“I’m going to be the only international student there!” Language lover Lucia went from fear to friendships at York St John University
Name: Lucia
Course: BA (Hons) Korean, Intercultural Communication and Linguistics
Country: Hungary
Fav hobby: Photography - I love to capture moments from places I visit
From acting to adventure: get to know Lucia
“I’m Lucia, I’m 21 and I’m from a city around two hours from Budapest, Hungary, where I lived with my mum and dog. I enjoy spending time with my friends, I’m very outgoing and try to avoid sitting at home as much as possible. I like movies and dedicated time to acting throughout my school life.
I fell in love with travelling when I went abroad for the first time aged 11 and haven’t stopped since! Each time I had days off from school, I’d look for my next interesting destination. France and Italy are two of my favourite destinations, but I’ve also been solo travelling in Japan. It was my first time going it alone for eight days in Tokyo. There are ups and downs to it: you can create your perfect agenda, but you sometimes wish you had somebody to share it with.”
An exploration of language and culture
“As a child, I didn’t really enjoy school, until an opportunity to move to the UK for a year to study languages changed my perspective. I came to the UK and lived with family friends in Chester, where I attended the local high school as a Year 9 student. I loved the school system and the teachers so much that I really struggled to readjust when I went back to Hungary: teachers in the UK appreciate everything you say and want what’s best for you. That’s when I knew I wanted to go to university abroad.
It was actually the people close to me who influenced my enthusiasm for the Korean language. My childhood best friend spoke so much about K-pop that I finally gave it a go, which coincided with my mum starting to like K-dramas. I went to South Korea twice on a summer programme with LanguBridge, where I took language classes at the uni and lived with a host family. It was an incredible experience.
I later applied for Korean universities, but the deadlines were really strict and the pandemic caused delays with my grades. I turned my attention to the UK, looking out for a university where I could do a year abroad in Korea. I almost applied to study directing because of my love for acting, but wasn’t certain that it was truly my passion. So, I followed my enthusiasm for languages and travel and chose Korean, Intercultural Communication and Linguistics.”
Navigating uni life with TikTok tours and group trips
“I relied heavily on communications from the uni, like emails or their website. I couldn’t come to an open day because of covid, so I used to search for York St John on TikTok to get a feel for the city and the campus! I did lots of individual academic prep for the IELTS exam too, since I’m the only one in my family who speaks English. I also had a friend studying at the University of Stirling who’d been through a similar process, so they shared some useful advice.
Having previous experience and connections in the UK was a bonus. Of course, coming to university is different because it’s my first time ‘adulting’ in this country and doing the less fun parts like laundry, ironing, grocery shopping and managing my time. I’ve inevitably felt a bit homesick, but I made some amazing friends really early on in October - all international students - and they’re who I currently live with.
What helped me to meet friends was going to events. Before, I’d spent so much time looking for groups on social media, but still arrived completely lost. It was easier to find events through the uni and I wrote down everything Global Campus was doing and went to all their socials. I got talking to other students and we swapped social media handles. We’d go on trips together and that’s where it all took off: I made a last-minute decision to join a day out to Scarborough and got really close to other students who joined.”
An app to support community connections
“When I heard about CampusConnect I thought wow, this is so smart. A platform or app to meet other international students is exactly what I was looking for when I was coming here! I had to resort to scouring Facebook freshers groups for international-sounding names but I couldn’t find any. I was so worried - I said to my mum: “I’m going to be the only international student there!” My first impressions of the app were so great. It’s really reassuring to see so many other international students.”