Meg during her studies in Leicester

Meg in Leicester: "I never felt awkward or unwanted."

I went to London so often – so let’s start with the train arrival in Leicester. At first, it felt like there was almost never anything going on and that I would probably escape to London every weekend anyway. But I fell in love with life in a university town with halls and big campuses. Just like in the movies. That’s not how we’re used to it in Australia.

A sedentary lifestyle

Living at home took a lot of getting used to. The weather was awful, so I couldn’t do much at first. Later, I did find fun things to do despite the bad weather. The food will always be different from home too. The Brits know how to make EVERYTHING easier (so many packaged sandwiches!) but they will never manage to make their coffee good enough to satisfy my Australian taste buds. The different cultures within little Leicester made it diverse and made me appreciate my time there much more than I expected.

Stop with Skype

I cried without shame for the first three weeks! It’s always a shock and takes some getting used to in the beginning. I think I eventually reached a point where I thought, “Alright, I have to stop this Skype life and make the best of it here.” Then I found a job behind the bar, a good distraction despite the enormous workload of my master’s program. I’m a bit older than the other students and wasn’t a fan of all those bar crawls, so I always looked forward to just working. This also helped me meet locals – truly one of the best decisions I ever made.

Say yes to everything

I felt at home in Leicester. I was interested in the city. Once you give in to all the events and say yes to everything you can say yes to, you relax super fast. It’s terrifying at first, and there were some silly actions, but in the end, I was able to laugh about everything.

Internationals

Make friends with Germans! I always find them hilariously blunt and they really know how to take ‘take the piss’ to the next level. The Scandinavians always organize the best parties, but I never saw them during the day. And the most beautiful Egyptian woman I’ve met here is now one of my best friends. Honestly, nationalities just stand out more when you experience one big group, so I think the English are okay too. That those girls can walk through ice and snow wearing only a super short dress and high platforms is crazy.

Food

I couldn’t handle the English meat products (Pork Pies, Blood Sausage) and Full English Breakfasts.

The kind of coming together

There is such pride in a small city like Leicester. I was lucky to experience their football team’s big victory. The whole city was partying for weeks, and I was still working in the bar then. It’s a kind of coming together you don’t find in London or Melbourne. The cost of living is much lower than in the big cities, and the nightlife is small when you look at places you can go to, but every night is always amazing.

I never expected to make lifelong friends from this adventure. People were so welcoming. I never felt awkward or unwanted or like the ‘random foreign chick.’ I genuinely showed interest in where I was and didn’t compare it to home, which is easy to do otherwise.

I also met my current boyfriend here, and I was lucky that, like me, he’s involved in the local music and art scene. This naturally made my experience here even better! In the end, Leicester felt like home. Now I live in Amsterdam with my boyfriend, but I can’t wait to go back to Leicester.

Brits in three words:

Puns. Banter. ‘British Politeness.’