Firstly, welcome to the UK and welcome to Cumbria. I hope you transition well to your new life abroad whilst studying here at the University of Cumbria. But change (even positive change) can create a huge range of emotions which we aim to help you with in our Mental Health and Wellbeing service.
To help you to get started, we’ve put a Glossary of Terms together in Appendix 1 to help you to understand some of the terminology that we use.
Why should we think about how we feel about moving abroad?
· So we can enjoy the experience
· To hopefully grow as a person (out of our comfort zone and therefore gaining in confidence)
· Complete (or even thrive) in our studies
· Engage in the experience – travel, meet new people and have new experiences that you may never have had otherwise
· To feel happy later in life that you had this experience
· To look after yourself – change and being foreign to a new place can make us feel vulnerable. And when we feel vulnerable we need to look after our mental and physical health.
Aspects of life in the UK which may feel difficult at first
Feeling at home in a new place is important no matter where we live in the world. This can relate to the home we live in, the people we spend time with or even the things we do. Here are some ideas of how you may be able to feel more at home. Do you have anything else you would add to this list?
Tips to help you feel more at home
Language – developing and feeling confident in your use of English. The more you can communicate and understand, the more connected you will feel to the UK. The more confident you are the more you will leave your house and continue to try new experiences. The goal is for language to feel like less of a barrier every day. Don’t worry about making mistakes – this is how you learn. It’s pretty incredible to try and speak a language that isn’t your mother tongue in a foreign country!
Local dialect / accent – learning little phrases and words that will make you feel more like a local! For example:
Hiya – a casual form of hi / hello
Are you alright? – Even though this is a literal question, a lot of British people say this as another way to say hello / as a greeting. You can reply in the exact same way – ‘you alright?’ or say hello or even answer their question – ‘yes I’m good thanks are you alright’? Just remember it’s normal for people to not always give a literal answer. They may just reply ‘Alright’ or ‘hello’ and that’s okay too.
Cheers – Not just what we say when we share a drink, but also a word for thank you
Mate / marra / pal – all used as a word for friend
No bother – no problem
Ta – a short casual way of saying thank you
Culture – learning about local life can improve you experience here too. Find new favourite places to eat and drink nearby. A lot of people who live in the North West of England enjoy the outdoors. The Lake District National Park is in the county of Cumbria and is a wonderful place to explore – hike, run, cycle, wild swim, explore cafes, museums all in a beautiful part of the country. But you have to embrace the weather – as one of the wettest parts of the UK your umbrella / rain coat will be your new best friend. Don’t wait for the sunshine as you might be waiting a while.
Weather – This could be a difficult part of your transition to the UK, where it is likely to be worse weather than your home country. There’s not a lot in our control with the weather except how you manage it – investing in some good clothing (trying local charity shops to be cost saving) and planning lovely indoor activities when the weather is bad. Making your room/home cosy and inviting makes a helpful difference. Or why not cook, clean or do something creative – these can all be very therapeutic. On days where there is no rain can you explore outside?
Exploration – knowing your surroundings – the more you know the area you live or study in, the more you learn where you feel safe and where to avoid. Find, experiment with and then go on some new favourite walking or running routes. Again, this allows you to feel at home but means you already have an activity ready to do without thinking too much about – what should I do today? What should I do if I feel bored or lonely?
Keep an eye out for part 2 of this blog, which will provide further guidance on how to navigate your transition to your new life in the UK!
By Kate Strong – Mental Health & Wellbeing Team
Appendices
Appendix 1 – Glossary of Terms
Here are some words which you might hear in the UK about your mental health – but what do they mean?
Emotions – How we feel in our mind mentally
Wellbeing – How you feel mentally/emotionally. Doing something good for your wellbeing means to do something which will help make you feel better. Like going on a nice walk.
Mental Health – The state of your brain and emotions. A poor mental health might mean you are very stressed and also not looking after yourself so you feel very unhappy. A healthy mental health means you are feeling good, you feel positive and are looking after your wellbeing.
Self care – Anything nice that you can do for yourself which will leave you feeling better afterwards. For example a relaxing bath or cooking yourself your favourite food.
Comfort Zone – The places or things you usually do that you are good at or comfortable within. Often we want to stay in our ‘comfort zone’ because it is not scary, but often this means we do not grow or develop as a person.
Mixed emotions – When you feel lots of different feelings all at the same time. This is very normal. For example – excitement and nervousness / homesickness and independence.
Homesickness – When you are missing different things about your home country.
Self-development – Changing and growing in a healthy way as a person. For example, becoming better at managing anxiety or facing fears.
Creativity – Doing an activity which involves art, music, dance, different and unusual ways of thinking. For example expressing your emotions by painting a picture.
Therapeutic – A word to describe an activity that involves different processes which end with a positive result which helps us feel better. For example going to therapy, baking break or cleaning a room.
Vulnerable – A mental or physical feeling of not feeling fully safe or comfortable.