Well, I had always heard that the one
year postgraduate courses are intensive, yet exhaustive and you won’t even
realise how time flies. So, as an international student, whilst you have not even found a firm ground and
some peace of mind from the numerous chores: finding a decent place to stay,
striking some sort of bonhomie with the new flatmates, attending Fresher’s events,
getting used to lectures…. sometimes six hours in a day, coping with the
initial jolt of the course as you are amazed at the level of peers in the
class, finally deciding on your optional modules (one word of advice here,
always go for modules you have genuine interest in, weigh all the pros and cons
before selection and definitely do not go for a module just because your
friends are bent upon choosing that…. else you shall repent later..... believe
me…. I can say so from my personal experience) and the pain of preparing your
own meals and so on and so forth ……that suddenly you find yourself getting absorbed
in the vicious circle of assignments and course work and find yourself circling
dates in your diary and chasing deadlines.
But you’ll realise that you have to make
the most of your time here as opportunities are a little too many at university
and some sort of time management will be required – and the sooner the better.
So, there are numerous clubs to join as per your interest be it salsa, theatre
or photography and numerous activities to choose from. Well, one of the things
which caught my attention as I was settling in was the host UK programme. On
this programme, an international student gets an opportunity to spend a weekend
with a British family and this programme is run in collaboration with the University.
Well, I applied and was so glad that our university was running such a
programme for the benefit of international students as I thought there would be
no better means of understanding a different culture.
So, I was offered an opportunity to
spend a weekend in November with a family in Oxfordshire in a small town called
Abingdon. Needless to say, I was already too worked up with assignments and
deadlines and was desperately looking forward to some respite and I immediately
agreed. Coincidentally, a classmate from Ghana and myself had been invited
together by the same family. I was particularly excited at having got such an
opportunity and was thrilled to get a message from the host explaining how to
reach Oxford from Southampton and the directions to meet her.
We were promptly received at Oxford bus station
by Mrs Hancox, our host for the weekend. On our drive back home in the evening,
she told us about the plans she had made for us during the weekend and it all
sounded good. It was a really enriching experience for me as this was the first
time I was spending some time with a British family. After a warm welcome at
home by Mr Hancox and a brief chat about ourselves, we settled down for dinner.
We were served a typical British dinner – fish pie and roast potatoes with wine
and a lemon cake for dessert and to say the least – it was awesome.
With the Hancox family
Post dinner, as we sipped our coffee, we
had a very lively discussion about our cultures. Mrs Hancox had visited India
once long ago and she was quite curious about the growth story of India. She
was well-read and was quite impressed at my decision to come to the UK for my
Masters at such a difficult stage in my life.
The next day we visited a local school
and attended their Christmas fair. The mood was jubilant and one could sense
the arrival of Christmas. We did participate in a few games and even won a prize
for Mrs Hancox. Later in the day, we went to Abingdon city centre and the cathedral.
We spent the whole afternoon walking around with Mrs Hancox as she explained
the history of Abingdon. In the evening, we attended an opera in a church,
which was being conducted to raise money for a church in Russia. It was the
most beautiful part of the whole stay. I had never attended an opera before and
stood mesmerised at the performance. We even went to a local pub in the evening
for a drink. It was quite an eventful day carefully planned by Mrs Hancox for
her guests and all I can say is – kudos to her planning.
The town of Abingdon
The next day, we went to Oxford town. I
had always wanted to visit this place as back in India I had heard a lot about
Oxford and Cambridge and these two university towns had a special place in my
heart. It was a great experience to visit Nuffield College, which our great
economist Prime Minister had attended.
As the day came to an end, and we
reached the Oxford bus station for our return journey, I realised how quickly
the weekend had passed. I was truly grateful to the Hancox family for spending
a memorable weekend with me, making me feel a part of their lives and giving me
an opportunity to soak up the British culture.
Rohit
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