What were the main reasons that encouraged you to choose England and Aston?
The main thing that I considered in making my choice was the language of instruction. The Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering has four partner schools, and three of them—in Poland, Finland and England—offer courses in English. So to be able to transfer course credits, I had to choose one of those schools. If you ask why I chose the one in England from among the three, the daytime in Finland would have been really short, only about four hours, when I was on Erasmus, so I eliminated that school. And between Poland and the UK, the UK attracted me more in terms of the cultural side.
How was life in England in terms of the cultural and social aspects?
England actually has a wide variety of cultures. At first glance, it seems like it doesn’t have its own culture, but thinking this is a (common) mistake. In fact, since most of the things that we already do are related to and affected by English culture, it seems to have become ordinary. Unfortunately, we don’t realize the depth of English culture because of this unreal ordinariness. What is different now is that there are many different cultures in England: those of Indians, Spanish people, Germans, Turks, etc. Because of this multiculturalism, one can say, “I have gone to England and discovered the whole world.”
What is the average cost of living in Birmingham for a student?
It totally depends on the student. I didn’t want to spend that much, so I set my budget accordingly. Numerically, the prices are not so different from those in Turkey (i.e., a pizza is 15 TL here, £15 there), but because of the exchange rate, everything is almost four times more expensive than it is in Turkey. For my rent, I paid £400 per month, including utilities. For food, I spent £200 per month cooking at home, which is much cheaper than eating out. If you want to spend most of your money on trips or other things, I recommend that you eat at home.
Was it easy to find accommodation? Does Aston offer dormitories?
It was really difficult for me. Normally, schools in England offer you dormitory space and also give you the names of several real estate agencies. Aston did not do this. They told me that exchange students could live in their dormitories, so I periodically e-mailed them to learn whether a dorm room had been arranged for me. They always answered, “Keep calm, we’ll find a dorm room for you,” but in the end, they did not. Only a week before I left, they sent me an e-mail saying they couldn’t get me a room. They gave me some phone numbers, but of course all of the houses had already been rented, because all of the schools open at the same time in England. I stayed at a hotel for a week and then found a house to rent and stayed with people I didn’t know. I don’t think that this sort of problem occurs at other schools in England.
Does Aston offer a language course for international students to teach them the local language?
Yes, the school offers a language course, with two options. The first is taking it as a lecture. You need to take exams, and the course is graded. It counts for 5 ECTS credits. If your lectures total fewer than 30 ECTS credits, you can take the course for credit. The other option is paying for the course; you attend classes but don’t get credit or a grade.
What was the most memorable thing about your Erasmus experience?
For me, Erasmus was mostly about traveling. In fact, before I went, I spoke with one of my instructors, and she said, “Öykü, we are sending you to see different cities, different cultures. Don’t study too hard or try to get an A in everything.” So I did what she said: I visited 15 cities. Even when I had an exam, I chose to travel; I knew I could take the course again at Bilkent. In every city, I had a chance to see different cultures. In Birmingham there were Arabs, while London was multicultural because only 40 percent of its population is English. Swansea was Welsh, and a really small city, just like a town. And Scotland was very, very interesting in terms of the accent, the gestures and the food. I can easily say that Öykü before Erasmus and Öykü after Erasmus are two different persons.
What was the biggest challenge you had to deal with during your Erasmus exchange?
Before I went on Erasmus I lived with my parents, and because of that I faced many different challenges living on my own in England. The biggest one was managing my money. I found the house I was staying in late, and therefore it was very expensive. I didn’t know how to cook at all. Sometimes I woke up and wished my mom was there to prepare breakfast, and because of my laziness, I just skipped breakfast and ate something in the afternoon.
What special tips can you give for prospective Erasmus students who choose the UK?
• Choose a city that is centrally located so that traveling will be much easier, if you want to travel a lot like I did.
• Choose a small city, because smaller cities are much cheaper than big ones.
• Take advantage of as many opportunities as possible. In England there are great price reductions for students. For example, during a certain period of the month, shops offer students a 20 percent discount. Another thing is that you can buy a student ticket that can be used for the train and the bus. I paid only 25 percent of the usual fare when traveling. However, these tickets are only available for Birmingham, not for London. Concerts are £5 for students, and you can sit wherever you want to, even in an expensive seat. For example, one time I paid £5 for a seat whose price was actually £40.
• Don’t take a quilt, pillow, mug, etc. with you. There are places that sell these kinds of things for £1. I had thought that I would be able to go shopping a lot, so I didn’t take that many things with me. Nevertheless, money became a problem because England was already expensive. When you try to shop for all kinds of stuff, you can’t afford everything.
• Take woolen clothes that keep you warm.
• Ask the school to give you a request form in order to open a bank account.
If you were given another chance for an Erasmus exchange, would you take it? Would you choose Aston again?
I think nobody says, “I wouldn’t go on Erasmus again.” I even considered staying there and finishing school in England. However, because of financial concerns I decided to come back. If I had a chance to go again, definitely I would. However, I question whether I would go to England again, because I have already seen it. Now, I want to see different places, different cultures. I would like to go to a city located in the middle of Europe so I could travel between countries easily. When you are living in England, you can only travel around the United Kingdom. I would also like to go to the US. However, my top preference is Europe because of the diversity of cultures.
What did Erasmus do for you?
First, it gave me the experience of standing on my own two feet. The process of adapting to a different culture is difficult in itself, and I stayed in a multicultural country for four months, which was quite a different experience. I learned how to communicate with many different kinds of people, and how to start up life in a completely new place. Also, Erasmus gave me a different perspective, because English people have a lifestyle that is a lot different from ours. For one thing, there is more freedom in England than there is here. I had a chance to compare England and Turkey during those four months. Finally, the most important thing is that I made friends from different cultures all around the world.
Interviewers: Eda Ertan (MAN/II), Cansu Ateş (MAN/II), Halenur Öztekin (MAN/II)