Norway, BA (Hons) Music
“I’ve always been interested in medieval history and really really old things, so walking around in Oxford is really nice. I just fell in love with the city. So I had to … I had to study here.”
Why did you decide to study in the UK?
I’ve always really liked Oxford in general. I went on a language trip here to study English for 3 weeks and I just fell in love with the city.
Why Oxford Brookes?
Well in the beginning I wanted to apply for Oxford University, but after having interviews there I didn’t get in. However I still really wanted to go to a university in Oxford so I found out about Oxford Brookes and it looked really nice, and the staff were really nice. I’m now in Oxford and part of a good University without the stress – which is really nice.
What do you enjoy about your course the most?
I really like that we get to perform as a part of the course and during the second and third year we will be able to choose more freely the subjects we want. I’m now thinking of going more down the history route of the subject, with some performing.
Which university facilities have you found most useful?
I’m really fond of the library, I’ve always been fond of books. So having a huge library like this is really great. The fact that the sections with all the books are not restricted to just one subject is really nice. So I can go and read about other things if I want to as well. I’ve spent a lot of time in the Anthropology section.
How have the staff helped you during your time here?
I spent some time with the Wellbeing staff to find out where different religious practices could be done. Then after a while I went to a screening for dyslexia. I didn’t know I had dyslexia before I went to that, so that’s been really really helpful. I’ve used ISAT quite a lot but not too much for me, but for help with getting my fiancée to come and study here. We tried to get her application through, but it’ll take a while.
How did you find adjusting to life here?
I had quite a culture shock, I kept on seeing people I knew everywhere and then they would turn around and they were someone else. So I went to one of the seminars that ISAT had during the first couple of weeks about culture shock, and they helped with explaining it to me. I made a list of things that would comfort me or things I really enjoyed doing before I left. So if I would find myself struggling with the fact that I’m in a new country I could go back to that list and do one of those things to feel more at home.