top of page
Writer's pictureCarlotta M. (Germany)

Adjusting to Life in Southampton: My First Two Months

Hello and welcome to my blog!


A New Beginning

My name is Carlotta, I am 16 years old, and I am going to live in Southampton, England, for one year. Because of Covid, everything is a little bit different this year. I was supposed to go to Canada, but Canada didn’t open its borders. Just one week before my flight, I got the information that I am going to England instead.


After a lot of back and forth, I finally arrived on 31st August! Now, I have been here for almost two months, and I am excited to share my experiences so far.


First Impressions

On my first morning, I felt really weird. It felt surreal to think about living in a new country and with a new family for one year. But in the afternoon, my host mum Tracey showed me the neighbourhood, and we drove down to the sea. The weather was great, and everything looked really beautiful.


Settling In

My first day was a Monday, and my school started the week after. For the next few days, I didn’t really have anything to do. I met up with a few of the international students I had already met, but other than that, I didn’t do much.


I think it is really important, especially in the beginning, to go out a lot and do stuff with friends. As soon as you sit in your room and are alone, you start thinking about home and missing your family. I can speak from experience.


But after one week, school finally started!


Starting School

I had chosen my subjects before arriving, and I have to say the choices are so much better than in Germany.


I had to do English and Maths and chose History, Geography, and Film Studies. The Itchen Sixth Form College is a really big school with about 2000 students aged 16 to 19. My school day starts at 9:40 and ends at 15:30.


Because of Covid, I have only two subjects every day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. At first, I thought it was always like this and found it a bit strange. But they are just doing it now so that the students don’t change rooms that often and don’t walk too close in the narrow hallways.


In general, I like school here more than in Germany. All the teachers I have are really nice and supportive, and class participation isn’t important for the grade, which I really like. However, the homework is more important.


Free Time and Day Trips

During the week, I don’t do that much in my free time. Sometimes I stay in school a little bit longer to talk with my friends, and then I go home and do my homework.


Normally, the college organises trips to London or Winchester for the international students, but because of Covid, everything is cancelled right now. That’s why we have planned some day trips ourselves! A few weeks ago, I went with some of my friends to Portsmouth, a city by the sea about one hour from Southampton. The weather was beautiful, and we went on the Spinnaker Tower to see the city from above. For lunch, we had burgers, and I have to say it was the best burger I ever had!


College Alternatives

While it is sad that we can’t do a lot of the cool things and trips we could normally do, the college still offers some good alternatives like free bowling and cinema tickets, as well as some arts and crafts activities we can do.


So, those have been my first two months in England in a nutshell!


I hope you enjoyed reading my first entry, and I am looking forward to sharing my experiences over the next year.


Carlotta



Carlotta visiting English castles during high school exchange

Exchange student in England visiting park

Making friends and sightseeing during study abroad in UK

English school for high school exchange

Walking with friends in England

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page