When I first moved to Edinburgh I did not know anyone. But that was the engine of my enthusiasm to start with uni and meet all my new friends. If you are about to move to Edinburgh and  don’t really know what’s gonna happen, please keep reading:)

Since the very first day of uni (and I’m talking about enrollment day!), I immediately felt like I was not alone. At least, I was panicking with someone else ha! I met my first friends during the enrollment day, then I got to meet the rest of my class during the induction week. I still remember everyone looking around trying to figure out what was going on hah! That said, our tutors and lecturers were really nice and thanks to a few activities we got to know each other. On the first day of induction week I also met one of my best friends, Ka Wing from Hong Kong. We seriously had a blast during first year, I can definitely say I will never forget all the laughs and parties and assignments and funny situations and we faced together ha!

Despite the course was initially very challenging (particularly because I was not familiar with my majors at all!), the fact of having good friends around me definitely helped. We had the chance to work in groups, learn about different topics together and and also panic together – of course 😛
I must say, it was pretty challenging keeping up with the standards required at the beginning – particularly due to the fact that English was not my first language. In PR and advertising, like any other field, you need to be familiar with specific words and vocabulary, skill that I started improving after a while (although I wanted it to happen more quickly hah!).

What I found out immediately was that, despite being from another country, I was not alone. I was surrounded by friends from -seriously- all over the world! Not just Europe..I mean EVERYWHERE! This has probably been the best thing since I started Napier, because it allowed me to put myself in other shoes and see things from different perspectives. I was able to speak different languages, as well as to improve my English. I’ve never felt uncomfortable or left out, but I also knew there would have been someone ready to help me in such case. The student support offered by Napier is always ready to help with everything, and I’m aware of some of my friends using its services. Never be afraid of asking for help 🙂

I could write so much about the amazing opportunity of being surrounded by local and international students, but I may save some words for another blog post..:)
One day I’ll tell you more about my experience as International Students Ambassador – one of the most amazing and fun experiences I’ve ever been involved with. Here’s a couple of pictures, but I promise: I’ll tell you more!

Looking forward to hear from you, international students! 🙂

Carlotta