The international student experience: A brief survey among our journalists
Photo: Émilie Colliar
I, myself, am an international student at the University, and this is my first time living away from Britain. There are of course many things I miss about ‘home’, but in the year I have been in Iceland I have really grown to love and appreciate it. I wanted to see if my experiences with moving abroad were universal amongst other international students, so I have enlisted the help of other members of the student paper team to see what their experiences have been like.
All of the people I spoke to have lived in Iceland for over a year, with one living in Iceland for about 12 years, and overall, I think what people miss about home is rather predictable. Of course, everyone misses food from home – something which was especially apparent when I asked students from the Mediterranean! Other students noted the lack of trees, the length of the days, and the difference in the landscape as something quite foreign to them.
Social aspects and culture shocks:
Some other culture shocks experienced by international students include the high prices of basically everything, and the nature of Icelandic communication – one student noted that in her experience Icelanders are reluctant to open up until they’ve had something to drink and then they tell you very personal things. Another noted that the people here appear more honest than in their home country, where salespeople are more liable to take advantage of you. Personally, I have experienced that administration is very laid back, which was also noted by another student who said that Icelanders ‘free-style everything, including formal events’. This is both incredibly frustrating and also hilarious at times, and when I tell my friends and family how things are organised here, they regularly act shocked and then proceed to laugh at me for being stuck in what they deem to be an bureaucratic hellscape that lacks consequences if you mess up administratively. Another common theme in the answers I received was the inability to get hold of things here. Being an island, it is often harder to get hold of the things in Iceland that you can back at ‘home’, whatever that may be. My mother sent me 400 tea bags for my birthday in February, which I have yet to finish. Another student noted that whenever she has visitors they bring her spices like saffron, which are too expensive to buy here otherwise.
Experiences specific to Iceland:
Being homesick and feeling out of place and alone in a new country is not uncommon and although I received a lot of light-hearted answers to my questions about the Icelandic experience, it was also clear that there are more serious aspects. It may be that some are simply a part of moving abroad, but there are some that are more specific to Iceland. The high cost of living (as illustrated by the case of the spices above) is one expected but unpleasant drawback to moving to Iceland. Another drawback is the wilderness and the difference in the day length – again this is something that everyone is aware of and expects to experience when they first look into moving to Iceland, but until you get here and really live the experience you may not realise just how difficult it is to get out of bed in the winter, or go to sleep in the summer, or how isolating the landscape can feel if it’s not something you are used to. Icelandic nature is truly awesome, and a massive tourist attraction, but living in Iceland takes its toll, especially if you are used to more temperate and wooded climates.
More general experiences:
In addition, there are much more general ones related to moving abroad. Almost everyone I spoke to missed their friends, family, and the familiarity of ‘home’. In a foreign country it is definitely harder to find people that have shared experiences with you and making connections can be difficult. It is easy to mask some of these deeper issues behind light-hearted anecdotes, but it is important to remember that these issues can be serious and whilst spending time abroad can be amazing, it is also incredibly difficult and that it is completely okay to admit to missing home or struggling sometimes. If anyone in this position does feel alone, or like they need additional support, the University Counselling Services are easily accessible, just send an email to: salfraedingar@hi.is, and for more information regarding cultural adjustments and how to cope with them can be found here: https://english.hi.is/studies/cultural_adjustment