Aprilia was one of our eight Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) scholarship awardees from September-December 2023. Read below to learn about her four stages of London culture shock.

Hello! My name is Aprilia, I am a final year student majoring in English Language and Literature – with an emphasis on Cultural Studies – at Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia. Being an Associate student at Queen Mary University of London was thanks to a prestigious scholarship called Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA). Buckle up as I take you through my exchange journey filled with self-discoveries!

London has always been my dream city. The excitement that has piled up from the first day I was announced as one of the IISMA awardees to QMUL finally reached its peak when I first stepped foot onto Heathrow’s runway. From the grey sky, windy weather, long immigration queues, to the friendliness of our taxi drivers, everything fascinated me. As we drove through central London with a Taylor Swift playlist blasting in the background, my heart was so full of happiness. It took us approximately an hour to reach the Mile End campus. At that moment, the real adventure had just begun.

Freshers’ week was probably the most memorable time for me. I got to meet a lot of new friends, got involved in new things, and enjoyed some bonding time with the other 7 IISMA awardees whom I only had the chance to see once before our departure. I might say, our first week in London was my honeymoon stage.

As expected, the excitement did not last long. I was sick during our second week due to the temperature change. It was also my first week going to classes, and I have never felt so nervous. All kinds of fears, loneliness and anxiety started to kick in. That moment, I realised that I was completely alone in a foreign country far away from home, with no one but the other IISMA awardees speaking my first language. I experienced fatigue, and started to notice small inconveniences which normally would not bother me. I did feel calm at times, but most times I cried, and I longed to return home. This was the time I went through my frustration stage.

After two weeks, I began to feel better. I developed a greater understanding of the lectures and seminars, started to make some friends, and the odd weather became a normal part of my days. I did not waste a single minute exploring the city in between classes. Balancing studies and travels was not really hard, it just took some good time management skills. Maintaining good communication with my family back home was also one of the things that lifted my mood. As I started to feel like London was becoming comfortable, I reached my adaptation stage.

As time went by, I felt joy in everything I did, especially since I was aware that I would only be in London for no longer than three months, and I had to maximise my time to take a look at every corner of the city. Things like meeting new people and going to classes which used to be scary and exhausting turned into something I looked forward to the most. People I once called strangers have since become family. By the time I had to go back to Indonesia, my heart felt heavy. I realised that I had accepted London as my home. Too bad the acceptance stage came the moment I had to leave this dreamy city.

Experiencing all those kinds of emotions within such a short period of time was so draining, but the experience of being an exchange student at QMUL was really valuable, and I would not trade the lessons I learned with anything else.