anyone else scared?

Yeah, you have to have valid ID to enter clubs and bars an to buy alcohol. However, for club nights at my student union, Uni of Sheffield all they ask to see is your student card (doesn't have DOB on) and you're in. I've never been asked to show my ID when I've been inside the union. Might be a bit of a problem during freshers week, as you won't have your student cards right away



I've been to Germany a few times and really enjoyed it. Culturally I found it not too different to the UK. To get the most out of your experience I recommend not coming home for the entirety of the year, unless it's for something serious like major life saving surgery

Yeah i've heard that from a few people. Yeah I know i'll have to come home at least once as my mum and dad don't even want me to go there in the first place so i'll have to go and see them

English is widely used in Hong Kong-it's actually one of the official languages, although you'll garner a lot more respect if you can speak Cantonese. Speaking both English and Cantonese as well as Mandarin will mean many doors in terms of career opportunities will be open to you. Don't be put off by the logographs though, Sinitic languages aren't actually that hard to learn.

Due to its levels of autonomy, Hong Kong's culture is greatly different to that of mainland China, despite technically being the same country. People in Hong Kong tend to be a lot politer and cleaner than on the mainland, I've found. The food's good wherever you go though.

Climate definitely appeals to me. I love warmer weather, despite the fact it gives me heat rash on my toes. I'd rather that than not being able to breathe because of the cold

English is also widely used in Wales, still, most people speak Welsh.

I know, having a variety of languages can really help you, especially in terms of career. However, learning a third language can be really demanding. Imagine having a conversation and in one time you are going through the same word but with every language or simply saying one part in English and another with Mandarin. For example, my colleague at work started to speak in Portuguese and finished his sentence in English. At the end I guess it's not hard to learn if you have the right level of motivation.

Also, why are you saying that people are politer and cleaner. This part can depend on many factors. Of course, I won't question your opinion if you were living there for couple of months or years.

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How come they want you to come home? Surely they'd agree coming home is a waste of money and time, considering how valuable the year abroad is? The recommendation in my department is, if you can afford to go home, you can afford to get people out to wherever you are

thats true but I have quite a big family haha

I'd still recommend staying out there for a minimum of 10 consecutive months. Your year abroad is for you to learn about the language and culture, as well as any societal problems which you could write your dissertation on, in the native environment. How are you gonna do that if you keep coming back to the UK?

Once you get to a certain level in a language, you don't translate every word in your head. You just think in that language. Mandarin and Japanese are my 4th and 5th languages respectively, so I've got used to thinking in other languages and forcing myself to switch between them on demand.

In mainland China, people can be very direct, which is often seen as rude. They also have no concept of personal space-they'll happily come right up to you and stroke your face if you're obviously foreign. They also spit everywhere and children regularly urinate and deficate on the streets in full view of surrounding crowds

Your words are full of enthusiasm. Not everyone is capable of switching languages just like that. Even if you do want to learn new language, the most effective way will be to move to a different country, depending on the language you want to learn. Relying only on books and videos will not help you much, but will have minimal impact. Well, I can't say for sure since everyone is different thus the learning style will vary.

I have never been to mainland China so I cannot really tell you much. However, I'm sure your description fits only certain places, whereas, other areas may be completely opposite.

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I'm scared of NOT going to uni next September...

I'm so desperate to get outta here, I just wanna go already

I felt exactly the same when I started uni in 2012

People say they're scared of not fitting in, but I already felt like I belonged there just from the applicant days

I was the same. I hated where I grew up and I was a total loner at school, but at uni I was like a duck to water

I mean, I have a lot of friends here, but I just feel... bored I guess. I've had the same room for 18 years, been at the same school for 7, and it's just getting so repetitive... time to move on, and really do something useful.

The only thing I have motivation for right now is to sit on my PC all day, singing along to the same songs and watching anime whenever I can...

I'm going to be 17 as I turn 18 in October and yeah I feel the same way as you do! I know that you don't need alcohol to have a good time but since a lot of other people are old enough to drink I will probably feel awkward

I was quite nervous for the week or two before uni, it was like 'ahh am I really here' kind of thing.

And for the first few weeks I just wanted to go home and not come back, I didn't feel like I was going to do well in my course. But I just kept working and made some good friends out of the people I was living with and it got better after a while.