Arriving 🛩

So, you’ve made it to Glasgow; welcome! Whether you’re here for the semester or plan to stay for longer, I urge you to make the most of your time. 

Moving and studying abroad is a daunting task that comes with many challenges. I’ve taken the liberty of compiling some mistakes and blunders I made that I hope you can learn from! 

 

Mistake #1: Not enough research. My most avoidable mistake was not doing enough research before arriving in Glasgow. A quick google search would have advised me to pack appropriate attire (a raincoat and boots are necessary!).

 

Mistake #2: No cash. Make sure you have enough cash on hand in case of emergencies. I ran into problems with my credit card and could not access my bank account for the first couple of days. If something similar happens to you or you find yourself in a situation where only cash is accepted, I recommend keeping some on hand. 

 

Listen, I made many mistakes (including them all would have you here all day). However, I wasn’t entirely unprepared and was able to save myself a lot of headaches by doing this:  

“Non-mistake”: Keep hard copies of essential documents. You never know what can happen and if you are anything like me you easily misplace things. As such, I made copies of all my important documents like my Passport, Certificate of Acceptance and Proof of Insurance. (This was particularly helpful when I was going through customs at the airport. Nevertheless, please be careful with these as they include your personal information!) 

 

You’ll make some mistakes (maybe a lot of mistakes) and THAT’S OKAY! Take it from me; you’re not going to get everything right off the bat, it’s a learning curve and there’s only so much preparation you can do beforehand. Hopefully, you can learn from some of my mistakes and “non-mistake” to help you make the most of your time at Strathclyde! 

rae :)