Feeling very lonely at uni

Hi TSR

I started uni just over a week ago and increasingly I'm starting to feel more and more lonely and reclusive. My main problem is that I share quite a small floor with about 9 other people; 6 of them are Chinese and all speak Chinese to each other and cook together etc, so I feel like I'm not really welcome in their "clique". They also make the kitchen a very intimidating place to go as it's a very small kitchen with only 1 oven and 1 microwave etc, and they seriously take over the whole kitchen every evening so I'm mainly living off snack bars for dinner for fear of disrupting them in the kitchen.

The other 3 on my floor are completely different to me, they're all party animals who seem to hang out with some fellow party-goers on the floor above all the time and even if I wanted to go, which I did for the first couple of nights, they always exclude me and I'm left to go to events by myself and try and meet new people there.

All of this means that unless there is an organised event or dinner or such, I spend my evenings locked away in the sanctity of my room feeling lonely and sorry for myself, while listening to party upstairs or the cooking in the kitchen.

All this is not to say I haven't met people I don't get along with however; I've met 3 or 4 guys on my course who have similar interests to me and who I get along with fairly well it seems, so during the day things perk up, but they all have their own groups of friends and events to go to back in their halls so I really just see them for lectures, then go back to my room alone.

I came out of school with such an amazing and close group of friends and uni is just really overwhelming at the moment - just my hall alone has more people in it than my entire school did - and I'm struggling to cope with the complete change in social environment and my seeming lack of friends when everyone around me appears to be doing fine.

Thank you to anyone who has bared with me through that, I know it sounds completely pathetic and it probably is, but I often bottle up all my feelings inside and let them weigh me down so I really needed to get this off my chest in a non judgmental environment so I can try and move on.

All I'm really asking is has anyone else experienced these feelings, and if so, does it get better?

Thanks

TD;DR - I'm a pathetic fresher who feels lonely and scared and needed to get that off his chest - any advice welcome!

Hello. You are like me last year.

Firstly, it's important to realise that chinese people have a culture from back home to hang around in big groups all the time. That's normal, don't feel intimidated.

Secondly, the party animals. Honestly, that wasn't my thing either. Don't feel sorry for yourself, and don't try and be someone who you aren't. Partying hard is just not my thing, I prefer to stay in my room talking to friends from back home. That's not to say I don't go out, I do, here and there with friends, maybe for a movie, or bowling, or a meal, even some football. Join sports clubs at your uni if you're in to sports, or other clubs/society's that you may be in to.

You just have to find people who are like you.