10 Things I Wish I Knew This Time Last Year

The more astute among you will have realised that my weekly update schedule has slipped embarrassingly early on, but I promise I have a good (or at least passable) excuse.  I’ve tried to write this particular post numerous times but have been forced to stop on account of it becoming just a tad passive aggressive.

This post is primarily aimed at first and second year language students at the University of Birmingham because I really wish I’d read something along these lines when I was starting out on my Year Abroad journey.  My fellow year abroaders will hopefully enjoy this as a welcome reassurance that they weren’t alone in their problems, and I hope my frustrations are shared by more than a few of you. Other friends and family: this post might bore you, but if you love me read on purely to demonstrate your relentless support of my writing.

1)      The entire process is very complicated!

Those of you, who are expecting a simple application to either study, work or teach abroad, prepare to be severely disappointed. All three pathways are agonisingly slow, confusing and downright stressful. The simplest choice is definitely to go to a university, which is why every student has to do this as a back-up. The uni help you out a little in the beginning, but once allocated you’re pretty much on your own. Teaching is the next option (which is what I’m doing), the uni don’t help you out in any way, and in my experience no one there even knows what it is. The British Council however, are very good and have a detailed website; it’s still slow but they stay in touch. The hardest choice without a doubt is working: there are a handful of places available per language (I think I had better odds of getting into Oxford than getting a work placement). They expect you to find a graduate level internship and contact them, once you’ve secured a placement you have to send your proposal to the Head of Work Placements, this year: Andrew Watts – if your application is one of the best then well done! This may appear to be a harsh description of the choices but my summary is supported by the proportion of students which choose each pathway: it’s roughly 75:20:5.

2)      You actually have to check your emails!

In first year I checked my emails once a fortnight in my language lab classes and rarely had an email. Second year I quickly learned to check my emails at least twice a day as the Modern Languages Department and International Office like to plague you with hundreds of unhelpful emails.  I also discovered that I needed a Year Abroad email folder for the masses I received. Trust me, frequent checking and a designated folder will help save you from opening your emails one day and wanting to jump off of the top of Muirhead.

3)      The stress oh my god the stress…

For me, and a lot of my friends, second year was when we realised that it was gonna get tough; it counts and you realise that you should probably go to at least some of your 9am lectures. This is all well and good until you realise that all your information about the Year Abroad (YA) comes during particularly stressful times – like exam season (nice one guys). Be prepared to spend at least half of your time sorting out your year abroad: filling in paperwork (see #5), checking those blasted emails, crying, worrying about how you’re going to survive in a foreign country alone etc. You’ll quickly realise that the year you’ve decided to step it up is when other things start taking priority. Good luck with that!

4)      Nobody knows anything!

I’m not kidding. If you find one member of staff at the Uni who can tell you everything you need to know about the YA I will run around Old Joe naked! My personal tutor has no idea what I’m doing this year (heads up UoB, this needs fixing). I emailed him a while back asking for help and he responded with some tripe about how French unis are slow; absolutely no idea I was teaching. I didn’t bother to reply it pissed me off that much. The people we needed to contact regarding our year abroad changed ALL THE BLOODY TIME so that it was impossible to know who was in charge of what. The current guy in charge at the International Office is new, which apparently is an excuse to be rude, patronising and incompetent. Hopefully he’ll know what he’s doing when it’s your turn. My advice to you on this one is to find a third or fourth year and talk to them. We will all happily help you cus we’ve been through the disaster which is prep for YA and will gladly do all we can to save you from it.

5)      There are a few forms to fill in…

Ha. I’ve done almost all of the forms and I’m still not really sure if they were correct or what they were for etc. There was no comprehensive list of the forms we needed to fill in with deadlines and explanations so we emailed asking for one – hopefully this will mean that they’ll distribute one from the day one now. If not, be prepared to get pestered via ten emails per each individual form (see, told you there are loads) from different people with no real explanation on how to fill them in.

One form has been the bane of my life and I apologise if this bit comes across as overly ranty, I’ll try to contain my frustration. The training agreement form for teaching assistants is a bit of a joke (and is similarly annoying for uni students) because you have to print this elusive form (make sure it’s the right copy as they have made a habit of distributing old ones), fill it in (if you can figure out how), scan it, email it to someone at your school abroad (good luck finding the right person) and get them to repeat the ridiculous process – though you have to instruct them on which sections to fill in. I’m particularly bitter about this form as the lovely French lady that promptly filled in my form missed a box: a box I didn’t know she had to fill in so I had to start the process all over again. This process still hasn’t been completed at the time of writing and it began in August!

Tip: Pester whoever you can for detailed instructions, deadlines and team up with friends as it’s the only way to get a response.

6)      The Uni’s advice/warnings are questionable to say the least…

Examples:
-Don’t move with the help of anyone

Why this is stupid: Good luck moving your entire life abroad alone; they foolishly think that our parents, friends, bfs/gfs won’t leave after helping us move and should therefore stay at home while you lug your life in suitcases around the world.

-If you miss a single bit of ERASMUS paperwork you won’t get your grant

Why this is stupid: they won’t let you miss any cus you’ll get a million and one reminders.  Don’t worry everything will get done eventually, no idea why they would want to panic you more.

7)      Everyone gets a bit scared even if they don’t show it…

I encountered a lot of people who went on and on about how excited they were and how they couldn’t wait etc. which can make you feel like you’re alone if you’re apprehensive or even petrified. Trust me, everyone feels that way at some point and it does pass. The more organised you are and the better you prepare the happier you’ll be. I’ve been told countless times that once the scary initial few weeks are over that I’ll be having a great time. I’ll let you know if that is the case.

8)      I wish I spoke to someone who understood!

I’ve touched on this point already but I think that it needs reiterating in its own little point as to help with every single aspect of your YA the best people aren’t the members of staff but your peers. If any first/second years have any questions please email me at hlm378@student.bham.ac.uk and I will be as helpful as I can or put you in touch with someone more helpful.

9)      Shoulda, woulda, coulda practised my French...

Oral classes at UoB can be a bit naff but use them. It’s much less scary to practise your language skills in front of your friends than when trying to open a foreign bank account. You’ve heard it all before; listen to music in your target language; watch films; read their new; speak! I hate to say it but your teachers and lecturers are right! Start immersing yourself early on and you’ll feel much more confident when the time to move comes. I’ve had to do this intensively over summer but it would have been much easier if I’d done it little and often.

10)   Everything will be alright in the end ;)

As much as I’ve badmouthed the uni’s organisation and highlighted that it’s scary, the best way to think of this Year Abroad is as an exciting once in a lifetime experience. It’s so much harder to do outside of a university setting and they are a great safety net if things go really wrong. Try not to think about the scary bits during the build-up but instead focus on what it could mean for you. For example, I’m only teaching 12 hours a week so I’ve been planning extensively what I’m going to do with my free time. I’ve got another job babysitting, I’m going to start learning Spanish and read up on my  Shakespeare…not the most exhilarating plans but they are my way of enriching my Year Abroad and I hope that you can think of some extra stuff to do too.

To my first/second year readers: good luck with everything!
To my fellow year abroaders: hope it’s all going well!
To friends and family who haven’t understood the majority of this post: bless you and thank you for sticking with it! 

Bisous à tous x