adapting to uni, even though I hadn’t studied A-Levels.”

 

Top tips for new students

“I think that University is really what you want to make of it.”

 

Being away from home

“It was hard at first: I’m about a twenty-four hour flight away from home.”

 

The food in Edinburgh

“I have not been brave enough to try haggis yet… whisky is excellent though.”

 

Scottish weather

“The weather has its own mind: it could be sunny early in the morning, and then it’s going to be pouring rain like it’s the end of the world, and then it’s going to be sunny again.”

 

Understanding the Scottish accent

“It’s hard to understand Scottish people. That is true. But on the other hand, Scottish people are, in my view, the best people in the whole world – they’re very patient.”

 

 

Image: Cropped – The Meadows, by the University of Edinburgh, Free Use